WordPress, Wix, Squarespace or TokoWorks: which suits your organisation?
Anyone who wants a new website gets four pieces of advice within five minutes. Your cousin swears by WordPress, the neighbour built her site in one evening with Wix, and an agency sends a quote for custom work. They are all a little bit right.
There is no best website builder. There is only the best choice for your situation: how much time you have, who keeps the site up to date and what it needs to be able to do in two years. In this article we compare four options honestly. Including our own, and including when you are better off choosing something else.
Four flavours, briefly explained
WordPress is open source software you can use to build just about anything. You arrange hosting, a theme and plugins yourself, or have an agency do it. Very flexible, but you are responsible for updates and security.
Wix and Squarespace are website builders in the cloud. You choose a template, drag blocks into place and pay a monthly fee. Hosting and updates are taken care of. Anything the platform cannot do is hard to add.
TokoWorks sits in between. You manage your site yourself with blocks, just like with a website builder. But we design and build it for you, and take care of the technology, hosting and backups. If you need something that does not exist yet, we build it.
01 / Comparison
How they compare
A simplified overview. Every platform changes regularly, so if in doubt, check their own site as well.
- Who builds the site
- You or an agency
- Editing content yourself
- Yes
- Updates and security
- Arrange it yourself
- Extending
- Thousands of plugins, varying quality
- Design freedom
- Large
- Costs
- Hosting plus build and maintenance
- Suits
- Those who want to customise a lot themselves
- Who builds the site
- You
- Editing content yourself
- Yes
- Updates and security
- Taken care of
- Extending
- Via the app market
- Design freedom
- Moderate
- Costs
- Monthly fee
- Suits
- Starters who want to get online quickly
- Who builds the site
- You
- Editing content yourself
- Yes
- Updates and security
- Taken care of
- Extending
- Limited
- Design freedom
- Sleek, within templates
- Costs
- Monthly fee
- Suits
- Creatives and small online shops
- Who builds the site
- Us, together with you
- Editing content yourself
- Yes
- Updates and security
- Taken care of
- Extending
- Built in, custom work possible
- Design freedom
- Large, within your house style
- Costs
- Fixed monthly fee, everything included
- Suits
- Organisations that want a professional result without technical hassle
An overview like this makes things clear, but the choice is in the details. So for each option: when it fits, and when it does not.
02 / Per option
When do you choose what?
If you want to tinker yourself
WordPressYou have someone in-house or a regular partner who keeps up with the updates, and you want things that no website builder can do out of the box. Watch out for the pile of plugins: every extra plugin is an extra risk at the next update.
If you want to get online quickly and cheaply
WixFor a freelancer or new business owner who needs a few pages and enjoys moving things around themselves. As your organisation grows, you hit limits sooner.
If design matters most
SquarespaceThe templates look sleek, and for a portfolio or small online shop that works fine. If you want to deviate from the template or connect something to your own systems, it becomes a matter of trial and error.
If you want professional, without the hassle
TokoWorksFor organisations that want a site in their own house style, that they keep up to date themselves and that grows with them. Are you a starter with a small budget and time to build it yourself? Then, honestly, a website builder is cheaper.
Three questions that settle it
- Who keeps the site up to date? If nobody has time for updates and security, WordPress without a regular partner is out.
- What does the site need to be able to do in two years? A second language, a customer portal or an integration with your CRM? Then choose something that can grow with you.
- What does it cost in total? Count not just the monthly fee, but also the hours you or your colleagues put into it. Those are almost never free.
Frequently asked questions about website builders
Can I move my WordPress site to TokoWorks?
Yes. We take over your texts, images and the structure of your site, and make sure old links keep working. That way you do not lose your findability. We quote for a migration separately.
Is WordPress free?
The software is. Hosting, a good theme, paid plugins and above all maintenance are not. So always calculate with the total, not with the price of the software.
Can I edit texts and photos myself with TokoWorks?
Yes. You edit pages, blogs, forms and menus yourself in the editor, and you see a preview straight away. It always stays within your house style.
What if I later need more than a website?
Then we build it on. Think of a customer portal, an integration with your accounting or a product selector. Because we develop the platform ourselves, you do not have to move for that.
Still not sure?
Tell us what your site needs to be able to do. We will tell you honestly which option suits you, even if that is not TokoWorks.