Wix, Squarespace or WordPress: which suits a clinic, firm or centre

On This Page

1. Side by side
2. For a clinic
3. For a firm
4. For a centre
5. Which suits you?
6. What they cost
7. My view
8. Questions I get asked

If you're choosing a platform for a clinic, a firm or a centre, it usually comes down to three: Wix, Squarespace or WordPress. I've compared each pair in detail, in Wix vs Squarespace, Wix vs WordPress and Squarespace vs WordPress. This page puts all three side by side and helps you pick, with the differences that matter for a service business in Australia: what it costs with bookings, how fast the sites are, who looks after it, where your data sits, and whether you can take it with you. Everything comes from the platforms' own Australian pages and from the HTTP Archive's speed data, read on 11 and 12 October 2026. Prices change, so check before you buy.

Side by side

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

The speed figures are averages across every site on each platform, from the HTTP Archive's Chrome data. A well-built site on any of them can pass and a badly built one can fail; builders that control the code for every site tend to average higher than WordPress, where anyone can add a heavy theme or plugin.

For a clinic

Three things decide it for a health practice:

• Your booking system. Most clinics book through Cliniko, Halaxy, HotDoc, Nookal or similar, not the builder. You need to be able to embed its widget or button, which rules out Squarespace Basic. Wix's own bookings only matter if you don't already have practice software. My guide to adding online bookings to a clinic website covers each system.
• Where patient data goes. Wix and Squarespace store data overseas. That's allowed, but if your contact or intake forms collect health information, the Privacy Act's rules on overseas disclosure apply, and a WordPress site on an Australian host keeps it simpler. Better still, keep clinical details out of website forms altogether.
• Ahpra. No platform checks your copy against Ahpra's advertising guidelines, and their AI writing tools don't know the rules either. That's on you, whichever you pick.

For a firm

Law, accounting, finance and consulting firms usually care most about content and ownership. If you'll publish articles regularly, rank for specific services in specific suburbs, and want full control of page addresses, redirects and structured data, WordPress gives you the most, and the whole site is yours to move. Wix documents strong SEO controls too, including a redirect manager, which matters if you're moving from an old site that ranks. Squarespace is the calmest to run if your site is mostly a few service pages and a team page. More in is Wix good for SEO? and Squarespace SEO.

For a centre

Childcare centres, schools, studios and clubs tend to need forms, enrolments or registrations, documents parents can find, and pages that are easy for everyone to read. If your enrolment or registration runs through a dedicated system, any of the three can link or embed it. If you need custom forms, memberships or a lot of documents, WordPress's plugins go furthest, at the cost of upkeep. Whatever you choose, the accessibility of your site is your responsibility on all three: none promises your site will meet the accessibility standard.

Which suits you?

What they cost

Wix's Australian plans include GST; Squarespace's don't, so add 10%. For a service business, Wix Core is A$504 a year. Squarespace Core is A$369.60 a year with GST, plus Acuity if you need its bookings. WordPress hosting varies most: introductory prices are low, but they need long prepays and jump at renewal, so compare three years, not the first month. Domains, email and any paid apps or plugins sit on top of all three. The detail is in Wix pricing, Squarespace pricing and WordPress hosting in Australia.

My view

For a clinic that already has practice software and wants a site that looks good with little effort, Squarespace on Core or Wix both work; Wix is faster on average, Squarespace is calmer. For a firm that publishes, or anyone who wants to own the site and keep data here, WordPress, with someone responsible for keeping it updated. And if you'd rather not build it at all, the choice is less about the platform than about who builds it, what it costs over a few years, and who owns it at the end, which I cover in website subscription or one-off build.

Questions I get asked

Which is better for a small business, Wix, Squarespace or WordPress?

Wix if you'll build it yourself and need bookings, Squarespace if design and low upkeep matter most, WordPress if you want to own the site or keep data in Australia.

Which is fastest?

On average, Wix. In the HTTP Archive's data, 85.9% of Wix sites passed Core Web Vitals for Australian mobile visitors, against 64.7% for Squarespace and 53.9% across all WordPress sites.

Can I move my site from Wix or Squarespace to WordPress later?

Not whole. Wix exports data such as contacts and bookings as spreadsheets but not the site. Squarespace exports some pages, one blog and images as a WordPress file. Expect to rebuild the design.

Which is best for SEO?

All three can rank. WordPress gives the most control, Wix documents strong SEO controls including redirects, and Squarespace covers the basics. Your content and Google profile matter more than the platform.

Do any of them store data in Australia?

Wix and Squarespace store data overseas. With WordPress you choose your host, and many offer Sydney or Melbourne data centres.