Ahh the never-ending debate. There’s so many website platforms out there that say they are “easy to use”, help you “get found on Google” and they all seemingly do the exact same things.

But which is best for an independent business like a yoga studio, personal trainer, yoga teacher, masseuse or any other wellness business?

Over the years I’ve built dozens and dozens of websites for businesses in the wellness industry in both Wix and Squarespace. In fact, I’m actually a Wix Icon Developer and a Squarespace Circle Gold Developer and I’ve had websites of my own in both Wix and Squarespace, and even won a Best Online Presence Award for a website I redeveloped when I worked in the car industry (that was WordPress/Elementor, though). So I’ve been around the block quite a few times when it comes to website building platforms.

Let’s get into my deep dive into the Wix Studio and Squarespace platforms and the sort of things you may want to consider when you’re choosing a platform for your business.

the features a wellness business needs in a website

There’s literally no point having a website if it doesn’t actually do the basic things a website can help you with.

A website is there to help you get found via search engines like Google, then sell what you’re doing to people who are looking for a service like yours. Secondly, it’s also there to help you gather a community of people together and increase intent to purchase from you via tactics like email marketing.

Here’s my top level list of the things any website builder should have the capability to create for any wellness business in 2025:

The ability to edit and manage your own website after it has been professionally built
Contact forms that email you when you get an enquiry
Email marketing features (not essential, but makes things more streamlined! Plus, bonus points for the ability to set up automations and emails based on behaviour of customers)
Options for scaling down the line to manage memberships with paywalled pages, a Blog engine, a shop etc
Cost effective
A Booking System that allows the following:
- Single session bookings
- Class passes or membership bookings
- Offers sessions for multiple AND single participants
- Capability to add courses (multiple participants attending over multiple weeks, booked and paid once)
- Integrates with Zoom/ Google Meet

The good news is that both Wix and Squarespace tick all of these boxes and that is why they are my top two recommended platforms.

You’ll note at the start of this website I mentioned WordPress/Elementor. I absolutely don’t recommend either of these options for independent wellness business owners. It’s complicated, expensive, requires a sea of easy-to-break plug ins, the compatible booking system options are trash… AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE!

Booking capability

One of the biggest benefits of having a website is reducing your admin time by allowing people to book in for sessions and pay online. It is absolutely amazing how much time this can save each and every week.

Personally, when I added an online booking system into my website as a Yoga Teacher I saved in the region of 10 hours per week - and interestingly, my revenue went up 30% per month compared to when I didn’t have a system! That’s after I’d deducted the cost of payment processing. That’s HUGE.

Wix’s Booking Capability

*A screengrab from my client Rebecca’s Wix Booking System.*

Whatever you want someone to book, Wix can do it. All included in your Wix Plan fee at no extra cost.
Wix Studio’s booking system is so great because it is hugely flexible.
You can display all your sessions in a timetable view as shown on the left here - this is a great experience for your clients and customers as they can see at a glance what sessions are on when, if there are spaces, the cost and book in with a couple of clicks. That is utterly unrivalled.
There is also the ability to offer Courses (sessions that run for a set duration and someone books in for the bunch), 1:1 sessions with you.
You can also set up tiered pricing, pay what you can, offer class passes or memberships or simply take one-off bookings and payments.

Customers can also manage their own bookings via their individual Member’s Area, too. That saves a surprising amount of time.

Another huge tick here is the full and complete integration of the Wix Bookings App into the Wix Studio website - it is totally seamless and fully integrated into the website. This looks totally custom and high-end and creates an amazing customer experience.

For you as a business owner it’s also very simple to schedule your sessions - it’s literally a calendar view that mirrors this view in my screenshot. Click, pick the session and you’re done.

Squarespace’s Booking Capability

*An example of an Acuity Booking page within a Squarespace site.*

Squarespace use Acuity Scheduling for their Bookings system. They used to be separate entities in previous years, but Squarespace purchased Acuity.
The big downside is Acuity Scheduling is at an additional cost to your Squarespace plan, whereas Wix Bookings comes as part of your Wix Studio plan.
Because the system isn’t natively coded in in the same way as Wix’s booking system the integration is not fully seamless.

Notice how there is a SIGN UP/LOG IN link in the middle of the page on the right hand side? That’s because this is essentially an external widget. That might not seem to bad, but if you then have a log in for a membership area on your top toolbar it can get really confusing for someone on your website.

Also, there is no option for a timetable view within Acuity. Personally, this drives me bananas because it creates more clicks in the process and it’s harder to see at a glance what is on when. More clicks = more friction in the buying process.

You can offer multiple appointment types for 1:1s, courses and classes within Acuity, just like you can in Wix Studio and offer the ability for customers to manage their own bookings - also a big tick.

I don’t think the interface is quite as friendly as the Wix Bookings system on either the front end or back end of the system. In the back end of the system (where you manage your sessions) it’s more of a list view, and it’s not quite as intuitive. Fine when you’re used to it, but the learning curve is steeper.

living with your website

Both Wix Studio and Squarespace are known as “drag and drop” website builders - this is essentially an interactive pick and click method of building instead of needing to code every small thing into existence (supposedly… more on that in a second).

Both platforms market themselves as easy to use, for novices and with a minimal learning curve and say it’s quick to make your own website.

I agree that they are both pretty simple to use… there is a learning curve and also a proper strategic framework for building websites, which is something neither platform is helpful with.

For example, many of Squarespace and Wix’s pre-designed templates actually have major SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) no-nos in their designs, such as multiple Heading1s per page which can end up with you getting your site flagged as spam by the major search engines.

Please don’t assume because the builder has designed something for you that it is actually fit for purpose (this is why professionals like me exist - we know how to build things properly within these platforms!) If you do decide to use a pre-designed template, it is worth considering getting a Web Audit to catch these sneaky mistakes and put them right as soon as possible.

Like anything, there are processes behind living with a website - things like setting up proper URLs for each page, meta descriptions, tagging, adding pages to a menu. And that is always going to be a learning curve if you are new to living with a website. Both of these platforms are relatively intuitive in that respect; but be aware each has their own little quirks and that might take a little time to adapt to.

WIX

Wix Studio is Wix’s latest development platform, specifically designed for web agencies and businesses.

It is really easy to edit text and swap images by simply clicking on what you want to change and hitting Publish to reflect those changes across your site.

It’s easy to add pages and adapt them for Tablet AND Mobile (really important as over 60% of traffic to websites globally is from Mobile devices. Mine is approximately 50/50 for example.)

You can also add simple animations like fading content in and out with a click of a button, and no need for code.

Squarespace

Squarespace is a touch more limited, in my experience. My bugbear with their editor, Fluid Engine 7.1, is that so many things have to be hard coded in. That isn’t user friendly for a business owner who isn’t a web developer.

You want to use a custom font? Has to be coded in.
You want your text to appear at a better scaled size on your mobile site? Has to be coded in.
You want slightly different text on your mobile site? Nope, you can’t do that.

I also find it really annoying that you can’t set a specific text size for each piece of text individually, only at a global level. That makes it really tempting to use incorrect headings (like a Heading 1 because it fits the space better which has a big negative impact, instead of the more appropriate Heading 2 style).

It is also pretty simple to add pages, but you only have the option to adapt them for Mobile, there isn’t a specific tablet option.

Costs

I’m going to be honest that I have many bugbears with Squarespace and their costs. Pretty much everything is an additional cost. Which would be absolutely fine if you could see where the money went… but honestly, I don’t see it.

Email newsletters are an additional cost, with tiered pricing (mine is £115 per year ON TOP of the £225 I pay for my website annually) - It’s free for a basic plan in Wix.

If you want a paywalled page for Members in Squarespace - that’s an additional cost. It’s free in Wix.

As we discussed, Acuity Scheduling is an additional cost. Wix Bookings is included in the plan you pay for.

Squarespace is also a more costly platform for a plan in comparison to Wix Studio also. A typical plan for a wellness website is in the region of £15 per month in Wix Studio and £30 in Squarespace.

So for me, Wix wins this one absolutely hands down.

Customer Service

There are going to be times where you get a bug in your website and need help fixing it, or you just might not be sure how to do something - so you might need to reach out and get help from Customer Services.

Wix’s customer services are truly excellent. The help guides are step-by-step and there’s loads of them, you can even speak to a real human via web chat or even on the phone. They’ll hop on screen share with you and more. I cannot fault them.

Squarespace on the other hand… not great. The live chat is often not manned, the help guides aren’t that helpful in experience and it’s hard to speak to a real human.

ethical impact

It would be remiss of me not to mention that Wix is an Israeli company. Given the situation and reality of what is happening in that country currently, that might be enough for you to decide that Wix is not the platform for you.

Squarespace is based in the US, but given the current administration, trade tarrffs and levys being applied that also might be something you may not wish to support.

I don’t want to give specific advice here because everyone’s ethics and values are totally different. It’s worth doing some research into each company and reflect on what you are and aren’t happy with.

What web platform should i pick?

As always in business there isn’t a black and white “this is the best option” answer. Every platform has a bunch of pros and cons.

In experience, I think Wix Studio is a more scalable and affordable option with an easier learning curve but I also know plenty of successful businesses on Squarespace. I’m one of them!

I offer anyone who books a Consultation Chat with me to have a discussion on the pros and cons of each platform, your needs and make a recommendation based on what platform would be the best fit for you in the long term so you don’t have to immediately rebuild your site over and over as you evolve and grow what you’re doing.

Ultimately, it comes down to a blend of what your business structure is now and what you are growing towards, your budget and ethics and picking the website provider that is the best blend of all of those needs.

Squarespace vs Wix: What’s the best website platform for your wellness business?