Orange County small business owner comparing Wix, WordPress, and custom-built website options

Custom-Built vs WordPress vs Wix: Which Website Gets Orange County Small Businesses More Leads?

houseDennis Korol, Outdooit Sep 3, 2025

Running a small business in Orange County means you’re always balancing time, money, and how to keep clients coming in. One of the most important tools you have is your website. But here’s the problem: not all websites are built the same.

Most owners end up choosing between Wix, WordPress, or a custom-built site. On the surface, they may look similar, but the performance, cost, and ability to bring in leads are completely different.

Let’s break down the options so you can see which one actually works best for small businesses like lawyers, landscapers, and health coaches right here in Orange County.

What Every Local Business Website Needs

Whether you’re running a law office in Irvine, a landscaping business in Anaheim, or coaching clients in Newport Beach, your website has to do more than just look nice.

Here’s what really matters:

  • Speed. If your site takes more than a few seconds to load, people leave. Google also ranks faster websites higher.
  • Mobile-first. Most people in Orange County search on their phones. If your site isn’t lightning-fast on mobile, you’re losing leads.
  • SEO-friendly. A website has to be easy for Google to read and rank. Otherwise, your competition shows up first.
  • Low maintenance. You shouldn’t have to pay for endless fixes, updates, or plugin issues.

Wix – Easy to Start, Hard to Grow

Wix is the “DIY” option. It’s quick, affordable, and simple to get something online.

Pros:

  • Drag-and-drop builder, no coding needed
  • Low monthly cost
  • Lots of ready-made templates

Cons:

  • Slower on mobile, which hurts Google rankings
  • Templates often look cookie-cutter
  • Limited SEO control

Best fit: Wix is fine for side projects or businesses just testing the waters. But if you’re serious about attracting clients, Wix can hold you back.

WordPress – Flexible, But High Maintenance

WordPress is the world’s most popular website platform. It’s flexible and powerful, but with that power comes a lot of upkeep.

Pros:

  • Huge library of themes and plugins
  • Highly customizable
  • Widely supported by developers

Cons:

  • Constant plugin and security updates
  • Slower load times due to heavy code
  • Hosting and developer costs add up
  • Risk of your site breaking when updates clash

Best fit: WordPress works for bigger companies that can afford a developer to maintain it. For many small businesses, the ongoing cost and headaches aren’t worth it.

Custom-Built for Speed and SEO – Built to Win on Google

A custom-built website is designed from the ground up with one goal: performance.

What does “custom-built” mean?
Instead of relying on bloated templates or plugins, every line of code is written clean. That means faster loading, stronger security, and better Google rankings.

Pros:

  • Blazing fast. 90–100 mobile speed scores are normal.
  • SEO-ready. Clean code makes it easier for Google to rank your site.
  • Secure. No extra plugins to cause problems.
  • Custom design. Your site looks unique and fits your brand.

Cons:

  • You can’t DIY it—you need a developer to build it.

Best fit: Small businesses ready to grow and dominate local search. If you want more clients without constant website headaches, this is your best option.

Orange County Example

Picture this:

  • A lawyer in Santa Ana has a Wix site that looks fine but takes 7 seconds to load on a phone. Most visitors give up before it loads.
  • A landscaper in Anaheim has a WordPress site that breaks every time a plugin update fails. Clients get frustrated and leave.
  • A health coach in Newport Beach has a custom-built site that loads in under 2 seconds and is designed for SEO from the start.

Guess which one shows up higher on Google? Guess which one people trust more when they’re searching on their phones?

That’s the power of a custom-built website.

Cost Breakdown

Let’s compare real-world costs:

  • Wix: $20–$40/month, but limited SEO and may need a full redesign later.
  • WordPress: $3,000–$5,000 upfront plus $100–$200/month for hosting, plugins, and developer support.
  • Custom-built: $3,600 upfront or $175/month with Outdooit.

When you look at performance, Google rankings, and fewer headaches, custom-built delivers the best long-term value.

Final Verdict

  • Wix: Good for beginners, not for serious growth.
  • WordPress: Flexible, but costly and high maintenance.
  • Custom-built: Fast, secure, SEO-friendly, and designed to bring in more leads.

Ready to Grow?

If you’re a lawyer, landscaper, or health coach in Orange County, your website should be more than just an online brochure—it should be your best lead generator.

At Outdooit, we build blazing-fast, custom-built websites starting at just $175/month.

👉 Get your free website speed audit today and see how your current site stacks up.