Sales in Vodafone’s test
In an A/B test, a landing page with a 31% better LCP produced 8% more sales. It is one specific case, not a universal promise, but it shows that speed can have a measurable business impact.
web.dev case studyGuides
Wix, DIY or a professional website? The real cost of “just being online”
Saving money on a website can be sensible. Confusing the lowest price with the lowest cost is not. An evidence-based guide to why “just being online” is not a business standard.
In short
Wix can publish a website and that website can rank: this is not the same as giving a business a controlled, portable digital asset designed to last. A builder may be proportionate for a personal, temporary experiment with negligible risk. For a real business, even one that does not sell online, every visit affects reputation, visibility and enquiry opportunities. A smaller goal reduces scope and investment, not minimum standards for speed, security, accessibility, technical cleanliness, ownership and continuity.
Gian Luca Partengo
Web developer since 1995 · bespoke websites · Updated
What does a cheap website really cost?
The starting price is one line in the bill. The real cost follows the website throughout its life.
A builder may cost only a few dozen euros a month, and a friend may charge almost nothing. Those figures are easy to compare, but they do not measure time taken away from work, features added later, support, missed commercial opportunities or the cost of leaving the chosen solution.
The right comparison is not “€500 versus €3,000”. It is between two complete scenarios over the same period: what you invest, what you receive, what you can measure, how free you remain and what happens when the business changes.
For price ranges, quote items and recurring costs, also read the guide to how much a professional website costs.
Real cost over time
project + subscriptions + time + maintenance + migration + missed opportunities
What you can see
Upfront price
What comes later
- Internal hours spent learning, writing and fixing
- Plans, apps, extensions and renewals
- Content and structure that need rebuilding
- Lost enquiries no one measures
- Dependence on a platform or supplier
- Early migration when the project grows
What does the data say about performance, accessibility and platforms?
Useful numbers do not prove that one technology always wins. They show which consequences are worth measuring.
People with significant disability
WHO estimates that 16% of the global population experiences significant disability. An inaccessible website excludes real people before compliance even enters the discussion.
WHO disability fact sheetAlternative hosts for an exported Wix site
Wix states that customers own their content, but the site must run on its proprietary infrastructure and cannot be hosted elsewhere as it stands. The domain is transferable; the project must be rebuilt.
Official Wix documentationWhen can a website genuinely be called professional?
Not when it is expensive, animated or built with fashionable technology. When it solves a business problem in a verifiable, sustainable way.
Goal and priorities
It defines the audience, need, desired action and success indicator before choosing colours or a platform.
Content and positioning
It explains why the company should be chosen through specific copy, proof, hierarchy and a recognisable voice.
Architecture and journeys
It organises information into understandable pages and steps without forcing visitors to guess where to click.
Technical and semantic SEO
It keeps content, URLs, links, metadata and structured data coherent, crawlable and useful to people.
Performance and accessibility
It works on real devices and connections, with keyboards, assistive technology and user preferences.
Measurement and continuity
After launch it observes visits, enquiries, errors and behaviour, with ownership, access and responsibilities assigned.
- 01Understand
- 02Decide
- 03Design
- 04Build
- 05Measure
- 06Improve
Is Wix really bad for SEO?
No: Wix does not prevent rankings and now provides many essential SEO features. But “can be indexed” does not mean “best choice for every business”.
Wix lets users manage titles, meta descriptions, slugs, canonicals, redirects and structured data. Aggregated HTTP Archive data also contradicts the idea that every Wix website is technically disastrous. SEO fails more often because of generic content, weak architecture, ignored competition, pointless pages and no ongoing work.
A professional critique must therefore focus on the real trade-off: Wix buys operational simplicity by giving up control, portability and design freedom. That exchange is acceptable only when the business consequences are negligible and a future rebuild is already expected. It is not the premise I would choose for the digital foundation of a business.
Proportionate exception
When Wix may make sense
- You are creating a personal experiment or a disposable prototype
- The page is temporary and does not represent a business over time
- A limitation, outage or rebuild would cause no commercial damage
- You need no distinctive identity, data, integrations or portability
- You accept the subscription, dependence and future rebuild from the start
Strategic constraint
When I would not choose it for a business
- The site represents a business or professional, even without online sales
- It is one of the first places where a prospect checks your credibility
- It must be found, measure enquiries or support commercial activity
- Brand, content, journeys and performance must be properly governed
- Ownership, portability and growth cannot depend on a closed ecosystem
“Wix is free”
The free plan is useful for testing. A professional domain, features, apps and growth introduce subscriptions and possible extras.
“Wix does everything”
It automates infrastructure and tools. It does not decide positioning, content, priorities, proof or commercial strategy.
“I own my Wix site”
You can own the content and domain; the working project remains tied to proprietary infrastructure.
“Wix cannot rank”
False as a general rule. It can rank; project quality, content, competition and sustained work make the difference.
“Custom is always better”
False when the method is missing. The advantage appears when custom code is designed, controlled and verified throughout.
“Being online is enough”
Being reachable is not the same as being found, understood, trusted and chosen.
Why does DIY cost money even when no one invoices you?
Because an owner’s time has value and invisible mistakes do not appear on an invoice.
The bill that never arrives by email
Learn the toolyour time
Write and organiseyour time
Test and fixyour time
Handle problems and renewalsyour risk
Rebuild when you growfuture cost
Upfront priceis not total cost
DIY is rational for a personal experiment when risk is negligible and learning is part of the goal. Once a website carries a business name, the risk is no longer merely technical: the person running the business spends days laying out pages and following tutorials without knowing how much trust, visibility or how many enquiries are being lost.
The problem with “a cousin who builds websites” is not the family relationship. A relative may be an excellent professional. The problem begins when there is no analysis, accountability, scope, testing, handover of access or post-launch support.
Amateur websites rarely fail spectacularly. More often they stay online and appear to work while communicating poorly, measuring nothing and silently losing opportunities. Because no invoice makes this visible, the business may tolerate a cost it cannot attribute for years.
A smaller goal reduces the scope of the project. It does not lower minimum standards: speed, security, accessibility, clarity, discoverability, ownership and accountability.
No research
Work starts with the home page, not with customer questions, competitors or available data.
Interchangeable copy
“Quality, passion and professionalism” do not explain a difference or help anyone choose.
Inside-out navigation
The builder already knows where everything is and cannot see where a new visitor gets lost.
Missing checks
Mobile, keyboard, forms, errors, browsers, speed and assistive technology often remain untested.
Decorative data
Analytics is installed, but events, conversions, lead quality and resulting decisions are never defined.
No aftercare
There is no owner, backup, credential record, renewal calendar or criterion for knowing when to intervene.
When is hand-coded work genuinely more valuable?
“Hand-coded” is not a guarantee. The method used to analyse, design, develop and verify the website can become one.
The correct comparison is not between Wix and any collection of HTML files. It is between a standard solution built within constraints chosen by a platform and a project whose architecture, content, interface and code respond to specific, verifiable requirements.
In my work, custom code is not a technical pose: it removes what is unnecessary, reduces dependencies and attack surface, controls semantics, URLs, SEO and structured data, designs for performance and leaves the business with a transferable website. Hand-coded is not enough; method is the difference.
Real value
When custom work fulfils its promise
- It contains only the features and code the project needs
- It uses semantic HTML and content without fragile dependencies
- It has performance budgets, tests and accessibility criteria
- It documents structure, access, deployment and responsibilities
- It plans URLs, redirects, metadata, sitemaps and structured data
- It remains editable and transferable without a closed ecosystem
Improvised craftsmanship
When custom code is just another problem
- It is written without standards, version control or documentation
- It only works on the computer of the person who created it
- It makes frequent updates difficult when a CMS was actually needed
- It ignores security, errors, backups and maintenance
- It confuses animation and novelty with usability
- It has no goals, measurement or accountable owner after launch
What are the invisible costs of a badly made website?
They do not have an immediate accounting line, but they slow sales, people and decisions.
Lost trust
Vague messages, inconsistent imagery and neglected details create doubt before anyone makes contact.
Missed enquiries
Weak calls to action, awkward forms and confusing journeys lose people who were already interested.
Wasted traffic
Advertising and sales activity send visits to pages that cannot turn them into useful actions.
Unusable data
Without events, goals and context, visits become numbers to watch instead of information for decisions.
Technical debt
Every shortcut makes the next change slower, riskier and more expensive.
Lock-in
Changing platform or supplier requires a rebuild just when the business needs to accelerate.
Excluded people
Contrast, keyboard, comprehension and form barriers reduce the audience and may increase legal risk.
Deferred opportunity
The site remains a passive brochure instead of supporting sales, hiring, service, reputation and automation.
Which solution should you actually choose?
Scope may change; the minimum standard does not. Choose according to the real consequences of an error, not merely the entry price.
| Solution | Makes sense when | What you gain | What price you accept |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY builder | Personal or temporary experiment, with no responsibility for a business’s reputation. | Fast start, predictable subscription, operational autonomy. | Internal time, result limited by your expertise, lock-in. |
| Builder + professional | You want SaaS simplicity without improvising strategy, UX and content. | Rapid launch with stronger decisions and configuration. | Platform subscription and constraints remain. |
| Open CMS | Frequent publishing, several editors, features available in the ecosystem. | Editorial autonomy, extensions, greater content portability. | Updates, security, variable quality of themes and plugins. |
| Custom website | The site is strategic and must differentiate, integrate or meet precise requirements. | Control, performance, identity, portability and proportionate code. | Upfront investment and the need for a competent point of contact. |
The table describes typical trade-offs. For an active business I do not consider a DIY builder equivalent to a professional project: it can publish pages, but it does not replace analysis, accountability, testing and control of the digital asset.
How do you know whether your site is working or merely existing?
Answer yes or no to these twenty questions. Each yes earns one point: this is not a scientific test, but a quick way to make gaps visible.
Business and content
- Does the site have one written, shared primary goal?
- Does every page answer a specific customer need?
- Is the difference from competitors concrete and verifiable?
- Is there proof: work, data, testimonials or real cases?
- Is the next action clear without having to search for it?
Search and measurement
- Are titles, descriptions and H1s unique and coherent?
- Do URLs and navigation describe an understandable structure?
- Can Google crawl content, CSS, images and links?
- Are Search Console, sitemap and canonicals configured?
- Do you measure enquiries, calls, sales or other useful events?
Experience and quality
- Is the site readable and usable on mobile?
- Are Core Web Vitals checked with field data when available?
- Can people navigate and complete forms with a keyboard?
- Are contrast, focus, errors and alternative text handled?
- Do forms explain submission and errors clearly?
Ownership and continuity
- Are the domain and main accounts registered to the business?
- Do you own the necessary access, content, licences and copies?
- Do you know what happens if you change supplier or platform?
- Do backups, updates and renewals have an owner?
- Is there a periodic review based on data and goals?
0–5 yes
Fragile presence
The site exists, but exposes the business to important gaps.
6–10 yes
Passive brochure
It communicates something, but does little work and measures even less.
11–15 yes
Incomplete system
The foundation is sound; some gaps limit results or continuity.
16–20 yes
Governed asset
Goals, experience, technology and responsibilities are under control.
GLP editorial diagnostic scale: it helps frame an audit and does not replace technical, legal or market checks.
What are you paying for in a professional website project?
Much of the value is created before and after code is written. It is less visible work, but it determines whether the site becomes an investment or another expense.
-
01
Diagnosis
Goals, audience, offer, competition, constraints, existing data and success criteria.
-
02
Architecture
Page map, priorities, content relationships, URLs and journeys towards action.
-
03
Content
Messages, proof, voice, hierarchy, microcopy, metadata and consistent visual material.
-
04
UX and interface
Prototypes and design built around content, brand and real devices.
-
05
Development
Proportionate technology, maintainable code, baseline security and necessary integrations.
-
06
Quality
Responsive, browser, form, accessibility, performance, technical SEO and error-handling tests.
-
07
Launch
Redirects, canonicals, sitemap, indexing, analytics, backups, ownership and documentation.
-
08
Improvement
Reviewing results, correcting issues, adding content and making decisions from real signals.
The decision in one sentence
Wix may be enough to publish something. That does not make it suitable for representing a business. If the business is real, every visit can strengthen or weaken reputation, trust and the chance of being chosen: even a small website should therefore be professionally designed, controlled and verified.
Which sources support this guide?
I separated data, technical documentation and editorial criteria. The sources below support the cited facts; the assessment and decision matrix are an explicitly labelled professional synthesis.
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Google Search Central — SEO Starter GuideOpen source
Principles for useful content, site organisation, descriptive URLs, links and SEO priorities.
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Google Search Central — URL structureOpen source
Official requirements and recommendations for crawlable, readable and coherent URLs.
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web.dev — Core Web Vitals thresholdsOpen source
Updated definitions and thresholds for LCP, INP and CLS, evaluated at the 75th percentile.
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web.dev — Vodafone case studyOpen source
A/B test of the impact of a 31% LCP improvement on sales and the commercial journey.
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HTTP Archive — 2025 Web Almanac, CMS chapterOpen source
Aggregated adoption, weight, Core Web Vitals and Lighthouse data for major CMSs and builders.
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Wix Help Center — Export and hostingOpen source
Official explanation of content ownership and the site’s dependence on Wix infrastructure.
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W3C WAI — The business case for accessibilityOpen source
Benefits for innovation, brand, market reach and risk reduction, with research and cases.
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World Health Organization — Disability and healthOpen source
Global estimate of 1.3 billion people, or 16% of the population, experiencing significant disability.
Sources accessed and verified on 16 July 2026. Platform data and features may change; this page always reports its update date.
Frequently asked questions
Direct answers to common questions about Wix, DIY, URLs and professional websites.
Is Wix SEO friendly?
Wix provides the essential technical SEO features and can rank. Results still depend on content, structure, competition, performance, links and ongoing work. The platform does not replace an SEO strategy.
Do URLs ending in .html hurt SEO?
There is no automatic Google penalty caused by the suffix alone, but I prefer clean URLs for new projects: they are more readable, technology-independent and built to last. A .html ending on an existing site is an architectural signal to assess alongside duplicates, hierarchy, parameters and redirects.
When is a DIY website a good idea?
For a personal or temporary experiment, when commercial risk is negligible and learning is part of the goal. If the website represents a business, even without online sales, reputation, visibility and enquiries make DIY a choice with business consequences.
Does a professional website have to be expensive?
No. It can have few pages and an essential scope, but not lower standards. Speed, security, accessibility, clarity, technical SEO, ownership, testing and continuity remain professional requirements even in a small project.
Who owns a website made with Wix?
Customers own the content they create and can transfer the domain. The working site uses proprietary Wix technology, however, and cannot be moved as it stands to external hosting.
Can a Wix site be migrated to a custom website?
Yes, by recovering content, images, available data and URLs to preserve, then rebuilding on the new technology. An URL map and 301 redirects prevent broken links and unnecessary loss of SEO signals.
Is a hand-coded website always faster?
Not automatically. The advantage becomes concrete when it contains only what is needed and is developed with method: semantic, version-controlled code; optimised images and fonts; fewer dependencies; security, accessibility, technical SEO and performance designed and tested.
How do you measure whether a website is well made?
With indicators tied to goals: enquiries and sales, lead quality, journey completion, errors, accessibility, indexing and field Core Web Vitals. Lighthouse is useful for diagnosis, but it does not replace business data and outcomes.
Next step
Is your website working or merely existing?
If the website exists but has problems, “at least it is online” is not enough. Run a free first check: I analyse the visible technical signals and show you where it is losing value and where action is worthwhile.