Quick answer
WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace dominated the last decade of website building. Astro represents a fundamentally different approach: it ships pages as pure HTML by default, with JavaScript only where it is actually needed. The result is faster load times, better Core Web Vitals scores, and a more secure, maintainable site — at the cost of requiring a real developer to build it.
WordPress launched in 2003. Squarespace launched in 2004. Wix launched in 2006. For a long time, one of these was the answer to “how do I build a website?” Astro launched in 2021 and represents a fundamentally different idea of what a website should be.
This post compares them honestly — not to declare a winner in every case, but to help you understand what you are actually choosing between.
The core difference: how pages get delivered
WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace are all dynamic platforms. When someone visits your site, a server (or a JavaScript bundle) assembles the page in real time. This approach is flexible and historically made sense when “updating your website” meant pressing a button in a dashboard.
Astro takes a different approach: it pre-renders every page into plain HTML files at build time. When someone visits, they get a file, not a computation. Interactive elements — a contact form, a dropdown, an animation — receive JavaScript only when they actually need it. Everything else is static.
The practical result is that Astro pages load very fast, pass Core Web Vitals tests more naturally, and have a dramatically smaller attack surface from a security standpoint.
The comparison
| WordPress | Wix | Squarespace | Astro (custom build) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Page speed | Slow by default; requires plugins + optimization | Moderate; JS-heavy | Moderate; JS-heavy | Fast by default; minimal JS |
| Core Web Vitals | Often poor without significant tuning | Mixed | Mixed | Optimized by design |
| SEO control | Good (with plugins) | Limited | Limited | Full — structured data, schema, canonical tags, sitemap |
| Security | High maintenance — plugins are a constant vulnerability | Managed by Wix | Managed by Squarespace | Static files = minimal attack surface |
| Maintenance burden | High — updates, plugin conflicts, backups | Low — platform-managed | Low — platform-managed | Low — no CMS to patch |
| Design flexibility | High (with a developer) | Template-constrained | Template-constrained | Unlimited |
| Monthly platform cost | Hosting + plugins (variable) | Monthly subscription | Monthly subscription | Hosting only (you control) |
| E-commerce fees | Plugin-dependent | Transaction fees | Transaction fees (lower plans) | No platform fees |
| Content management | Built-in (WP admin) | Built-in (visual editor) | Built-in (visual editor) | CMS of your choice |
| Technical skill required | Medium-High (to maintain well) | Low | Low | High (developer required to build) |
Why page speed is not just a vanity metric
Every platform on this list can produce a website that “works.” The gap shows up on mobile, on slower connections, and in search rankings.
Google uses Core Web Vitals — Largest Contentful Paint, Cumulative Layout Shift, and Interaction to Next Paint — as ranking signals. A page that loads slowly, shifts its layout while loading, or takes time to respond to clicks is disadvantaged in search relative to a faster competitor page covering the same topic.
WordPress sites need caching plugins, image compression plugins, and often a CDN to approximate what Astro ships by default. Wix and Squarespace have improved their performance over the years, but they are constrained by the JavaScript-heavy architecture baked into their platforms.
An Astro site ships HTML. HTML loads fast. That advantage compounds over time in search.
The security story
WordPress is the most-targeted CMS on the web — not because it is inherently insecure, but because it is ubiquitous and its plugin ecosystem is vast and inconsistent. A single vulnerable plugin can expose an entire site. This creates an ongoing maintenance obligation: plugins must be kept current, backups must be maintained, and the hosting environment must be managed.
Wix and Squarespace handle security at the platform level, which removes that burden from you — but you are also dependent on the platform’s choices. Squarespace going down means your site goes down.
An Astro site deployed as static files has a minimal attack surface. There is no database to breach, no plugin ecosystem to patch. The hosting infrastructure (typically a CDN) handles uptime. The security posture is fundamentally simpler.
When the older platforms still make sense
Honesty matters here: WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace are not wrong choices in every situation.
WordPress still has an edge for content-heavy publications with complex editorial workflows — multiple authors, advanced taxonomies, custom post types — where the content management power outweighs the maintenance overhead.
Wix or Squarespace are pragmatic choices for a brand-new business that needs something live this weekend, has no development budget, and is still validating the business model. If the business grows, the site can be rebuilt properly later.
The case for each narrows considerably once search traffic matters, once the brand needs to look distinctly like itself rather than a template, or once the business is generating enough revenue that a professional build is a reasonable investment.
What Astro is not
Astro is a developer tool. You cannot drag and drop your way to an Astro site. You need someone who can write code — or who knows the framework specifically — to build it. That is a real requirement, not a minor footnote.
The tradeoff is that what you get in return is a site you own entirely (the code lives in your repository, not inside a platform), with no ongoing platform subscription, no template constraints, and performance characteristics that put it in a different category from builder-made sites.
If performance and SEO are priorities for your business, see how we build SEO websites — or if you already know what you want, start with a conversation.
Frequently asked questions
- Is WordPress still a good choice for a small business website?
- WordPress can still work, particularly for content-heavy sites with complex publishing needs. But the maintenance burden is real — plugins go out of date, security vulnerabilities are common, and performance requires significant optimization work on top of the base install. For most small business marketing sites, a modern static framework like Astro is faster to load, easier to secure, and cheaper to host.
- Can I update content on an Astro site without a developer?
- Yes, with the right setup. Astro works with content management systems like Decap, Sanity, and Contentful that provide a non-technical editor interface. Blog posts can also be written in Markdown — a plain-text format with a gentle learning curve. For sites where frequent content updates are a priority, the CMS integration is something to discuss during planning.
- Do Wix and Squarespace sites rank in Google?
- They can rank, but they carry structural disadvantages. Both platforms rely on JavaScript-heavy rendering that can slow page load and complicate how Google crawls the content. Technical SEO control is limited. For businesses in competitive local markets, those gaps can meaningfully affect rankings compared to a well-built custom site.
- Is Astro more expensive than using a website builder?
- Upfront, yes — Astro requires a developer, while Wix and Squarespace let you build without one. Ongoing, the math often reverses. Builders charge monthly or annual subscription fees indefinitely. An Astro site has a one-time build cost and minimal hosting fees. For businesses that stay in business for more than two years, the custom build typically becomes the lower-cost option.