Small business website design
The pages, words and details a small business website needs to bring in enquiries.
Done for you, instead of do it yourself
A Wix alternative for people who'd rather not build it themselves
Wix and Squarespace are good tools if you enjoy building websites. If you'd rather spend your evenings elsewhere, I'll design, write and look after yours for one monthly fee.
- No drag and drop, no evenings lost
- Changes by email, done for you
- No contract, domain included
80+ websites built by Charlie through Transform Sites
Track record
- 80+websites built
- 100+happy clients
- 1 working dayto go live, of your answers
- £0upfront
Track record from Transform Sites, MonthlySite's parent company.
The short answer
What's the best alternative to Wix?
It depends what you want to change. If you enjoy building but want a different tool, Squarespace, WordPress and Shopify are the usual Wix alternatives. If you'd rather not build or maintain a website at all, a done-for-you service is the real alternative. Ours starts at £49 a month, with design, hosting and changes included and no contract.
At a glance
- Price
- £49 to £99 a month
- Contract
- None
- Upfront
- £0
- Live within
- 1 working day of your answers
- Cancel
- Any month
- One-off
- From £549
80+ websites built by Charlie through Transform Sites.
On this page
Two kinds of Wix alternative
People looking for a Wix alternative usually want one of two things. Some like building their own site but want a different tool. Squarespace is known for polished, design-led templates, WordPress for flexibility if you don't mind looking after it, and Shopify for online shops. All of them are sensible choices for the right person.
Others have tried a DIY builder and found the problem isn't the tool. It's the time. Choosing a template is quick. Writing every page, sizing photos, getting it right on a phone and remembering to update it is not. For them, the alternative is handing the whole thing to someone else, and that's what this page is about.
A DIY builder or done for you, side by side
A fair comparison. DIY builders win on some rows, and they should.
| Wix or Squarespace (DIY) | MonthlySite (done for you) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who builds it | You | Charlie |
| Monthly cost | Typically £10 to £35, plus apps | £49 to £99, all in |
| Your time to launch | Typically several evenings | About half an hour |
| Who writes the words | You | Written with you |
| Changes | You, whenever you like | By email, included |
| Design control | Total, drag and drop | Trade designs, tailored by me |
| Contract | Monthly or yearly plans | None, month to month |
DIY prices are typical UK ranges for small business plans. Check each builder's own pricing page, as plans and prices change.
When a DIY builder is the better choice
I'd rather you picked the right option than picked us. Stick with a builder if any of these sound like you.
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You enjoy it
Some owners like tinkering with their site. If that's you, a builder gives you control that a done-for-you service can't.
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You sell products online
Our plans are for service businesses. For a basket and checkout, a shop platform such as Shopify, or a builder plan that includes a shop, will serve you better.
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You change content daily
If you post new stock or events every day, editing it yourself is quicker than emailing anyone.
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Your budget is under £20 a month
A basic builder plan costs less than our Starter plan. You pay the difference in your own time instead.
What a DIY website really costs
The plan price is only part of it. Booking tools, extra form features and business email are often paid add-ons, and some plans put the features you need a tier or two up. None of that is hidden, but it's worth adding up before you compare.
Then there's your time. A decent small business site typically takes several evenings to build and write, plus an hour or two a month to keep current. If your time is worth £30 an hour, 15 hours of building is £450 before you've paid for anything. That's the real comparison: a builder plan plus your evenings, or a monthly fee and none of the work.
How moving from Wix or Squarespace works
Wix doesn't let you move a site's design to another host, and Squarespace only exports some content. So I rebuild it properly, and your words, photos and domain come with you.
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Step 1: Build your free preview
Pick your trade and type your business name. It takes about a minute and needs no card.
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Step 2: Send me your current web address
I go through the site, keep the text and photos worth keeping and rewrite anything that isn't working.
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Step 3: Sort out the domain
If your domain was bought through the builder, it can usually be transferred to you or pointed at the new site. I'll walk you through whichever is simpler.
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Step 4: Check the new site
Look through it on your phone and send changes by email or WhatsApp. Your old site stays live while you do.
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Step 5: Switch over, then cancel
Once the new site is live on your domain, cancel the old builder plan. Not before, or you risk a gap where customers find nothing.
What a done-for-you site looks like
A live template for a therapy practice, the kind of business that often starts on a DIY builder. “Try this with my details” opens it with your business name.
What to notice
- There's no editor to learn: you send changes and I make them
- Check the phone frame, because that's where most visitors will judge it
- Bold, classic and friendly styles are all tailored with your colours
I've nothing against Wix. Plenty of people build good websites on it. I just meet a lot of owners with a half-finished one and no evenings left to finish it.
Done for you, from £49 a month
Every plan includes the design, writing, hosting, security updates and changes by email. There's no setup fee, and no contract to get out of if you change your mind.
£1.61a day for Starter, billed as £49 a month. No contract.
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Starter
£49a month
- Up to 3 pages
- Hosting and SSL included
- 1 change a month
-
Growth Charlie's pick
£79a month
- Up to 6 pages
- Google Business Profile setup
- Unlimited small edits
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Pro
£99a month
- Up to 10 pages
- A page for each area
- Priority 48-hour edits
No contract. Cancel any month. No upfront fee.
Compare plans in detail
Build my free preview
Free. No card. About 60 seconds.
Rather own it outright? One-off builds from £549.
MonthlySite is new. I'm not.
80 websites and counting, built for small businesses through Transform Sites, MonthlySite's parent company.
- 80+websites built
- 100+happy clients
I only publish genuine reviews, and MonthlySite's first ones are on their way. Until then, here's my promise: you'll deal with me, and I'll reply within one working day.
Charlie, founder
Questions people ask
Message CharlieI reply within one working dayAsk me a question
Is Wix good for SEO?
Yes, Wix sites can rank well. The platform matters far less than what you put on it: clear pages about what you do and where, a fast site, a complete Google Business Profile and genuine reviews. A done-for-you site covers the same basics, without you having to learn how.
How much does Wix cost in the UK?
Wix's paid plans for small business sites typically cost around £10 to £35 a month, with higher tiers costing more, and some features and apps are extra. Prices change, so check Wix's own UK pricing page. Remember to add your own time to build and maintain it.
Can you move my Wix website over to you?
Yes. Wix doesn't let you export a site to another host, so I rebuild it, bringing across your text and photos and improving anything that needs it. Your domain moves with you, and your old site stays live until the new one is ready.
Can I edit the website myself like I did on Wix?
The plans are built around changes done for you: send new prices, photos or text by email or WhatsApp and I update the site. Starter includes 1 change a month, Growth and Pro unlimited small edits. If you want to edit every day yourself, a DIY builder may suit you better.
Is MonthlySite a website builder?
Not in the Wix sense. The free instant website preview shows you a design with your business name in about a minute, but the real website is built, written and looked after by me. You never have to drag, drop or resize anything.
Will I lose my Google rankings if I move away from Wix?
Moving carefully keeps the risk low. Keep the same domain, redirect old page addresses to the matching new pages and keep the useful content. I set up those redirects as part of the move. Nobody can promise rankings never dip, but a well-planned move rarely causes lasting harm.
See your website before you spend a penny.
Pick your trade, add your business name and see it on a laptop and a phone. If you like it, plans start at £49 a month with no contract.