Wix, Shopify or a custom site?
The platform you choose decides what your website can do, what it costs every month and how hard it is to change later. Here is how the options compare for independent Singapore businesses.
The platform you choose decides what your website can do, what it costs every month and how hard it is to change later. Here is how the main options compare for independent shops, restaurants, salons and studios in Singapore.
The quick comparison
| Wix / Squarespace | Shopify | Custom-built site | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Service businesses, restaurants, studios | Anyone selling products online | Businesses that want speed, flexibility and no monthly platform fee |
| Monthly platform fee | Yes | Yes, plus transaction fees on some plans | Often none (hosting can be free or low-cost) |
| Selling online | Basic | Excellent | Possible, usually via Shopify or Stripe |
| Speed and SEO control | Good enough, limited | Good | Best |
| Ease of editing yourself | Very easy | Easy | Depends on how it is built |
Four questions. One answer.
Answer for your business today. The bars move as you go.
Each answer shifts the weighting between the three options.
Get a free audit of your current site →Wix and Squarespace
Good for: cafes, salons, studios and clinics that need a clear, attractive site with a menu, booking button and location.
Watch out for: We regularly see Singapore businesses still on a free wixsite.com address, which shows a Wix advert across the top of the page. Upgrading to a paid plan and connecting your own domain fixes this, and it is the first thing we recommend. We also see template text such as "I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text" left live for years. It is easy to miss and it costs trust.
Shopify
Good for: any business that sells products, including gift shops, boutiques, homeware and food products. Payments, stock, shipping and Singapore delivery options are built in.
Watch out for: stores still running on the default myshopify.com address, demo products like "Example Product Title" left in the featured collection, and themes that hide your physical shop's address and opening hours. If you also have a physical shop, put the address, hours and a map on the site. Customers check before they visit.
We run thecandystore.sg on Shopify. It handles thousands of orders and connects to delivery partners, and we still work on its speed and structure every month. See the case study.
A custom site
Good for: businesses that care about speed, a distinctive look and full control over SEO, and do not want to pay a platform every month for features they never use.
Watch out for: make sure you own the code and the domain, and agree upfront how you will make small changes (new prices, a new photo) after launch.
Five mistakes we see most often
- No address or opening hours on the homepage. This is the single most common gap on independent business sites.
- Menus and price lists only as PDFs or images. Google cannot read them, so you miss searches like "prata near Robertson Quay".
- An old copyright year in the footer. "© 2017" quietly tells visitors nobody is looking after the site.
- Broken links and buttons. Booking buttons that go nowhere, social icons linked to "#", email links to a placeholder address.
- A site Google is told to ignore. Some builders let you hide a site from search engines while it is being built. If that setting is never switched off, the site never appears on Google.
So which should you choose?
- Mostly selling products? Shopify.
- A service business that wants to edit the site yourself? Wix or Squarespace, on a paid plan with your own domain.
- Want the fastest site, a distinctive design and no platform fee? A custom build.
Not sure? Request a free audit and we will tell you, in plain English, whether your current platform is holding you back. Or read how much a website costs in Singapore.
Questions
Is Wix good for SEO in Singapore?
Wix can rank well if you use your own domain, write proper page titles and descriptions, and add your address and opening hours. Most problems come from setup, not from Wix itself.
Is Shopify available in Singapore?
Yes. Shopify supports Singapore dollars, local payment methods and local delivery and pickup settings.
Can I move from Wix to Shopify or a custom site later?
Yes. Plan the move so your page addresses redirect properly, otherwise you can lose the Google rankings you have built.