Comparison · Websites
The answer
For a showcase site of a few pages, a builder is often enough: Jimdo Start costs CHF 24/month1 incl. VAT with a domain, Squarespace Basic CHF 180/year2 excl. VAT, and your time is what makes the difference. A professional is justified when the result must inspire trust and you have neither the time nor the eye for it; a custom-coded site when it must do more than a storefront. If your current site still holds on substance but looks dated, redesigning it costs less than rebuilding everything.
Facts checked on · Updated · Market Switzerland
This analysis is available in French and English.
You need a website (or yours has aged) and are torn between building it yourself on a builder and paying a professional.
The comparison
Ratings from 0 to 4, from the point of view of someone in your situation — higher is better. The reasoning behind each rating is in the analysis.
| Criterion | Keep | Yourself | With a freelancer | RedesignBynilson service | Custom |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up-front costWhat you pay before going live. | The largest item: design and development. | ||||
| Recurring costSubscriptions, hosting, paid changes. | |||||
| Effort for youThe time and skills you have to put in. | All the work is yours. | ||||
| Quality of the resultWhat visitors perceive: finish, readability, credibility. | |||||
| PossibilitiesWhat the site can do beyond a storefront: integrations, features, growth. | A redesign keeps the existing tool and its limits. | ||||
| AutonomyBeing able to edit copy and pages yourself without paying anyone. | |||||
| OwnershipWhat you take with you if you change provider or tool. | A builder site usually stays tied to the platform. | The code belongs to you and can move host. | |||
| Lead timeThe time before going live. |
Leave the site as it is and only update the content.
For
Against
A site you build on Jimdo, Squarespace or Wix from a template.
For
Against
An independent professional sets the site up on a builder; you keep control of the content afterwards.
For
Against
Keep the content and structure, redo the look: typography, colours, layout, mobile version.
For
Against
A site designed and developed by a professional, with no template, on your own domain and hosting.
For
Against
The analysis
The prices shown in Switzerland are low: Jimdo Start at CHF 24/month1 incl. VAT with a domain included on a 12-month term, Squarespace Basic at CHF 180/year2 excl. VAT (one free year of domain when paid annually), Wix Light at EUR 14/month3 excl. tax, shown in euros. At Wix, booking is not in Light: it starts with the Core plan.
The real cost is elsewhere: your time. Choosing a template, writing the copy, preparing photos, adjusting the mobile version, then keeping it all up to date. The calculator below counts that time at the value you give it.
A builder site usually stays tied to its platform: if you change tool, you often have to rebuild it. Check what export allows before you start.
A freelancer can set your site up on a builder: you pay for the set-up, then keep control of the copy. It is often the right compromise for a small business that wants a clean result without depending on someone for every change.
A custom-coded site goes further: no template, speed and structure designed for you, and room for business features. In its article on what a website costs in Switzerland, Bynilson estimates a bespoke showcase site by an independent developer at CHF 4,000–12,000 — an estimate, not a verified market price. Changes then often go through a developer.
If your site still says the right things but looks dated — typography, colours, mobile version — a visual redesign costs less than a rebuild and keeps the existing content and search rankings.
It does not fix a site whose structure or content no longer match the business: in that case, rebuilding is more honest than repainting.
Your recommendation
Three questions are enough for a first answer; the rest refine it. Every rule applied is shown under the result.
Recommendation
Answer 3 more key questions: without them, a recommendation would be a guess.
Missing
Decision rules v1.0.0
The costs
The builder’s verified price is pre-filled with its date; the rest are assumptions to replace with your quotes and your time.
Cheapest over 36 months Yourself
No crossover within 5 years.
Yourself
With a freelancer
Custom
What this calculation shows
What it does not prove
Independent starting out
No website yet, no budget beyond a subscription, comfortable with tools, needs to be online fast.
Do it yourself on a builder. A few pages are enough; you can always do better later.
Why →Small business with an ageing site
A site whose content holds but looks dated, nobody to look after it, a need to look serious.
Redesign the existing site. The substance is fine; it is the look that costs credibility.
Why →Consultancy
A site that no longer matches the business, lots of content to publish, the wish to edit it in-house.
A tie between a builder site set up by a freelancer and doing it yourself: both leave you in control of the content; the freelancer saves you the set-up time.
Why →Business with operational needs
An outdated site, a client area and integrations to plan, a substantial budget, someone to manage it.
A custom-coded website. Beyond a storefront, a builder will soon limit you.
Why →A site that works
A decent site, no new need, little time.
Keep your site. Update the content; redoing a site that works has no purpose.
Why →What we do not know
The most uncertain part: the quality of the result. Two sites at the same price can have nothing in common; no calculation replaces looking at a provider’s past work before choosing.
Not necessarily. A well-chosen, well-filled template can look very clean; it is a poorly filled template, with approximate copy and photos, that looks amateur.
Jimdo Start costs CHF 24/month1 incl. VAT with a domain, on a 12-month term; Squarespace Basic CHF 180/year2 excl. VAT when paid annually. Your build time comes on top.
Bynilson estimates CHF 4,000–12,000 for an independent developer, in its article on website costs. It is an editorial estimate: only quotes give a price.
If the content and structure still match your business, a redesign is often enough. If they are outdated, rebuilding is more honest.
Every fact on this page points to a source read on the date shown. Prices and availability are re-checked at least every 90 and 120 days.
Jimdo Start (own domain included) costs CHF 24 per month including VAT, on a 12-month term.
verified · read on
Start | CHF 24 | per month | For your personal website | Free domain … Prices apply for a 12-month contract term. … All prices include VAT.Squarespace Basic costs CHF 180 per year excluding VAT when paid annually (CHF 21 per month when billed monthly).
verified · read on
"Basic — Annually","priceCurrency":"CHF","price":"180.00" / "Basic — Monthly" … "21.00" — Prices listed on our website don’t include VAT.Wix shows Swiss visitors its Light plan at EUR 14 per month excluding tax, paid 12 months upfront; no CHF price is shown.
verified · read on
Light | Mit den Basics starten | 14,00 € /Monat … Die dargestellten Preise gelten pro Monat bei einer jährlichen Laufzeit, die beim Kauf komplett bezahlt werden. Die Preise sind exklusive anwendbarer SteuernJimdo’s booking tool is free with unlimited appointments; automatic reminders need a paid plan.
verified · read on
Bookings are free, with unlimited appointments. If you want more, a paid plan unlocks additional features: … reduce no-shows with automatic reminders.Annual Squarespace plans include one year of free domain registration; an existing domain can be attached to any plan.
verified · read on
All Squarespace website plans purchased for an annual term include one (1) year of free domain registration… you can attach unlimited domains to any website planAt Wix, booking (“Scheduling and services”) is listed for Core and above, not for Light.
verified · read on
Core … Accept payments | Basic eCommerce | Scheduling and servicesAt Hostpoint, a .ch domain costs CHF 5 in the first year, then CHF 15 per year, VAT included.
verified · read on
Im ersten Jahr betragen die Kosten für eine .ch-Domain CHF 5.– inkl. MWST. Ab dem zweiten Jahr kostet die Domain CHF 15.– inkl. MWST.No vendor mentioned pays to appear here, and no link on this page is an affiliate link. What Bynilson sells is labelled as such and plays no part in the recommendation rules.
Research and writing assisted by AI tools; every fact was read on its source on the date shown, and the decision rules are written and tested by hand.
Useful steps whatever you decide.
Bynilson service
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