Comparison
Hand-coded by ArdinGate vs. Wix, Squarespace & Webflow
Page builders are fine for some businesses. They're terrible for others. The honest breakdown — cost, performance, ownership, SEO, and what happens five years in.
| ArdinGate (hand-coded) | Wix / Squarespace | Webflow | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | $1,000–$2,500 one-time | $0 to start | $0 to start |
| Monthly cost | $30–$75 hosting only (optional) | $17–$45 subscription (required) | $18–$45 subscription (required) |
| 5-year total | ~$3,800 | ~$1,500–$2,700 | ~$1,600–$2,700 |
| Site ownership | You own the code outright | Rented, can't self-host | Export possible, limited |
| Load time (typical) | < 1s first paint | 2–4s first paint | 1–2s first paint |
| Core Web Vitals | Pass by default | Often fails on mobile | Usually passes |
| Custom functionality | Whatever you need (PHP) | Platform allows only | Webflow allows only |
| Vendor lock-in | None | Total | Heavy |
| Support | Same person who built it | Outsourced tier-one queue | Outsourced tier-one queue |
| SEO control | Full (schema, meta, robots) | Limited (platform decides) | Good but platform-gated |
When a page builder actually makes sense
If you need a site online this weekend for a short-lived event, a quick-launch portfolio, or you explicitly don't care about owning anything — Wix and Squarespace are fine tools. They're designed for zero-technical-knowledge launch, and they deliver on that.
The problem is that most small businesses aren't in that situation. They have a site they intend to keep running for years. They want it to rank on Google. They'd rather not rebuild it every time the platform pivots or jacks up pricing. That's where a hand-coded site pays for itself.
The 5-year math
Take a small business looking at a basic multi-page site. Squarespace's Business plan runs $23/month — that's $1,380 over 5 years. Wix's Business plan is $27/month — $1,620 over 5 years. Neither includes what a typical hand-coded build costs upfront, and the monthly clock never stops.
A hand-coded ArdinGate multi-page site is $2,500 once, plus optional $30–$75/month hosting. At the $30 tier that's $4,300 over 5 years — real money, but you own the code, the database, and the domain, and you've been getting direct support from the same person the whole time. Skip the hosting and you're at $2,500 total for 5 years. Either way, on year 6 the math tilts hard toward the hand-coded side and keeps tilting.
Still not sure which side of this you're on?
Send a quick description of what you're building and I'll tell you honestly which fits.
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