The "Free Website" Trap: Hidden Costs of Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify
Target Keyword: wix vs custom website cost, hidden costs of website builders
Search Intent: Commercial Investigation
Reading Time: 5 Minutes
If you’ve ever Googled “how to build a website,” you’ve seen the ads. “Create a stunning website for free!” “Start your online store today, $0 down!”
It sounds perfect. Why pay a developer when you can drag and drop your way to a professional presence for the price of a coffee?
But six months later, you check your bank statement. That “free” or “cheap” website is now bleeding your budget dry, $29 at a time.
Welcome to the Subscription Trap. Here is the breakdown of what those popular website builders aren’t telling you—and why the convenience of “renting” your website is costing you thousands.
1. The Illusion of “Free”
The biggest marketing trick in the industry is the “Free Plan.”
Yes, you can publish a site on Wix or Weebly for free. But here is the reality of what that looks like for a business:
- The Domain: You can’t use yourbusiness.com. You are stuck with yourbusiness.wixsite.com. It screams “amateur” to every potential customer.
- The Ads: They force their branding onto your site. You are essentially paying them (with your traffic) to be a billboard for their services.
- The Lock-out: Want to connect your own professional domain? That requires an immediate upgrade to a paid tier.
The Reality: There is no such thing as a free professional website. The moment you want to look like a real business, the meter starts running.
2. The “App Store” Nickel-and-Diming
You signed up for the $29/month plan. You made your peace with that. But then you realize you need a few “basic” features.
- Want a contact form that actually blocks spam? $5/month app.
- Need advanced SEO tools to be found on Google? $10/month app.
- Want to collect reviews or show an Instagram feed? $8/month app.
These platforms operate like mobile games. The entry fee is low, but the “micro-transactions” are where they make their fortune. Before you know it, your $29 website is costing you $75/month in necessary plugins just to function properly.
3. The 5-Year Cost Breakdown (The Numbers Don’t Lie)
Let’s look at the math. Most business owners think short-term (“It’s only $30 today!”), but a website is a long-term asset.
Here is a conservative comparison between a standard “DIY” builder plan and a Launchpad100 static site over 5 years.
| Cost Item | Popular Builder (Wix/Shopify/Squarespace) | Launchpad100 |
|---|---|---|
| Setup / Design | $0 (DIY - 20+ hours of your time) | $100 (One-time) |
| Hosting Fee | $29/mo (Standard Business Plan) | $0 (Included Forever) |
| Year 1 Total | $348 | $100 |
| Year 2 Total | $348 | $0 |
| Year 3 Total | $348 | $0 |
| Year 4 Total | $348 | $0 |
| Year 5 Total | $348 | $0 |
| 5-YEAR GRAND TOTAL | $1,740 | $100 |
> Note: This doesn’t even include price hikes (which happen annually) or premium apps. The real cost for a builder is likely over $2,500.
The Verdict: For the price of one simple website on a subscription platform, you could have paid for a Launchpad100 site 17 times over.
4. Renting vs. Owning: The “Landlord” Problem
When you build on Wix, Squarespace, or Shopify, you do not own your website. You are renting it.
If you stop paying the monthly fee, your site vanishes. You can’t download your code and move it to a cheaper host. You can’t take your design with you. You are locked into their ecosystem, their pricing, and their rules.
Launchpad100 operates on an ownership model.
- We build you a static, lightning-fast website.
- You pay once.
- It is yours.
Because static sites (HTML/CSS) don’t require heavy databases or complex servers, they are incredibly cheap to host—so cheap that we cover the hosting for you. Forever.
Stop Paying Monthly Rent for Your Own Business
Your website should be an asset that makes you money, not a liability that drains it.
If you are tired of watching monthly subscription fees eat into your margins, it’s time to get off the hamster wheel.
Get your professional, permanent website for $100 today at Launchpad100.com.
No monthly fees. No hidden costs. Just a website that works.