Most guides to website builders compare templates, editors and features. Those matter, and they are easy to judge for yourself with a free trial. This page is about the questions a trial will not answer: what you could take with you if you left, how the site changes hands, how someone else gets in to help, and what happens to your domain.
It does not rank builders. Every platform-specific statement below comes from that platform's own documentation, linked so you can check it.
What a website builder is
A website builder is a hosted platform for creating and running a website yourself, usually by starting from a template and editing it visually. You pay a subscription, and the platform provides the servers, the software and the editor as one package.
Self-hosted WordPress is a different arrangement. There you choose the hosting, install the software and look after both yourself or through someone you hire. WordPress.com, which is covered here, is a hosted service built on WordPress software. If you are still deciding between approaches, start with our guide to choosing a website solution.
What the builder runs, and what stays yours
The platform runs:
- The hosting and the servers the site runs on.
- Its own software, including updates to it.
- Security for its own systems.
You remain responsible for:
- The content -- every word and image, and whether you have the right to use it.
- Anything you add: apps, plugins, embedded tools and third-party services.
- Whether what you build is accessible to people with disabilities. A template is a starting point, not a result.
- Your account's security: who can log in, and how.
- Keeping copies of what matters, beyond what your plan includes.
- Your domain, wherever it is registered.
Where that line falls on your plan, and what happens when something breaks, is covered in what website maintenance includes.
Five questions to settle before you sign up
Can the whole site move to another host? If the answer is no, leaving means rebuilding somewhere else. That is not a reason to avoid a builder, but it is worth knowing on day one.
What does the export contain? All four builders below document exporting some content, products or customer records. None documents exporting the whole site as a working website. Check what you would actually have in hand.
How does the site change hands? If you sell the business, or a designer built the site in their own account, it matters whether ownership moves or a copy is made, and what is left behind.
How does a professional get access? Named, revocable access lets someone help without your password. Some plans limit how many people you can invite.
Can the domain move? All four builders below document how to transfer a domain bought through them to another registrar. The waiting periods and steps differ.
How four builders answer them
| Question | Wix | Squarespace | Shopify | WordPress.com |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moving the whole site to another host The question that is hardest to change later. | Not supported. A Wix site must be hosted and run on Wix's own servers. Source for Moving the whole site to another host, Wix (opens Wix Help Center) | No complete site transfer is documented. The official export tools cover site content as an XML file, and products and contacts as CSV files, for use on a new platform. Source for Moving the whole site to another host, Squarespace (opens Squarespace Help Center) | No complete site transfer is documented. The official export tools cover store data as CSV files, plus a theme download. Source for Moving the whole site to another host, Shopify (opens Shopify Help Center) | Content can be imported into a self-hosted WordPress site. Theme design, customizations and plugins are not in the export. Source for Moving the whole site to another host, WordPress.com (opens WordPress.com Support) |
| What an export contains | Contacts can be exported as a CSV file, up to 50,000 at a time, by the site owner only. Source for What an export contains, Wix (opens Wix Help Center) | A WordPress-compatible XML file of site content. Store, portfolio, index and album pages, drafts, style settings and custom CSS are left out. Source for What an export contains, Squarespace (opens Squarespace Help Center) | Products, customers, orders, gift card codes and financial data as CSV files, plus a theme download. Discount codes, saved reports and traffic data cannot be transferred. Source for What an export contains, Shopify (opens Shopify Help Center) | Posts, pages, comments, categories and tags, with links to media rather than the files. A full backup download is available only on the Business and Commerce plans. Source for What an export contains, WordPress.com (opens WordPress.com Support) |
| Handing the site to a new owner | Two documented methods. The site itself can be transferred to another Wix account; for a Premium site, the plan and the domain with its mailboxes can go with it and premium apps move automatically, but payment details and Wix Payments accounts do not. Or a copy can be transferred while the original stays in your account; contacts, orders and invoices are not copied. Source for Handing the site to a new owner, Wix (opens Wix Help Center) | Ownership moves to someone already invited as a contributor, with attached subscriptions and Squarespace domains. Billing details are updated separately. Source for Handing the site to a new owner, Squarespace (opens Squarespace Help Center) | A partner can build a store and transfer ownership when it is ready; the merchant then owns it. Source for Handing the site to a new owner, Shopify (opens Shopify Help Center) | Ownership moves with the plan, paid upgrades and domains. The previous owner stays on as an administrator until removed. Source for Handing the site to a new owner, WordPress.com (opens WordPress.com Support) |
| Giving a professional access | Collaborators are invited with a predefined or custom role and removed to revoke access. Collaborator limits depend on the plan. Check how many people can be invited, which roles are available and whether additional seats cost extra. Source for Giving a professional access, Wix (opens Wix Help Center) | Contributors are invited with set permissions. Administrators can do almost everything except transfer ownership. Source for Giving a professional access, Squarespace (opens Squarespace Help Center) | Collaborator accounts with scoped permissions, removable permanently, expiring after 90 days without a login. Source for Giving a professional access, Shopify (opens Shopify Help Center) | Roles run from Administrator to Viewer. Only the site owner can transfer ownership. Source for Giving a professional access, WordPress.com (opens WordPress.com Support) |
| Moving a domain bought here to another registrar The domain is the one asset every future website depends on. | Wix documents transferring an eligible domain to another provider. A recently registered or transferred domain, or one with recently changed contact information, may be subject to ICANN's sixty-day lock. Source for Moving a domain bought here to another registrar, Wix (opens Wix Help Center) | Any collaborator with domain permissions can start a transfer away; the code goes only to the registrar's owner or admin contact. Source for Moving a domain bought here to another registrar, Squarespace (opens Squarespace Help Center) | Only the store owner can transfer it. .com, .net and .org domains wait 60 days after purchase, a transfer in, or a contact change. Source for Moving a domain bought here to another registrar, Shopify (opens Shopify Help Center) | Possible after unlocking it and requesting an authorization code, but not within 60 days of registering or transferring it. Source for Moving a domain bought here to another registrar, WordPress.com (opens WordPress.com Support) |
A caution marks something that commonly surprises people later.
Evidence: Official source Last verified
Each cell reports what the platform's own documentation says, and links to it. Plans and procedures change; check the linked page before you rely on a cell.
Three things stand out from the documentation.
First, none of these exports is documented as a complete website you could run elsewhere. Wix says plainly that a Wix site runs only on Wix, while documenting CSV exports of contacts and of store products (digital products excepted). Squarespace and WordPress.com export content in a format another platform can import, without the design. Shopify exports store data and lets you download the theme. In our editorial assessment, that makes the choice of builder a longer commitment than a monthly subscription suggests.
Second, ownership changes hands in different ways. Wix documents two methods: transferring the site itself to another Wix account, where a Premium site's plan and domain can go with it, or transferring a copy while the original stays in the sender's account. On Squarespace and WordPress.com ownership of the site itself moves, with attached subscriptions and domains. If someone else might ever run the site, find out which method your builder offers and what stays behind.
Third, every builder here offers access short of handing over your password, but the details differ -- seat limits, which roles exist, and who can transfer ownership. The safest pattern is the same everywhere: the business owns the account, and anyone helping gets their own login at the level the work needs.
Caution: Caution: If a designer builds your site in their own builder account, the handover depends on how that platform transfers sites. On some platforms the builder can hand over either the site itself or a copy of it. Agree which, and what moves with it, before the build starts.
Website Ownership Check
Nine areas worth checking whichever builder you choose.
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Area 01. Domain registration
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Area 02. DNS control
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Area 03. Website platform or hosting account
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Area 04. Website files and portability
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Area 05. Business email
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Area 06. Analytics and Search Console
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Area 07. Copy, photography, graphics and design
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Area 08. Customer and operational data
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Area 09. Cancellation, export and handoff
What you keep paying for
A builder's cost is more than the advertised monthly figure. Expect some combination of:
- The subscription, often cheaper per month when paid a year in advance, and sometimes introductory for the first term only.
- The domain, which may be free for the first year and then renews at the normal price.
- Add-ons -- apps, extra storage, professional email, booking or marketing tools.
- Transaction fees on some commerce plans, on top of payment processing.
Our website cost guide sets out current prices for these four builders, including what each states about renewal.
When a builder is the wrong tool
A builder is a poor fit when the site must be able to move to another host as a whole, when it depends on a workflow no builder supports, or when you will not have the time to run it yourself. In those cases a professional, a managed service or self-hosted software may suit you better, and the guide to choosing a website solution compares them.
Before you choose
- Have you read the platform's own help page on exporting, and do you know what you would have in hand if you left?
- Will the account be in the business's name, with an email address the business controls?
- If someone will help you, does your plan allow enough collaborators?
- Do you know how the domain would move, and who would receive the transfer code?
- Do you know the renewal price as well as the first-year price?
- Do you know which ongoing jobs the platform handles and which stay with you?
If you can answer all six for the builder you are considering, you understand several of the commitments that are hardest to change later. To check the rest of what your business controls, use our website ownership checklist.