If you enjoy tinkering and have a few hours a month, a DIY builder costs less and keeps you in full control. A local web partner makes more sense when you'd rather not touch the site at all, want someone nearby you can meet, and want the upkeep, edits and Google basics handled for you.
The honest case for DIY
DIY website builders are good. They've made it possible for almost anyone to put up a decent site. Here's what two of the best known ones showed on their own pricing pages on 2026-10-27:
- Squarespace: No free plan, but a 14-day free trial with no credit card needed. The Basic plan is $25 per month billed monthly, or $19 per month billed annually. Hosting and SSL are included, along with built-in AI tools. Annual plans include a free custom domain for the first year.
- Wix: A free plan is available. Paid plans include hosting, AI creation tools and a 14-day money-back guarantee. Wix says its prices vary by location, and the page we saw showed regional pricing, so check current pricing for your area.
With either one, you can change anything, any time, and you don't wait on anyone. For a lot of small businesses, that's the right call.
What DIY leaves on your plate
The builder handles the hosting. The rest is up to you:
- Writing the pages and keeping them current.
- Updating hours, prices and services when they change.
- Setting up your Google Business Profile and keeping it in line with your site.
- Adding structured data so search tools understand your business.
- Checking now and then that forms, links and pages still work.
None of this is hard. It just takes time, and it tends to slip when you're busy running the business.
What a local web partner does
A local web partner builds the site, hosts it and keeps it healthy, so you don't have to think about it. Here's how we, Lakewise, describe our service on our site today:
- We build your site, host it, keep it healthy, and help Google and AI assistants find you.
- You own your domain and your site. If you leave, everything is handed over.
- Care plans are month to month.
- We work around the west side of the lake and can meet in person.
- No one can guarantee placement in Google or AI answers, and we won't claim to.
Our pricing (draft)
These are our proposed launch prices as shown on our site on 2026-10-27. They're a draft and not final.
- Launch site: $499 one-time, or $0 down plus $79 per month with a 12-month minimum. One to five pages, local and FAQ structured data, a Google Business Profile tune-up, live in about two weeks.
- Care: $49 per month. Hosting and SSL, uptime monitoring and backups, and one small edit a month.
- Care Plus: $99 per month. Up to an hour of edits, text alerts and updates, and a monthly one-page report.
- Care + AI: $179 per month. AI-answer visibility upkeep, one simple AI tool, and priority same-day edits.
Comparing the first year
Here's a plain comparison using the prices above. Squarespace Basic billed annually is $19 a month, or $228 for the year. Our draft Launch site at $499 plus Care at $49 a month for 12 months comes to $1,087.
So DIY is cheaper, by a clear margin. What the extra buys is time and someone else doing the work. Whether that's worth it depends on how much your time is worth and how much you enjoy working on a website.
Questions to ask any web partner, including us
- Who owns the domain and the site?
- What happens if I want to leave?
- Is there a minimum contract?
- How quickly are edits made?
- Do you promise rankings? (If yes, be careful. Google says there's no way to pay for a better local ranking.)
Our honest take
If you like doing it yourself, use a DIY builder. Claim your Google Business Profile, keep your hours current, and you'll be ahead of many. If you'd rather hand it off to someone nearby, that's what we do.
Questions
Is a DIY website builder cheaper?
Yes. Squarespace Basic billed annually is $19 a month, and Wix has a free plan. Our draft pricing costs more because it includes building, hosting and ongoing upkeep done for you.
Do I own my site if I work with Lakewise?
Yes. Our site says you own your domain and your site, and everything is handed over if you leave.
Can you take over a site I already built myself?
Our site says we review existing sites honestly before taking one on. Tell us what you have through the Request info form.
Is Lakewise pricing final?
No. It's proposed launch pricing, a draft as of 2026-10-27, and may change.
Sources
- https://www.squarespace.com/pricing: No free plan; 14-day free trial, no card; Basic $25/mo monthly, $19/mo annual; hosting/SSL; built-in AI tools; free domain year one on annual plans. (checked 2026-10-27)
- https://www.wix.com/plans: Free plan; paid plans include hosting, AI creation tools, 14-day money-back; prices vary by location (regional page seen, so price not quoted). (checked 2026-10-27)
- https://lakewiseweb.com/: Lakewise services, ownership/handover, month-to-month care, service area, no-guarantee statement, takeover review, draft pricing (Proposed launch pricing, draft, Oct 27, 2026). (checked 2026-10-27)
- https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=en: No way to request or pay for a better local ranking. (checked 2026-10-27)