Three clients last month asked the same question: “I already have a WordPress site, but my cousin says Wix is easier. Should I switch?” One was a clinic owner in Ahmedabad. One was a saree retailer in Surat. One was a CA running a consultancy in Mumbai.
The answer is different for each of them. This post gives you the honest framework to decide for yourself.
The short answer
| WordPress Best for: businesses that want to grow, need SEO, or sell online. Higher initial complexity, lower long-term cost. | Wix Best for: very small businesses that just need a presence — service listings, contact page, a few photos. Low complexity. | Squarespace Best for: portfolio sites — photographers, designers, creative professionals. Beautiful templates but expensive and limited SEO. |
Pricing — what you actually pay in India
| Platform | Entry plan (USD) | Approx INR/year | eCommerce | Transaction fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress (self-hosted) | Hosting ₹2,000–6,000/yr | ₹2,000–6,000 | WooCommerce free | None (gateway fees only) |
| Wix | $17/mo (Light) | ~₹17,000/yr | ₹1,500+/mo extra | None |
| Squarespace | $23/mo (Basic) | ~₹23,000/yr | Included from $33/mo | 0% (Business plan) |
| Shopify (for comparison) | $29/mo (Basic) | ~₹29,000/yr | Included | 2% if not Shopify Payments |
Key point for Indian businesses: WordPress self-hosted is dramatically cheaper. Wix and Squarespace charge in USD — your cost increases whenever the rupee weakens.
SEO — which platform ranks better on Google India
For Indian business owners, local SEO is everything. Most of your customers find you on Google. This is where WordPress has the clearest advantage.
WordPress SEO strengths
Full control over URLs, meta tags, schema, robots.txt, sitemaps
- Yoast SEO and Rank Math give granular control — free and well-maintained
- Core Web Vitals can be genuinely optimised (not just “improved”)
- No platform-level restrictions on page structure or canonical tags
- Wix and Squarespace impose platform URL structures that hurt local SEO
Wix/Squarespace SEO limits
Wix has improved significantly but still has URL structure issues for multi-language sites
- Both platforms inject extra code that slows page speed
- Less control over technical SEO — schema markup is limited
- Squarespace sitemap and robots.txt are auto-generated and not fully customisable
- Both are catching up but are still behind WordPress for serious SEO
Control and customisation
This is the fundamental difference. WordPress is open-source software you install on hosting you own. Wix and Squarespace are SaaS platforms — you are a tenant in their system.
| Question | WordPress | Wix | Squarespace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who owns your data? | You (on your server) | Wix does | Squarespace does |
| Can you export everything? | ✓ Full export | Partial only | Partial only |
| Can you add custom code? | ✓ Full PHP/JS | Limited JS | Limited JS |
| Payment gateways India? | Razorpay, PayU, CCAvenue, all | Razorpay (limited) | Razorpay only |
| Indian language support? | ✓ Full (Hindi, Gujarati, etc.) | Limited | Limited |
| WhatsApp widget, chatbots? | ✓ Any plugin | Wix app only | Limited integrations |
| Custom checkout flow? | ✓ Full WooCommerce | ✗ | ✗ |
Who should actually use Wix or Squarespace
These platforms are genuinely good for specific situations. The problem is people use them as a starting point and then find they have outgrown them — migrating off Wix or Squarespace is painful.
Use Wix if: You need a simple 3–5 page presence (not eCommerce), you have no technical help, and you are not focused on SEO growth. A dentist who just needs a “contact us” page and a map.
Use Squarespace if: You are a photographer, illustrator, or designer selling digital products or prints. The portfolio templates are genuinely beautiful and appropriate for creative work.
Use WordPress if: You want to grow. You need a blog. You are selling products. You care about Google rankings. You want to customise your checkout. You are in any competitive industry.
The “should I switch” question
If you are already on WordPress and wondering if Wix would be easier: usually, no. “Easier” often means “less capable”. The learning curve on WordPress is front-loaded — once your site is set up and maintained properly, it runs itself.
If you are on Wix and wondering if you should move to WordPress: yes, if you care about SEO or need eCommerce. The migration is a one-time effort and the long-term control is worth it.
Note: We migrate sites from Wix and Squarespace to WordPress as part of our maintenance onboarding. If you are considering switching, we can scope the migration for you during the free audit.
Note: We migrate sites from Wix and Squarespace to WordPress as part of our maintenance onboarding. If you are considering switching, we can scope the migration for you during the free audit.Get a free site audit — platform included
We will look at your current setup and tell you if it is serving your growth goals.
Published by WP All Support. WordPress maintenance for Indian and Foreign business owners. info@wpallsupport.com
