Do I Need Hosting if I Use Wix or Squarespace?
If you’re planning to build your website with Wix or Squarespace, you might be asking: Do I need hosting if I use Wix or Squarespace? It’s a smart question — and the answer depends on how much freedom and control you want over your website.
In this guide, we’ll unpack how these website builders handle hosting, why many professionals eventually switch to independent hosting, and what you should consider before making your choice.
Understanding How Website Builders Like Wix and Squarespace Work
Wix and Squarespace are all-in-one website builders. This means they handle everything — from your design template to your hosting — in one neat package. When you sign up, your website automatically lives on their servers.
Here’s what that means for you:
- You don’t need to buy hosting separately.
- Your website is stored and managed on their internal infrastructure.
- You cannot access or configure your hosting environment (no cPanel, no SSH, no server customization).
- You rely entirely on their uptime, bandwidth, and storage allocations.
While that sounds convenient, it also means you’re trading off control and flexibility for ease of use. You’re renting space inside someone else’s ecosystem — and when their limits hit, so does your website.
Do Wix and Squarespace Include Hosting?
Yes — both Wix and Squarespace come with built-in hosting. You don’t have to connect to another host or manage servers manually. Their hosting includes essentials like SSL certificates, bandwidth allocation, and storage for your website files.
However, this hosting is shared and standardized, not tailored to your specific performance or scalability needs. You can’t choose the data center region, allocate resources, or optimize server-side configurations for speed or SEO.
For beginners or personal websites, that’s fine. But for businesses, creators, or agencies looking to scale — those limitations can become bottlenecks fast.
The Hidden Limitations of Wix and Squarespace Hosting
Before deciding that built-in hosting is “enough,” it helps to look at what’s actually missing when you rely on website builders:
1. Limited Server Access
You can’t install custom plugins, modify core files, or adjust PHP and database settings. Developers who need flexibility for advanced SEO, custom integrations, or web apps find this restrictive.
2. Scalability Restrictions
Wix and Squarespace plans have fixed tiers. If your website traffic surges or your business grows, you can’t instantly scale your hosting power. You’re stuck with their pre-defined limits until you upgrade your plan — which can get expensive.
3. No Choice of Data Center
Independent hosting lets you choose where your site is hosted for optimal performance — for example, closer to your customers for faster loading times. Builders don’t provide this flexibility.
4. Expensive Add-Ons
Need business email? Backups? Advanced analytics? Many of these require third-party add-ons or higher-tier plans. Independent hosting often bundles them at a fraction of the cost.
5. Migration Lock-In
One of the biggest drawbacks: you can’t migrate your Wix or Squarespace site elsewhere. Their designs and infrastructure are proprietary. If you ever decide to leave, you’ll need to rebuild your website from scratch.
Why Independent Hosting Is the Better Long-Term Option
If you value ownership and scalability, an independent host gives you full control. Let’s compare the advantages:
1. Freedom and Customization
With your own hosting, you can install any CMS (WordPress, Joomla, Ghost, etc.), add plugins, connect APIs, and design your infrastructure exactly how you need it.
2. Better Performance
Independent hosts often use optimized SSD servers, dedicated resources, and global CDNs — delivering faster load times and better SEO results. You decide your caching, security, and backup strategies.
3. Cost Efficiency
While Wix and Squarespace charge monthly, hosting platforms like Serverfellows.com let you pay yearly or even get introductory plans starting below a cup of coffee per month. You can build multiple sites under one plan — a massive advantage for freelancers or agencies.
4. Professional Email and Domains
Unlike website builders that often upsell email services, independent hosting includes custom domain emails (e.g., hello@yourbrand.com) at no extra cost. This creates a more professional image for businesses.
5. Full Ownership
When your files, emails, and data are hosted on your own server, you truly own your website. You can back it up, move it, or upgrade it anytime — without depending on a proprietary platform.
Hosting vs Website Builders: A Cost and Value Comparison
| Feature | Wix / Squarespace | Independent Hosting |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting Included | Yes | Yes (you choose provider) |
| Monthly Cost | $15–$49 per site | $2–$10 per site (avg.) |
| Customization | Limited | Unlimited |
| Ownership | Partial | Full |
| Migration | Not possible | Complete freedom |
| Email Hosting | Paid add-on | Usually included |
| Scalability | Restricted | Fully scalable |
| Best For | Beginners | Growing businesses, professionals |
When you break it down, website builders are convenient for quick setups — but hosting wins for long-term growth, control, and ROI.
SEO and Performance: How Hosting Impacts Visibility
Your website’s hosting directly affects how search engines view and rank your site. Even if you use Wix or Squarespace, you might not realize how their shared infrastructure can limit SEO results.
Here’s why hosting matters:
- Speed Affects Ranking: Search engines prioritize fast-loading pages. Independent hosting allows caching, CDN, and optimization — tools that are restricted on builders.
- Server Location Influences SEO: Hosting your site closer to your target audience reduces latency, improving user experience and search visibility.
- Uptime Impacts Credibility: Frequent downtime from shared servers hurts SEO. Independent hosts often guarantee 99.9% uptime.
- Control Over Redirects and Structure: Hosting freedom lets you fine-tune technical SEO elements like redirects, sitemaps, and robots.txt — things that builders limit.
So while Wix and Squarespace simplify the front end, independent hosting gives you backend SEO control that can dramatically improve your organic growth.
Common Questions About Hosting and Website Builders
1. Can I Move My Wix or Squarespace Site to Independent Hosting?
Not directly. Their ecosystems are closed. You’ll need to manually rebuild your site on another platform like WordPress if you want full ownership and flexibility.
2. Is Hosting Cheaper Than Wix or Squarespace?
Usually yes. For example, at Serverfellows.com, you can host multiple websites for less than what one premium builder plan costs monthly. Plus, you control everything.
3. Will My Website Be Faster With Independent Hosting?
Yes, in most cases. Independent hosting allows resource scaling, caching, and performance tuning — all of which improve speed and SEO rankings.
4. Can I Use My Domain From Wix or Squarespace With Another Host?
Absolutely. You can transfer your domain or update DNS records to point to your new host. This lets you keep your brand name while switching to a more flexible hosting solution.
5. What Happens if I Stop Paying for Wix or Squarespace?
Your site goes offline. Since they control hosting, your files are stored on their servers and aren’t accessible after cancellation. With independent hosting, you can back up and migrate anytime.
When Should You Stick With Wix or Squarespace?
Despite their limits, Wix and Squarespace are great for certain use cases:
- Portfolio or Personal Sites — Ideal for artists, photographers, or small portfolios that don’t need complex functionality.
- Short-Term Projects — When you just need a quick landing page or temporary site.
- Non-Technical Users — If you don’t want to manage updates, plugins, or servers.
If your goal is simplicity over scalability, these platforms do their job well. But if you’re building a brand or long-term business presence, the smarter path is independent hosting.
When Independent Hosting Makes More Sense
If you want to:
- Build multiple websites under one plan
- Use advanced SEO, analytics, or marketing tools
- Have full control of design and performance
- Scale your traffic without increasing costs
- Own your data, backups, and emails
Then it’s time to move to independent hosting.
Serverfellows.com offers flexible hosting that grows with you. You can host your site, connect domains, use your email, and manage everything in one dashboard — without any builder limitations.
Final Thoughts: Do You Need Hosting if You Use Wix or Squarespace?
If you’re asking, “Do I need hosting if I use Wix or Squarespace?” — the answer is technically no, because hosting is included. But if you care about ownership, speed, scalability, and freedom, then the better question is:
“Should I rely solely on builder hosting?”
And the answer is no, not for the long run.
Website builders are great for simplicity. Independent hosting, however, is built for control, performance, and long-term growth.
Switch to Serverfellows.com — hosting that gives you complete freedom, superior performance, and full ownership of your digital presence.
