Wix vs professional web design: build it yourself or hire a designer?

The short answer: which one suits whom?

Building your own site with a website builder such as Wix or Squarespace suits people with a very limited budget, who want to test an idea with a single page and have time to spend on the site. Having a website built by a professional fits better when you need a site that presents several services, is expected to show up in search and bring in inquiries, has tracking and legal texts set up properly, and you do not have time for this work.

The two paths are not rivals; they answer different needs. Below you will find the fees on the platforms' official pricing pages, when each path makes sense, and a side-by-side comparison. How we build websites is explained on our web design services page.

What website builders cost

As of November 2026, Wix's pricing page for Türkiye lists four Premium plans, priced in Turkish lira (TL): Mini at 75 TL a month, Klasik (Classic) at 115 TL a month, İşletme (Business) at 230 TL a month and İşletme Elit (Business Elite) at 800 TL a month. According to the note on the page, these prices apply to yearly subscriptions paid in full at purchase and do not include taxes. Every plan includes connecting a custom domain and a free domain for one year. According to the FAQ on Wix's pricing page, creating a site is free; a Premium plan is needed to connect your own domain and remove Wix branding from the site.

As of November 2026, Squarespace's pricing page shows the following amounts in Turkish lira (TRY): with yearly billing, Basic is 420 TRY a month, Core 600 TRY a month and Advanced 1,430 TRY a month. With monthly billing, the same plans are 600, 860 and 2,060 TRY. According to the page, Squarespace has no free plan; every site starts with a 14-day free trial. Yearly plans include a free domain for the first year, after which the domain renews at the standard rate.

These amounts can change on the platforms' own pages and are finalized with taxes at checkout. Before you decide, check the current amount on the platform's own pricing page.

When building it yourself makes sense

If you want to test an idea or a new service with a one-page site, a website builder is a quick, low-cost route. You do not need to set aside a large budget before you see whether there is demand. When the budget is truly tight, being online with a yearly subscription is also better than having no site at all.

For someone with time and a willingness to learn, templates and a drag-and-drop editor are a good starting point. A personal portfolio, a short-term event page, or a small site whose content changes often and that you want to manage yourself are examples where this route fits.

When you build it yourself, the copy, images, contact details and legal texts are still your responsibility. Registering the domain in your own name and adding the site to Google Search Console are two steps not to forget on this route either.

When hiring a professional makes sense

For businesses with several services, where each service needs its own page in search, the page structure, titles and internal links have to be planned from the start. That planning is different work from placing content into a template. What a business website needs is explained in detail in our article on what makes a good business website.

If you need form, phone and WhatsApp clicks tracked, a privacy notice and cookie information set up (under KVKK for a business in Türkiye), a booking form, more than one language or a design of your own, having the site built saves time. This route also fits better if it matters that the site's code and hosting are fully under your control, so you can continue with another company later.

The factor most often overlooked is time. Building a site, writing copy, preparing images and configuring settings can take a business owner weeks. Taking that time away from the business itself is also a cost.

Comparison: cost, time, ownership and SEO

The table below compares the two paths by the same criteria. The website builder column is based on the platforms' own pricing and help pages. The professional column depends on the company you work with and the contract, so it is a good idea to ask about these points in writing when you request quotes. Our prices are set in Turkish lira; the US dollar amounts in this article are converted at today's Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) rate.

Prices are set in Turkish lira and exclude VAT. USD amounts use the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye rate of November 12, 2026 (1 USD = ₺50.17).

Why portability and the domain matter

According to Wix's help page, a Wix site must be hosted on Wix servers to work properly, and the infrastructure does not support external hosting. The page also states that the content you create on Wix belongs to you. According to Squarespace's help page, export is done only as an XML file in WordPress format; page layouts, gallery pages and a single blog are exported, while store pages, style settings and custom CSS are not.

This means that if you later move away from a site built with a website builder, the design has to be rebuilt. The copy, images and domain can be moved to the new site. According to Wix's help page, a domain bought through Wix can be transferred to another provider; to do so, the domain is unlocked and an authorization code is obtained, and a transfer cannot be made within 60 days of a purchase or a change to the owner details.

The same question should be asked when you have a site built. Our rule is this: Hosting, server and domain always stay in the client's own account. We are given admin access, the client pays the provider, and renewal tracking and reminders are part of the service. A .com.tr domain is allocated to the first applicant, with no documents required.

Can you build it yourself first and hire a professional later?

Yes, and it is a common, sensible route. Launching with a website builder and seeing which service draws interest, which questions customers ask and how many inquiries the site brings in clarifies the scope of the site you have built later. The copy written and the images collected in this period are used on the new site too.

To make the switch easier, it is enough to register the domain in your own name from the start, set up Search Console with your own account and keep a list of your page addresses. When the new site goes live, redirects are set up from the old addresses to the new ones and your search history is kept. What to prepare before asking for quotes is in our article on hiring a web designer.

What a professional website costs, and our packages

As of November 2026, the setup fee for our business website packages is $359 to $1,097, excl. VAT, and the page count is set as follows: Starter: 5-7, Standard: 8-12, Premium: 13-20. The smallest package, Starter, is $359, excl. VAT, and includes 5-7 pages with a delivery time of 3-7 days.

This fee is higher than a website builder's yearly subscription. The difference comes from planning the page structure, basic SEO settings, a contact form and WhatsApp button, the privacy and cookie setup, and the code and hosting being in your own account. A site you have built also has yearly costs for hosting and the domain; check the provider's current price list for those. Maintenance is optional and, as of November 2026, costs $60 to $130, excl. VAT, for business websites.

The factors that set the price are explained in our article on how much a website costs. To see which package fits after a few questions, use our package finder, or review all packages on our pricing page.