The Platform Question Every Business Owner Faces
When it comes to building or rebuilding a website, one of the first decisions is platform. WordPress has long been the dominant choice for SEO-focused websites. But website builders like Squarespace, Wix, and Webflow have matured significantly and are increasingly viable options.
So which is actually better for SEO? The honest answer is more nuanced than most articles will tell you — and it depends on your specific situation.
WordPress: The Case For
WordPress powers around 43% of all websites globally — and a disproportionate number of high-ranking ones. There are good reasons for its dominance in SEO.
Full control over technical SEO: WordPress gives you granular control over every SEO element — meta titles, descriptions, canonical tags, schema markup, robots directives, site structure, and more. With plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math, managing these elements is accessible even without technical expertise.
Performance optimisation potential: WordPress can be highly optimised for speed — but it requires deliberate effort. The right hosting, a lightweight theme, image optimisation, and caching can deliver exceptional performance scores. Poorly configured WordPress sites, conversely, can be very slow.
Plugin ecosystem: Thousands of plugins extend WordPress functionality for SEO-related purposes — schema markup, structured data, local SEO, image optimisation, redirects, and more.
Content flexibility: WordPress is built for content. Its blogging roots mean it handles large content libraries, complex taxonomies, and frequent publishing extremely well.
Portability: Your WordPress site and its content can be moved between hosts and developers. You’re not locked into any single provider.
WordPress: The Case Against
Complexity: WordPress requires more ongoing management than website builders. Updates to core, themes, and plugins need regular attention. Security requires active maintenance. For non-technical users, this can be a genuine burden.
Speed requires work: Out of the box, WordPress is not fast. Achieving good performance requires deliberate optimisation — quality hosting, a lean theme, caching, image handling. Without these, WordPress sites can underperform simpler platforms.
More can go wrong: The flexibility that makes WordPress powerful also creates more opportunities for problems. Plugin conflicts, outdated themes, and misconfigured settings are all real risks for sites without ongoing professional maintenance.
Website Builders: The Case For
Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, and Shopify (for e-commerce) have all improved their SEO capabilities significantly over the past several years.
Ease of management: Website builders are designed for non-technical users. Updates are handled automatically. Security is managed by the platform. The operational overhead is dramatically lower than self-hosted WordPress.
Consistent performance: Platforms like Squarespace and Webflow deliver reliable speed performance out of the box — no hosting configuration required, no caching plugins to manage.
Webflow specifically: For businesses that want design flexibility with clean code output and strong SEO control, Webflow has emerged as a genuinely competitive alternative to WordPress for many use cases.
Shopify specifically: For e-commerce, Shopify’s ecosystem and technical foundations are purpose-built for online retail. Its SEO capabilities are solid for most e-commerce needs, and its reliability and security are difficult to match with a self-hosted alternative.
Website Builders: The Case Against
Less granular SEO control: Despite improvements, most website builders still offer less fine-grained control over technical SEO than WordPress with good plugins.
Platform dependency: Your content and design are tied to the platform. Moving away from Squarespace or Wix to another platform involves rebuilding, not just migrating.
Less content flexibility at scale: For businesses building large content libraries, complex blog structures, or multi-faceted content strategies, WordPress typically provides more flexibility.
So Which Is Better for SEO?
The truthful answer: the difference in SEO potential between a well-built WordPress site and a well-built Webflow or Squarespace site is much smaller than it used to be. Platform is less important than execution.
A well-built, properly configured Squarespace site will outrank a poorly built WordPress site every time. Conversely, a well-optimised WordPress site with strong content and backlinks will outperform a neglected website on any platform.
Choose WordPress if:
– You need maximum flexibility and control
– You’re building a large content library
– You have (or will have) technical support
– You need specific plugins or integrations
– You want full portability
Choose a website builder if:
– Ease of management is a priority
– You want reliable performance without technical maintenance
– You’re building a straightforward service or e-commerce site
– You’re on Shopify for e-commerce (hard to beat for that specific use case)
The Real Differentiator Is Your Strategy
Regardless of platform, what determines your SEO success is the quality of your content, the strength of your technical foundation, and the consistency of your effort over time. West Legacy Group works across platforms — and we’ll recommend the right one for your specific goals.
Talk to West Legacy Group about choosing the right platform for your website.