A real Wix alternative. UK-built.
Wix is easy to start with and hard to live with. Slow load times, awkward SEO, monthly fees forever. Here's the honest alternative.
Why people leave Wix
The complaints we hear most: site is slow on mobile, ranking is poor compared to competitors, the editor changes things you didn't ask for, and "free" plans show Wix ads on your business website.
Most people start on Wix because it's free or near-free for the first year. By year two they're on a paid plan, by year three they're paying £15-£25/month and wondering why their site doesn't rank. That's usually when they call us.
3-year total cost
| Wix Core/Business | PageLaunch Growth | |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 (paid plan) | £132-£204 | £240 build + £120 hosting |
| Year 2-3 | £264-£408 | £240 |
| 3-year total | £396-£612 | £600 |
| Page speed (mobile) | Often 40-60 Lighthouse | 90+ Lighthouse |
| Own the site | No | Yes |
Speed, SEO and ranking
Wix sites typically score 40-60 on Google's mobile Lighthouse test because of the editor's overhead. Our builds typically score 90+. Page speed is now a confirmed Google ranking factor — that gap matters.
On the SEO side, Wix has improved since 2022 but is still behind a hand-coded site for technical SEO. Schema markup, structured data and clean URL hierarchy are all easier to do properly when you're not constrained by an editor.
DIY vs done-for-you
Wix's pitch is "build it yourself in an afternoon". The reality for most small business owners is 20-40 hours of editor wrestling, ending in something they're not proud of. Your time isn't free.
Done-for-you isn't the right answer for everyone — but for most tradespeople, café owners, salon owners and sole traders, paying us £240 for 5-7 days of professional work beats spending two weekends on Wix.
Honest, fixed prices
One-off build cost, then a small monthly hosting fee. No retainers.
Starter
One-page site. Hosting from £4.99/mo.
- Single page, mobile-first
- Contact form
- Google Maps embed
- Local SEO basics
Growth
Up to 5 pages. Hosting from £9.99/mo.
- Up to 5 pages
- Service area pages
- Reviews integration
- Schema markup
Scale
Up to 10 pages. Hosting from £29.99/mo.
- Up to 10 pages
- Blog setup
- Booking integration
- Priority support
Migration from Wix
Same process as Squarespace — we don't literally migrate, we rebuild on our platform with your content and branding. 5-7 days, zero downtime, you stay on Wix until launch day.
Feature comparison
- Speed: PageLaunch sites typically 90+ Lighthouse mobile vs Wix's 40-60
- SEO: Hand-coded schema, clean URLs, no editor overhead
- Ownership: Yours forever vs Wix subscription dependency
- Support: Real human via WhatsApp vs Wix support tickets
- Hosting: Fast UK servers from £4.99/mo
- Editing: Simple editor for prices/text, we handle bigger changes
Case study
A mobile mechanic in Crawley had been on Wix for two years (£312 spent), ranking nowhere despite paying for Wix's "SEO Wiz". Migrated to PageLaunch for £240, ranking top 3 for "mobile mechanic Crawley" within four months. Hosting £9.99/mo.
Browse our testimonials or read how to choose a web designer for what to look for.
Who should still use Wix
Wix still suits hobbyists, side projects, very simple personal sites where the editor itself is part of the appeal. For real small business websites that need to rank and convert, the case for moving away is strong.
See also: Squarespace alternative if you're comparing both, and our cheap web design for the broader market context.
Common questions
No — we integrate Calendly, Acuity or Fresha which usually does more than Wix's native scheduling.
For under 50 products we can rebuild on a lighter platform. For larger stores we'll honestly point you to Shopify.
Yes. Your domain is yours regardless of where it's registered. We just point it at the new site.
Typically 5-7 days. You stay on Wix until the new site is ready.
Yes — we give you a simple editor for prices, hours and text. Bigger changes we handle.
Ready for a website that does the job?
Tell us about your business and we'll have a quote with you the same day.
Sign UpWeb design across Sussex and Surrey
Based in Sussex, serving small businesses UK-wide.