When you're launching a new business or thinking about your online presence, it's tempting to save money wherever you can. Website platforms like Wix, GoDaddy and Ionos are cheap and accessible, which is why so many business owners gravitate towards them. After all, you only need to spend a few quid on a website, right? Spank a quick couple of pages out and cobble a few templates together and all's dandy? But here’s the thing: when it comes to your online presence, going cheap on your business website can end up costing you much more in the long run. It's all about the impression you create, and it's important to remember that in this digital-first world, many of us are secret website snobs.
We’ve worked with many clients who've contacted us frustrated with their Wix, GoDaddy or Ionos websites. They’d spent time and money, but weren’t seeing results. Low traffic, slow site speed, poor conversions and generic designs were all common complaints. In contrast, platforms like Webflow allow you to create custom, high-performing websites that are built to look sleek and professional, without a crazy price tag or the complexity of all the plug-ins you get from a Wordpress site.
In this article, we'll break down why cheap website builders like Wix, GoDaddy and Ionos don’t make the cut – and what you can do instead.
Wix looks easy, but it’s a false economy
Wix markets itself as the perfect solution for beginners – and it’s true that it’s very easy to get started, if you have some design experience. But if you’re serious about growing your business online, Wix can hold you back in major ways.
Design restrictions
Wix is very limited because you're stuck using one of the platform's many pre-made templates, which might look nice at first glance, but they often won't be tailored to your goals. These templates aren’t optimised for conversions or good UX (user experience). A Wix site with a URL like yourbusiness.wix.com instantly shows to the world that you cut corners when it comes to your online presence, and it also questions your brand's credibility. Who should buy from you if you don't even invest in a personalised branded URL?
Performance issues
Then there’s SEO performance, or the lack of it. Wix has always had a poor reputation for its ability to bring organic traffic to a site. This is because Wix uses JavaScript-heavy rendering, which search engines struggle to read. You also can’t access important SEO files like .htaccess or robots.txt, which means you can’t easily control how your site is indexed by Google.
And what about growing your site? Thinking of adding multiple languages? Wix doesn’t support proper hreflang tags, which means multi-language SEO isn’t possible. For businesses looking to grow internationally, that’s a serious problem.
Hidden costs
Finally, although it initially looks like a steal, Wix has hidden costs. Sure, their packages may start at a few dollars a month, but that’s only if you pay annually and don’t need any extras. As soon as you need custom email, e-comms features or want to remove the Wix branding, the price jumps up. And if you ever want to leave Wix, good luck: migrating your data is a nightmare. Wix is a proprietary, closed-platform, so you can't simply export your site and import it elsewhere. According to a TechRadar report, “you can’t transfer your site to other platforms… you must rebuild your website from scratch on the new platform.” We've seen this first-hand in some of the clients we've helped at Haddington & Haddington. Wix is fine for personal blogs or hobby sites, but not for a business that needs to grow, rank on Google, and convert visitors into customers.
GoDaddy: the no-frills of website builders
GoDaddy might have everything under one roof – domains, hosting, websites, email – the list seems endless. But much like the famous blue and yellow branded airline we all openly hate giving our hard-earned cash to, you’re paying for the bare minimum, not quality. Any extras that make life convenient will cost you dearly. And when it comes to business websites, that trade-off just isn’t worth it.
The biggest red flag is the constant upsells. Buy a domain, and suddenly you’re being sold privacy protection, security certificates, hosting plans, email packages and marketing tools you don't need. (A bit like trying to pay for baggage during an infuriating checkout process with the same airline we won't mention). What looked like a cheap domain quickly turns into a £100 checkout. It’s confusing and overwhelming, especially for business owners who just want to get online.
Their web hosting is notoriously slow, because they cram multiple websites onto the same servers. If your site takes forever to load, your potential customers will bounce, especially on mobile. A slow website is a direct hit to your SEO performance and your bottom line.
Managing your domain and DNS settings on GoDaddy is also painful. Simple tasks like updating DNS records or setting up redirects can take ages, and often require two-factor authentication for every step. It’s clunky and inefficient, and if you don’t know what you're doing, it's easy to mess things up.
The truth is, GoDaddy is like shopping at a discount store. Sure, it's cheap and has everything in one place, but the quality just isn’t there. And when your website is your most important marketing tool, quality matters.
Ionos: confusing, clunky and limited
Ionos (formerly 1&1) is another platform that promises affordable websites for small businesses. But behind the low price tag is a cheap platform that’s confusing to use and not built for performance.
In terms of UX, the interface is questionable, especially if you’re not tech-savvy. Customising templates feels more like working in Excel than designing a modern website. Want to make simple changes? You’ll likely spend hours searching help docs or waiting for customer support to respond.
Then there's the issue of slow load times and unreliable uptime. Several Ionos-hosted websites we’ve audited have failed Google’s Core Web Vitals tests, which are now a major part of how Google ranks your website. If your site is slow or unstable, your SEO will suffer – and you’ll lose potential business.
Design is another area where Ionos falls short. Templates are generic and dated, and it's hard to make them look polished or aligned with your brand. The result is a website that looks on the cheaper side and a bit cookie-cutter, which can reflect poorly on your business.
Security features, advanced SEO tools, and flexible CMS options are all limited on Ionos. If you ever want to grow your business, add advanced features, or integrate with third-party tools, you'll quickly find yourself stuck.
WordPress still has a place (for the right projects)
While we love using Webflow for fast, custom, conversion-focused websites, we’ll be the first to admit that WordPress still makes a great choice for websites with complex functionality or large amounts of content.
For example, let’s say you're running a membership platform, an online course, or a blog with hundreds (or thousands) of articles. WordPress has been around for over 20 years, and in that time, its system has grown to support just about every feature imaginable through advanced content management and vast numbers of plug-ins. It also offers WooCommerce for eCommerce. The trade-offs for this though are huge. It needs regular maintenance, never-ending plug-in updates, and good hosting to keep it secure and fast. That’s where many business owners get frustrated. But if you need a super custom content platform or application-like functionality, WordPress is still a strong choice (as long as it’s managed properly).
Our verdict: you’re better off with Webflow
We love keeping stuff simple. And platforms like Webflow give you all the benefits of a custom-coded site without needing to hire a developer for every update. It's also great for building bespoke, quick SEO-optimised websites that perform across all devices. You get full control over design and branding, your website is SEO-friendly from day one, and most importantly: your site is tailored to convert visitors into customers.
Invest in your website, invest in your business
If you’re a business owner, your website is your brand’s first impression. Choosing the cheapest option might seem smart now, but it usually leads to frustration, lost traffic and wasted time down the line. If you’re tired of a slow, ugly, or underperforming website, we’d love to show you how Webflow can help you do better.
