Wix, Squarespace, WordPress or a managed service? Here's an honest look at each option, including the one we sell, so you can pick what's right for your school.
The short answer
If you enjoy tech and have a few spare hours a week, Wix is the easiest DIY builder. If design matters most to you, Squarespace edges it. If you'd rather never think about your website and just have it bring in trial requests, a managed service is the better fit. Ours, the Studio Accelerator, is £57 a month with everything included.
| Option | Best for | Typical cost | Your time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wix | Owners who want the cheapest start and don't mind DIY | From around £10 to £30 a month | High: you build and maintain it |
| Squarespace | Owners who care most about how the site looks | From around £15 to £30 a month | High: you build and maintain it |
| WordPress | Owners with technical confidence or a developer friend | Varies widely with hosting and plugins | Very high: setup, updates and security are on you |
| Studio Accelerator (us) | Owners who want it done properly without touching it | £57 a month, everything included | Almost none: we build and manage it for you |
Before comparing builders, it's worth being clear about the job your website has to do. A dance school website isn't a brochure. It's the thing a parent looks at on their phone, usually at 9pm, deciding whether to book a trial class for their child.
That means the comparison isn't really about templates or drag-and-drop editors. It's about which option gets you a site that does these things well:
Wix is the most popular DIY builder for a reason. The editor is genuinely easy, there are hundreds of templates, and you can have something online in a weekend. If your budget is the deciding factor and you have the time, it's a perfectly reasonable place to start.
The trade-offs show up later. The templates aren't designed around trial requests, so most Wix dance school sites end up as pretty brochures that don't convert. SEO setup is left entirely to you. And every update, from a timetable change to a term date, is your job, forever.
Squarespace templates are more polished than Wix out of the box, and if a beautiful site is your top priority it's a strong DIY choice. The editor is more structured, which keeps your design tidy but gives you less freedom.
The same DIY caveats apply: it's your time, your SEO homework, and your job to keep it current. A dance school site that still shows last September's timetable does more harm than good, whichever builder it's on.
WordPress powers a huge share of the web and can do anything, but it's the wrong tool for most studio owners. You need to arrange hosting, choose and maintain plugins, keep everything updated, and handle security. When it breaks, and at some point it will, fixing it is on you.
If you have a developer in the family or genuinely enjoy this stuff, it can work well. Otherwise it tends to become the most expensive option once you count your hours.
The fourth option is to have a specialist build and run the site for you. That's what we do at Vector Web Design. The Studio Accelerator is £57 a month with no build fee: we design the site around trial requests, handle the SEO basics, and make your updates for you all year round.
We're biased, obviously. But our reason for existing is specific: Lorraine founded and ran her own dance school, so the sites we build are shaped by what dance parents actually do, not by a generic template. If you'd rather spend your evenings teaching than tweaking a website, this is the option designed for you.
It depends on your time and budget. Wix is the easiest DIY option, Squarespace has the most polished templates, and WordPress suits technically confident owners. If you'd rather not build or maintain it yourself, a managed service like the Studio Accelerator (£57 a month, everything included) means a specialist does it all for you.
DIY builders cost roughly £10 to £30 a month, plus your own time. Traditional agencies often charge £1,000 or more upfront, then extra for changes. Our Studio Accelerator is £57 a month with no build fee, including design, hosting, updates and ongoing management.
Yes, and plenty of owners do. The honest catch is time: building it is the easy part, and keeping it current, fast and visible on Google is the ongoing work that usually gets dropped once term gets busy.
Social media is great for keeping existing families engaged, but parents searching Google for classes won't find a Facebook page easily, and many won't trust a school without a proper website. A simple, professional site plus an active social presence is the combination that works.
Rather not DIY?
The Studio Accelerator: everything included from £57/month. No build fee.
Tell us about your school →