The 7 Biggest Website Builder Mistakes
Website builders are the tool people overspend on most dramatically. A landing page that costs $19/year on Carrd somehow costs $432/year on Squarespace. Here are the 7 mistakes — with real 12-month cost calculations.
Mistake 1: Paying for a Multi-Page Builder When You Need One Page
Squarespace Basic costs $25/mo ($192/yr annual). Wix Core costs $29/mo ($348/yr). Both are designed for multi-page websites. If you need a landing page, portfolio, or link-in-bio site, Carrd Pro Standard costs $19/year — that's $173–$329/year cheaper for the same job. Framer Free gives you a full website with subdomain for $0.
What to Do Instead
One-page site: Carrd ($19/yr Pro Standard). Simple portfolio: Framer Free ($0) or Framer Basic ($15/mo with custom domain). Multi-page business site: Squarespace Basic ($25/mo) or Webflow Basic ($18/mo). Match the tool to your actual page count.
Mistake 2: Choosing Wix and Then Trying to Leave
Wix sites cannot be exported. There is no HTML export, no content migration tool, no way to take your site structure to another platform. If you build 50 pages on Wix Core ($29/mo) and decide to switch after 12 months, you've spent $348 and need to rebuild from scratch. Webflow ($18–$29/mo), Squarespace ($25–$36/mo), and Framer ($15–$45/mo) all offer better export paths.
What to Do Instead
If you might ever switch platforms, avoid Wix. Webflow exports clean HTML/CSS. Squarespace exports content XML. Framer is harder to export but uses standard React components. Wix is the most locked-in builder on the market.
Mistake 3: Picking Webflow When You Don't Need CMS
Webflow CMS ($29/mo) is powerful for blogs, portfolios, and content-heavy sites. But many businesses need a 5–10 page static site with no blog. Webflow Basic ($18/mo) removes CMS entirely. Framer Basic ($15/mo) gives you CMS for $3/mo less. Carrd Pro Plus ($49/year = ~$4/mo) handles up to 25 sites for less than one month of Webflow.
What to Do Instead
No blog/CMS needed: Framer Basic ($15/mo) or Webflow Basic ($18/mo). Blog/CMS needed: Webflow CMS ($29/mo) or Framer Pro ($45/mo). Simple landing pages: Carrd ($19/yr). Don't pay for CMS you won't use.
Mistake 4: Forgetting the Real 12-Month Cost
Website builders quote monthly prices, but the real cost includes domain ($12–$20/year), email hosting ($0–$72/year), SSL (free on all modern builders), and any premium templates or plugins. The real first-year costs:
| Builder | Plan | 12-Month Cost (with domain) |
|---|---|---|
| Carrd | Pro Standard | $19 + ~$15 domain = ~$34/yr |
| Framer | Basic | $120/yr annual + ~$15 domain = ~$135/yr |
| Webflow | Basic | $168/yr annual + ~$15 domain = ~$183/yr |
| Squarespace | Basic | $192/yr + free domain (yr 1) = ~$192/yr |
| Wix | Core | $348/yr + free domain (yr 1) = ~$348/yr |
What to Do Instead
Always calculate the 12-month cost including domain. The difference between Carrd ($34/yr) and Wix Core ($348/yr) is $314/year — for many use cases, the cheaper tool does the same job.
Mistake 5: Choosing a Builder for E-commerce When Shopify Exists
Squarespace Plus ($49/mo) and Wix Business ($39/mo) include e-commerce features, but they're website builders with e-commerce bolted on. Shopify Basic ($39/mo) is a purpose-built e-commerce platform with better inventory management, shipping tools, abandoned cart recovery, and 8,000+ apps. If you sell more than 5 products, Shopify at the same or lower price gives you significantly better commerce features.
What to Do Instead
Selling products as primary business: Shopify Basic ($39/mo). Website with a small shop (under 5 products): Squarespace Core ($36/mo, 0% transaction fee). Digital products only: Gumroad or Lemon Squeezy. Don't force a website builder to be an e-commerce platform.
Mistake 6: Paying for the Highest Tier for SEO Features
Wix Business Elite ($159/mo) advertises “advanced SEO tools.” Squarespace Advanced ($72/mo) includes “advanced analytics.” The truth: SEO fundamentals (title tags, meta descriptions, alt text, XML sitemaps) are available on the lowest tiers of every builder. Advanced SEO requires external tools like Semrush ($139.95/mo) or Ahrefs ($129/mo), not premium website builder tiers.
What to Do Instead
Use the cheapest builder tier that supports custom domains and basic SEO settings (all of them do). Invest in content quality and a proper SEO tool if needed. The $87/mo gap between Squarespace Basic ($25/mo) and Advanced ($72/mo) buys no meaningful SEO advantage.
Mistake 7: Not Considering Framer for Design-Heavy Sites
Teams that need visually impressive sites default to Webflow ($18–$49/mo) because of its reputation. Framer (Free – $45/mo Pro) offers comparable design flexibility with a simpler interface, built-in CMS, animations, and localization. Framer Basic ($15/mo) undercuts Webflow Basic ($18/mo) and includes CMS, which Webflow charges $29/mo for. The design quality gap has closed significantly.
What to Do Instead
Trial both Framer and Webflow for your specific site. If you need Webflow's clean code export or complex CMS relationships, Webflow wins. If you need beautiful design with simpler setup, Framer saves $3–$14/mo and ships faster.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the cheapest way to build a professional website?
One-page: Carrd Pro Standard ($19/year). Multi-page without blog: Framer Basic ($15/mo) or Webflow Basic ($18/mo). Multi-page with blog: Webflow CMS ($29/mo) or Squarespace Basic ($25/mo). The absolute cheapest professional option is Carrd at $1.58/month.
Is Squarespace still worth it in 2026?
For beautiful template-based sites where you don't want to think about design, yes. Squarespace Basic ($25/mo) includes stunning templates, free domain for year one, and unlimited bandwidth. But Framer and Webflow now match Squarespace's design quality with more flexibility. Squarespace's advantage is simplicity — less design freedom but faster time-to-launch.
Can I start on Carrd and migrate to a full builder later?
Yes, but Carrd sites are one-page only. There's nothing to “migrate” — you'll rebuild on the new platform. Since Carrd Pro Standard is $19/year, the sunk cost is negligible. Use Carrd to validate your idea, then rebuild on Framer or Webflow when you need multiple pages.
Explore Further on Sasanova
Comparisons