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← Topline Studio · Wix vs Topline
Issue Nº 04 · An honest comparison

WIX versus Topline. Which is right for you?

I get this question every week, so here's the honest answer: Wix is great for some businesses. I'm great for others. A side-by-side of where each one wins — and how to pick the one that fits.

Tale of the tape
In this corner WIX A DIY website-builder platform
vs
And in this corner TTopline Studio One designer, hand-built, in Liverpool
Side by side · spec sheet

The honest comparison.

No "we're better at everything." Here's what each one actually wins on.

What matters
Wix · DIY platform
Topline · solo studio
Upfront cost
£12–£38 / month for the platform
£600–£3,000 one-off + optional Care plan
Time you'll spend building
40–80 hours of your own time
~1 hour total (one questionnaire + feedback)
Looks like a real business
Only if you're a designer at heart
Hand-built design — every site unique
Mobile speed (Lighthouse)
Typically 40–65 / 100
85+ / 100 — every site I ship
Google ranking
OK with effort and the SEO add-on
Hand-tuned local SEO + schema standard
You own the site
No — locked to Wix's platform, can't export
Yes — domain, files, hosting, the lot
Custom features
Limited to what Wix's app store sells
Anything you can imagine — I build it
If it breaks at 11pm
Wix support queue, scripted reps
Care plan: same-day response, real human
Best fit when…
You're testing an idea, side-project, very tight budget, willing to DIY
Your business depends on the site bringing in customers and your time is worth more than the build fee
The verdict

Pick what fits — honestly.

Neither tool is bad. They're built for different people. Here's how to know which is you.

Go with WIX if…

You want it cheap and you've got weekends to fiddle.

  • You're testing a side project or just want to "exist online"
  • You enjoy fiddling with design and have weekends to spare
  • Your business doesn't depend on Google traffic or customer enquiries
  • Total budget is under £500 and a one-off build doesn't fit
  • You're comfortable being locked into one platform forever
Go with Topline if…

Your business runs on customer enquiries.

  • Your business runs on new customer enquiries from Google
  • Your time is worth more than £30/hour (most owners' is)
  • You want a site that loads fast, ranks well, and looks like a real business
  • You want a real human to call when something breaks — not a ticket queue
  • You want to own everything you're paying for, no platform lock-in
Common questions

What people ask before switching from Wix.

Can you migrate my existing Wix site over?

Not directly — Wix doesn't let you export. What I do instead is rebuild your site from scratch (better, faster, on your own domain) and keep the URLs that matter pointed correctly so you don't lose SEO. Most clients see ranking improvements within weeks of switching.

I've spent £X on Wix already. Is that wasted?

The platform fees you've paid are sunk cost — they don't add up to ownership. The content, copy, and photos you've created? Those come with you. I'll reuse anything that's worth reusing and replace anything that isn't.

Does Wix really hurt my Google ranking that much?

"That much" varies. Wix has improved a lot, but in my experience, custom-built sites still consistently outrank Wix sites in competitive local searches — because I control every kilobyte of HTML, every meta tag, every schema entry. Marginal gains add up.

What about Squarespace, Shopify, WordPress?

Different tools, different trade-offs. Squarespace is prettier than Wix but has the same lock-in. Shopify is best-in-class for e-commerce specifically — if that's your whole business, I'd happily build you a Shopify site (it's a real CMS, not a lock-in). WordPress is great if you have a developer; a maintenance liability if you don't. We can talk through any of them on the discovery call.

Not sure?

Run the free audit first.

Audit your current site. I'll tell you honestly whether you need a rebuild or a few tweaks — and if a DIY tool is fine, I'll say so.