Most NZ service businesses start with a template. It is the obvious move — low cost, quick to launch, no need to hire anyone. And for a new business testing the market, that is a perfectly reasonable decision. The problem is that templates are designed for the lowest common denominator. They work for everyone, which means they are optimised for no one. As soon as your business starts to grow and you need your website to do more, the constraints start to show.
This article gives you a straight comparison — not a sales pitch — so you can make the right call for where your business actually is.
The Main Template Options in NZ — and What They Are Actually Good At
Not all template platforms are the same. Here is an honest breakdown of the main options NZ businesses use:
Wix — Best for: absolute beginners, simple online presence
Wix is the easiest drag-and-drop builder on the market. You can have something live in a few hours with no technical knowledge. The trade-off is performance: Wix sites consistently score 30–55 on Google PageSpeed (mobile), which is poor. SEO customisation is limited — you can edit titles and descriptions but cannot control schema, URL structure, or technical signals that matter for competitive rankings. Fine for a basic online presence; not appropriate if search visibility is a priority.
Squarespace — Best for: design-focused businesses, portfolios, hospitality
Squarespace templates look more polished than Wix out of the box, which is why photographers, restaurants, and creative businesses gravitate toward it. Performance is slightly better than Wix but still limited — typically 45–65 on PageSpeed mobile. SEO is surface level. The monthly subscription ($23–$65/mo NZD) continues indefinitely — you are renting the platform, not owning your site. If Squarespace shut down, your site disappears.
WordPress — Best for: content-heavy sites, blogs, businesses that need CMS control
WordPress is technically not a template builder — it is an open-source CMS used by around 40% of all websites. With the right theme and hosting, a WordPress site can be fast and well-optimised. The problem is most WordPress sites are not set up correctly: plugin-heavy builds on shared hosting produce exactly the kind of slow, bloated result that tanks rankings. WordPress done well is a legitimate option; WordPress done cheaply is worse than Wix.
Shopify — Best for: e-commerce only
Shopify is excellent for selling products online. For service businesses (trades, health, hospitality) with no online store, it is the wrong tool entirely. Do not use Shopify to build a tradie website.
The Honest Case for Templates
If you are a brand-new business with no budget and you need something online this week, a Wix or Squarespace site is the right move. It gets you a URL to put on your van, a place to send referrals, and the ability to start collecting Google reviews through a Google Business Profile. For a sole trader testing whether a business idea has legs, a $29/mo template is a sensible starting point.
Templates also make sense if your website is genuinely a secondary channel — you get almost all your work through word of mouth and only need a site as a credibility reference. In that case, the cost savings of a template are real and the performance limitations do not materially affect your business.
The problems start when you try to grow, when you want to rank in Google, or when a client compares your site to a competitor's and finds yours wanting.
The Honest Case for Custom
A custom-built website gives you a design that no one else has, code that is optimised for speed, full SEO control, and outright ownership of everything. You are not paying a monthly subscription to a platform that can raise its prices, change its terms, or shut down. When a customer lands on your site, it looks like a business that takes itself seriously — because it does.
For a Queenstown plumber competing against five other plumbers in Google search results, the site that loads fastest, looks most credible, and has the clearest call to action wins the enquiry. A $999 custom build that generates two extra jobs per month pays for itself in the first month of operation.
Custom builds also give you something templates cannot: a website that can grow with your business without starting over. Need to add a booking system? Done. Want to add a second location page when you expand to Wanaka? Done. Want to integrate your quoting software? Done. Templates hit a ceiling; custom sites do not.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Factor | Template (Wix / Squarespace) | Custom Build |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | $0 – $50/mo | $499 – $2,000 setup |
| Design uniqueness | Shared with thousands of sites | Built only for you |
| Page speed | Often poor (40–65 PageSpeed score) | Optimised (90+ score) |
| SEO control | Limited — surface level only | Full — schema, meta, structure |
| Mobile performance | Variable, often slow | Mobile-first by design |
| Ownership | Platform-dependent (you rent it) | You own the code outright |
| Ongoing cost | $15 – $70/mo platform fee | $79 – $199/mo (hosting + support) |
| Customisation limit | Hits a ceiling fast | No ceiling — build anything |
| Scalability | Rebuild required when you outgrow it | Grows with your business |
| Support | Generic platform help centre | Named contact who knows your site |
What Happens When You Outgrow a Template
Most NZ service businesses on templates outgrow them within 12–24 months. The signs are consistent:
- You want to rank in Google but your PageSpeed score is 40 and there is nothing you can do about it
- You need a feature (booking system, quoting tool, member area) that the platform cannot support
- A competitor has a site that looks significantly more professional and you are losing work because of it
- You want to stop paying a monthly platform fee to a company you have no relationship with
- Your site looks identical to a competitor's because you are using the same Squarespace template
- You want to make a structural change and the template editor will not let you
When you hit these walls, the only path forward is a rebuild. The money you spent on the template site is sunk — it does not count as a deposit toward a custom build. This is why the true cost of a template is often higher than the upfront number suggests: you pay for the template, then you pay again to replace it.
If your business is past its first year, is actively trying to grow, and needs its website to generate leads — the rebuild is usually worth doing sooner rather than later. Every month on a slow, template-limited site is a month of lost search visibility.
How to Decide: A Simple Framework
Use a template if:
- — You are a brand-new business with under $1,000 to spend on a website
- — You get almost all work through referrals and the site is a reference point only
- — You need something online this week and can afford to rebuild in 12 months
- — You are testing a new business idea and are not sure it will stick
Use a custom build if:
- — Your website is a primary source of new leads or enquiries
- — You are actively trying to rank in Google for local search terms
- — You have been in business more than 12 months and are ready to invest properly
- — You have already tried a template and are not happy with the results
- — You need specific functionality a template platform cannot support
- — You want a site that looks distinct from your competitors
The Short Answer
If you are just starting out and have no budget: start with a template, collect reviews, build your Google Business Profile, and plan to upgrade in 12 months.
If you are an established NZ service business trying to grow — especially if search visibility matters to you — a custom site is a business investment, not a discretionary expense. Done right, at the right price point, it pays for itself in the first month. Done wrong, or deferred indefinitely, a template site quietly costs you leads every month without you ever being able to measure exactly how much.
The test is simple: go to Google and search for your trade in your suburb. If your competitors are appearing and you are not, you already have your answer.
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