The platform your website is built on decides what it costs to run, how easily you can update it and how much work it takes to rank on Google. There is no single best choice. There is a best choice for your business.
Here is how the main options compare, and which one we would recommend for different kinds of business.
The Options at a Glance
| Platform | Running costs | Editing yourself | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress | Hosting from about £5 a month | Easy once set up | Service businesses, blogs, course sites | Plugins and updates need looking after |
| Shopify | A monthly subscription, plus apps | Very easy | Shops selling products | Costs grow with apps; less flexible for content |
| Wix or Squarespace | A monthly subscription | Very easy | Testing an idea on a tight budget | Hard to move away from; limited control |
| Custom build | Low hosting costs | Needs a developer or editing tool | Speed-critical or bespoke sites | Changes cost more without an editor set up |
WordPress
WordPress is free, open-source software that runs a large share of the web. You pay for hosting and for the build, and you own everything.
Choose WordPress if you run a service business, want to publish articles or guides, or need features like course booking. With WooCommerce added, it can run a full online shop too.
The trade-off: WordPress relies on plugins, and plugins need updating. A neglected WordPress site gets slow and becomes a security risk. That is why a maintenance plan or a careful owner matters.
Examples from our work: Coregrid Engineering, Diyah Aesthetics Clinic and London Security College, which uses WooCommerce for course booking.
Shopify
Shopify is a hosted platform built for selling products. Hosting, security and checkout are handled for you, so you can focus on your products.
Choose Shopify if selling physical products online is the main job of your website and you want a checkout that just works.
The trade-off: you pay a monthly subscription, most stores add paid apps, and Shopify charges extra transaction fees if you don’t use its own payment system. It is also less flexible for content-heavy sites: page addresses are forced into fixed formats such as /products/ and /pages/, which limits how you structure the site for SEO.
Wix and Squarespace
Website builders let you drag and drop a site together yourself. They are quick and cheap to start.
Choose a builder if you are testing a business idea and need something online this week with almost no budget.
The trade-off: you are renting the platform. You can’t take your site with you if you outgrow it, and you have less control over speed and SEO than with the other options. Most businesses that are serious about getting enquiries from Google move off them eventually.
A Custom Build
A custom website is coded specifically for your business. Modern custom sites are often built as fast, static pages with very little that can break or be hacked.
Choose custom if speed matters most (for example, people finding you on a phone in an emergency), you need something no off-the-shelf platform does well, or you want a site with almost no maintenance.
The trade-off: without an editing tool set up, changes go through a developer. That suits some businesses perfectly and frustrates others.
Examples from our work: Breakdown Recovery Hub and London Inspections, both custom builds made to load quickly on mobile.
Which Platform Ranks Best on Google?
Any of them can rank. Google does not prefer one platform over another. What matters is:
- Speed, especially on mobile
- Structure, with a clear page for each service, product or location
- Content that answers what people actually search for
- Technical basics such as titles, headings, a sitemap and clean URLs
A badly built custom site will lose to a well-built WordPress site every time, and the reverse is just as true. The platform matters less than how carefully it is set up.
Our Recommendation
- Most service businesses: WordPress, because it is flexible, affordable and easy to update.
- Shops selling products: Shopify, or WooCommerce if you also need lots of content or custom features.
- Emergency, local or speed-critical services: a custom build.
- Testing an idea: a website builder, with a plan to move when it works.
We build on whichever platform suits the business, and our prices are the same either way: websites from £900 with no VAT to add.
Not sure which fits? Book a free 15-minute call and we will tell you honestly, even if the answer is a platform you can set up yourself.