Building a website starts with one decision that shapes every other: the platform. WordPress, Wix, Shopify, Squarespace and Webflow answer different needs, cost very different amounts across five years, and leave you with very different options the day you want to move.
This comparison uses figures published by the platforms themselves and by independent trackers, checked in September 2026. The aim is not to crown a winner, but to give a small or medium-sized business the handful of criteria that actually change the answer.
Prices vary by country and by billing period, so treat every figure below as an order of magnitude to check on the vendor's own page for your market.
What market share does and does not tell you
Market share is context, not a reason to choose. According to W3Techs (September 2026 survey), which tracks the technologies used by the most visited sites worldwide, 31.4% of sites use no identifiable content management system at all. Among the rest, WordPress is far ahead.
| Platform | Share of all sites | Share of sites using a CMS |
|---|---|---|
| WordPress | 40.3% | 58.8% |
| Shopify | 5.4% | 7.8% |
| Wix | 4.2% | 6.2% |
| Squarespace | 2.4% | 3.5% |
| Webflow | 0.8% | 1.2% |
Popularity has one practical consequence. The more widely a platform is used, the easier it is to find an agency, a theme, a plugin or an answer to an awkward problem. With a niche tool you inherit the talent pool as well as the features.
Eurostat (2025) reports that 79.0% of EU enterprises with at least ten employees have a website, falling to 76.7% among small ones, while Eurostat (2024 data) puts the share making electronic sales at 23.6%. A brochure site is still the majority case; an online shop is a separate project with its own constraints.
The five platforms, one by one
WordPress: the standard, hosted or self-managed
WordPress comes in two forms that are constantly confused. WordPress.org is the free, open-source software you install with a host of your choosing. You own everything: files, database, theme, plugins. Updates, backups and security are your responsibility or your provider's. WordPress.com is Automattic's hosted subscription service, with maintenance included but freedoms that depend on the plan; installing your own plugins only opens up from the Business tier.
On a self-hosted install the software costs nothing, and the recurring bill is hosting plus a domain, often plus a premium theme or a paid plugin. The line people underestimate is maintenance. That is the honest trade: complete freedom against complete responsibility. Where nobody owns the updates, an outdated installation is a familiar route to a compromised WordPress site.
WordPress is also the most flexible of the five for search work: full control of templates, structured data, redirects and page speed. If you expect to earn traffic through published content, that control matters more than it appears to on day one.
Wix: simple to start, closed when you leave
Wix is the most approachable editor of the five. Drag-and-drop editing, a large template library and AI-assisted setup let a non-technical owner publish a respectable brochure site in days. Pricing is tiered and set by country: the company's French blog listed monthly plans between 16.80 and 178.80 euros in May 2026, an order of magnitude for the euro market rather than a UK quote. Check the plan page for your own country, and whether the figure includes tax.
The structural limit matters more than the price: a Wix site cannot be exported. Moving elsewhere means rebuilding it, keeping your text and images and nothing else.
Shopify: built to sell, costly for anything else
Shopify is a hosted e-commerce platform. Payments, stock, shipping, tax and sales channels are built in, which is a fair part of why it sits second above. Card fees sit on top of the subscription: a percentage plus a fixed amount per transaction, with an extra platform fee if you do not use Shopify Payments. Published euro pricing for France in September 2026 ran from 27 euros a month on Basic with annual billing to 2,100 euros for Shopify Plus, which shows the spread even though your own figures will differ. The Shopify pricing page gives the rates that apply where you are.
Those costs are coherent for a shop that sells, and hard to justify for a brochure site with a contact form. The blog and content pages stay more limited than WordPress.
Squarespace: careful design for simple needs
Squarespace stands out for the quality of its templates, which is why photographers, architects and lifestyle brands gravitate towards it. The Squarespace pricing page lists four plans, a 14-day free trial and a discount of up to 36% for annual billing. One detail matters if you sell: the entry plan takes a 2% transaction fee on store sales, while the other three take none.
The trade-off is the same as with Wix: customisation inside set limits, a small add-on ecosystem, a painful migration.
Webflow: design control for teams with a designer
Webflow targets designers and agencies that want a bespoke result without building a theme. It produces clean markup, includes a content management layer and lets you export the HTML. The Webflow pricing page quotes US dollars, excluding tax, per site: a free Starter tier on a Webflow subdomain, Basic at 15 dollars a month and Premium, which includes the CMS, at 25 dollars a month on annual billing, with e-commerce plans from 29 to 212 dollars a month.
The learning curve is real. A business with no in-house design skill depends on its agency for every structural change, which works while that relationship lasts.
The five platforms side by side
| Criterion | WordPress.org | Wix | Shopify | Squarespace | Webflow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main use | Any kind of site | Brochure site, small shop | Online shop | Brochure site, portfolio | Bespoke brochure site |
| Software cost | Free, hosting separate | Subscription | Subscription plus payment fees | Subscription | Subscription in US dollars |
| Maintenance | Yours to arrange | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Ownership and export | Complete | No export | Data exports, site does not | Partial export | Code export |
| Editing on your own | High, with training | High | High | High | Moderate |
| Advanced technical work | Unrestricted | Limited | Good | Limited | Unrestricted |
Four questions that settle it
What will you need in three years, not three months
A five-page brochure site, a weekly blog, a catalogue of 200 products and a customer login area are not the same project. Choose for the business you expect in three years, not the one you have this month.
The five-year total, not the monthly fee
Add up subscription or hosting, the domain, add-ons, transaction fees, maintenance and internal time. A subscription at 40 pounds a month is 2,400 pounds across five years before a single extra. Self-hosted WordPress costs less in software and more in attention: either a maintenance contract or qualified time you already pay for. Neither is free; one is simply more visible on an invoice.
Whether you can leave
With WordPress you take everything with you. With Shopify you export products and customers, then rebuild the site. With Wix or Squarespace you start again from close to zero. This weighs almost nothing on launch day and a great deal when you come to plan a redesign.
Who runs the updates
A hosted platform removes a real mental load, and for a business with no technical staff that is worth paying for. Self-hosted WordPress needs a named owner with a defined scope: updates, backups, monitoring, and someone to call when something breaks. Choosing WordPress without settling that question is a recurring source of trouble in the audits we run.
Recommendations by profile
- Independent creative, portfolio and enquiries. Squarespace or Wix, for a clean result and no maintenance. WordPress if the blog is meant to become a real acquisition channel.
- Restaurant, local shop, trade business. WordPress with a suitable theme, so that local search visibility and later additions such as booking do not force a change of tool.
- Online shop. Shopify if you want to sell quickly and delegate the technical side. WooCommerce on WordPress if you would rather avoid platform fees, own your data and have a provider lined up.
- Consultant or B2B services firm. WordPress, for content, lead generation and marketing integrations. Webflow if brand image is the priority and an agency will maintain the site.
If you are weighing whether to hand the project to an agency, our page on websites for small and medium-sized businesses sets out how a build runs.
Mistakes worth avoiding
- Choosing on the first month's price. Promotional rates often rise sharply on renewal, and the renewal rate is what you pay for years.
- Over-specifying. A five-figure site to test an idea with no customers is a slow way to learn what one page would have taught you.
- Underestimating content. The budget for copy and photography is often more decisive than the tool, and usually what delays launch.
- Forgetting the exit. Keep your own access credentials, register the domain in your company's name, and export your content regularly.
Common questions
Which is the best website builder for a small business brochure site?
With no technical skill in-house, Wix or Squarespace are enough and include maintenance. If the site has to evolve, carry a blog or support local search, WordPress gives more room, provided you decide who handles updates.
What is the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?
WordPress.org is the free open-source software you install with your own host; you own everything and arrange the maintenance. WordPress.com is a hosted subscription with maintenance included, but your own plugins only become possible from the Business plan.
Shopify or WooCommerce for an online shop?
Shopify suits you if you want to sell quickly and delegate the technical side, accepting a subscription and payment fees. WooCommerce avoids platform fees and leaves you owning the data, but needs suitable hosting and continuing maintenance.
Can you move to a different platform later?
Moving from Wix or Squarespace to WordPress amounts to rebuilding the site; only text and images come across. From Shopify, products and customers export while the storefront does not. From WordPress you take the whole site.
What does a website really cost over five years?
Count the subscription or hosting, the domain, add-ons, transaction fees, maintenance and internal time. A subscription at 40 pounds a month comes to 2,400 pounds over five years before extras. Self-hosted WordPress costs less in software and needs a maintenance budget instead.
Does the platform affect search rankings?
No platform ranks better by name. What differs is the control you have over titles, structured data, redirects, internal linking and page speed. WordPress and Webflow leave that open; the closed editors handle the basics and limit the rest.