Practical guide · 8 min read
Build your website with Wix or have it made?
Wix, Shopify, WordPress.com and «free website» offers promise you can build it yourself in an afternoon. Sometimes that's true and it suits you. Other times you end up paying more, in money and in hours. Here's the comparison, without overselling either side.
Updated 27 October 2026
If you have the time, enjoy doing it yourself and don't mind a monthly subscription, a builder like Wix is a good option. If you'd rather not give up your evenings and want a website that's yours with no monthly fee, having it made usually costs about the same or less over three years. A «free website» is fine for trying things out, but for a business the subdomain and the ads hold it back.
Why so many people start with Wix
The owner of a cake shop in Surquillo sees an ad: «create your free website in minutes». One Sunday she opens Wix, picks a nice template and within an hour has something that already looks like a website. That first hour is real.
That's what builders such as Wix, Shopify, WordPress.com or Squarespace are made for. You pick a template that already looks good on a phone, change the text and photos, and publish without writing code. The platform provides the base design and the hosting. You provide the work and a subscription for as long as the site stays live.
- You start today, without asking anyone for a quote.
- You change whatever you like, whenever you like.
The small print on a «free website»
The free plan is good for learning or testing an idea. For selling, it comes with conditions worth knowing before you put hours into it.
- Your address ends up as «yourbusiness.wixsite.com» or similar. It's long, awkward to read out over the phone, and customers trust it less than «yourbusiness.pe».
- A notice from the platform appears on your site, in front of your customers.
- There are limits on storage or features. Connecting your own domain, taking payments or removing the ads is usually in the paid plans.
- Depending on the plan, you have fewer tools for showing up on Google.
Your options, one by one
- Build it yourself with a builder
You pay a monthly or yearly subscription and put in your time: text, photos, setting up the domain. The result depends on how many hours you give it and how comfortable you are with a computer.
- The nephew or acquaintance who knows how
It's the most common route and sometimes it works out. The most common problem: the site and the domain are tied to his email, and when he goes away to study or changes his number, nobody knows how to log in.
- A freelancer or an agency
Prices vary enormously, from a freelancer who charges little to an agency with several meetings and a design from scratch. Before you pay, ask what's included, whose name everything is in and what each change costs afterwards.
- A fixed-price service
Like ours. You pick a proven example, send your photos and prices, and within a few days you have the site. One payment, no monthly fee; the domain and hosting are paid separately, once a year.
What it costs over three years (approximately)
Comparing only the first month is misleading. The fair way is to add up three years, roughly how long a website lasts before you want to refresh it. These ranges are approximate and change with the plan, the provider and the exchange rate. Take them as an order of magnitude, not a quote.
- Free plan: zero soles, with a subdomain and ads. Hardly anyone stays there more than a few months.
- Builder on a paid plan: the plan that allows your own domain and no ads usually runs from a few dozen to over a hundred soles a month. Over three years that can add up to anywhere from about S/ 1,500 to more than S/ 5,000, not counting extra apps or features.
- Freelancer or agency: the upfront payment can range from about S/ 800 to several thousand, and often comes with a monthly maintenance fee. With domain and hosting, the three-year total depends a lot on who you hire.
- Fixed price: one payment at the start, plus domain and hosting each year. In years two and three you only pay that renewal.
Rather not do it yourself?
We'll have your website ready in 3 days, from PEN 300 as a one-off payment. You send us photos and prices on WhatsApp and we take care of the rest.
Your time has a cost too
Think of a corner shop that delivers around the block and closes at eleven at night. That's when the owner would have to sit down to write copy, crop photos and wrestle with the domain settings.
Picking a template takes an hour. The rest takes weeks of scattered evenings. If you enjoy it, that time isn't a cost. If you're forcing yourself, the site will most likely be left half-done. It's the most common outcome: a published Wix site with the template's sample text still in half the sections.
Google: what you put in matters more than the tool
A website made with Wix can show up on Google. Serious builders have fields for each page's title and description. What makes the difference is the content: saying clearly what you sell and in which district, using light photos that load quickly on mobile data, and laying out the page so customers reach the WhatsApp button. If you build it yourself, all of that depends on knowing what to include and in what order. If you commission it, it depends on who you hire.
Who owns the site if you leave tomorrow
This is what surprises people later. On most builders the site lives inside the platform. You can take your domain with you, but the site itself usually can't be exported. If you stop paying or want to switch, you generally have to rebuild it.
- With a builder, the domain is yours and the site depends on staying subscribed.
- With us, the website is yours with its files and the domain is in your name. If next year you want someone else to work on it, they can.
Who keeps it up to date
On a builder, the platform handles technical updates and you make the content changes. With a freelancer or agency it depends on the agreement: sometimes each change is charged, sometimes there's a monthly fee. With us, you make small text and price changes yourself with a video we leave you, and maintenance is optional.
When Wix does suit you
- You enjoy designing, have time and want to change the site yourself every week.
- You're testing an idea and don't yet know if it will work. The free plan lets you validate it without investing.
- You have a shop with hundreds of products, stock that changes daily and shipping to the provinces. A shop builder like Shopify is made for exactly that.
- You already pay by card in dollars without trouble and a monthly fee doesn't bother you.
- You need something live this week and can't wait for anyone.
FAQ
Other questions about this
Can I make a free website for my business?
Yes, with the free plan of almost any builder. It's good for trying things out, but you'll have a long subdomain and platform ads. If you want to look serious to customers, you normally end up paying for a plan with your own domain.
Can I move my Wix site to another provider?
You can transfer your domain. The site itself generally can't be exported to use elsewhere, so if you switch you usually have to rebuild it. It's worth thinking about before you put many hours into it.
Does a website made with Wix show up on Google?
It can, yes. Builders have the basic tools. What matters most is explaining clearly what you sell and where, and having a Google Business Profile linked to the site.
Why does my subscription charge a different amount each month?
Because many platforms charge your card in dollars and the amount in soles changes with the exchange rate. Depending on your bank, there may also be fees for foreign purchases.
How much does it cost to have you make it?
From PEN 300, one payment and no monthly fee. The domain and hosting are separate and paid once a year. The pricing page shows what each option includes.