Custom website or a builder like Wix or Squarespace?
Choose a custom website for tailored design, a one-time build fee, and code you own. Choose Wix or Squarespace for a visual editor you manage yourself. Compare the costs, work, and control before you decide.
Built for you
A site shaped around your business.
Choose custom web design when you want someone to handle the build, a layout tailored to your content, and source code you keep.
See what Northframe includesBuild it yourself
An editor you can run yourself.
Wix or Squarespace can suit you if you enjoy building, want a visual editor for frequent changes, and are comfortable staying on the platform.
The tradeoff: your time and the platform’s limits.
Custom website vs Wix vs Squarespace
Compare the work, ongoing costs, and control behind each option.
| What matters | Northframe custom website | Wix | Squarespace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design | Designed around your content | A template and editor you customize | A template and editor you customize |
| Who does the work | Northframe plans, designs, and builds | You build it, or hire someone to help | You build it, or hire someone to help |
| Cost structure | One-time build; domain and services separate | Platform plan plus any paid extras | Platform plan plus any paid extras |
| Hosting & portability | Your code and hosting accounts; move with a developer | Your Wix site runs on Wix hosting | Some content exports; the complete design does not |
| Day-to-day edits | Edit the code or ask a developer; no visual editor by default | Visual editor for hands-on updates | Visual editor for hands-on updates |
| Advanced features | Accounts, payments, and databases quoted under Custom | Check the plan, apps, and platform limits | Check the plan, extensions, and platform limits |
The Northframe approach
Custom design.
Clear scope. Yours to keep.
A custom website does not have to mean an open-ended agency bill. Start with the package that fits your pages and features.
- A layout designed around your content, with responsive design and deployment included.
- The finished code, domain, and hosting accounts under your control.
- Launch is $49 (student pricing, regularly $99). Presence is $199 (Founding Client Pricing, regularly $349).
- Logins, databases, and payments are scoped separately. Domain registration and paid services are extra.
Check the platform details
Platform features and plans change. Review Wix’s hosting and export policy and Squarespace’s content export limits before deciding.
Learn about domain, hosting, and website ownershipWhen a website builder is the better choice
A website builder can be a good fit when frequent editing and ready-made platform tools matter most. Consider one if these describe you.
- You want to change text, photos, or pages yourself, often, without asking anyone.
- You need store or booking tools available within the platform and your chosen plan.
- You want to try building before committing. Check each platform’s current trial or free-plan terms.
- You enjoy designing and want to do it yourself.
When a custom site is the better choice
- You want the site to look like you, not like a template other people also use.
- You would rather pay once than keep a subscription running for years.
- You want to own the code and be free to change hosts or developers.
- The content changes a few times a year, not every week: a portfolio, a student organization, a small service business. Portfolio websites for creators shows what that looks like.
Comparing cost over time
A builder's plan is paid every month or year for as long as the site stays online, so its total keeps growing. A custom site's design fee is paid once. Either way, the domain renews yearly. To compare honestly, add up what each option costs over the two or three years you expect to keep the site. For a business site, how much a small business website costs has the full picture.
At Northframe, Launch is $49 (student pricing, regularly $99), Presence is $199 (Founding Client Pricing, regularly $349), and Business is $349 (Founding Client Pricing, regularly $499). The website cost calculator shows which one fits your pages and features, and running a website without a monthly fee lists the costs that remain after launch.
Ownership is the bigger difference
On a builder, the site is an account on someone else's platform. If the plan lapses, the site goes offline or falls back to a free plan, and the design stays behind if you leave. With a custom site, the domain, hosting, and code are registered to you, so nothing depends on one company's pricing. Domain, hosting, and website ownership explained goes through each piece.
Common questions
Can I move a Wix or Squarespace site to my own hosting?
A Wix site relies on Wix hosting and cannot be exported as a working site to another host. Squarespace can export some content, but not the complete site design. Moving either site to another platform usually involves rebuilding the design and migrating the content.
Is a custom website harder to update?
For day-to-day editing, yes: there is no drag-and-drop editor. That is the main trade-off. It suits sites whose content changes a few times a year. If you plan to rewrite pages every week, a builder may serve you better.
Portfolio websites for creators
Custom portfolio websites for designers, photographers, and freelancers: galleries, a contact form, and SEO setup, designed around your work.