What a modular system can – and what is not
modular systems such as Jimdo, Wix or Squarespace have their appeal: A website is online in a few hours, templates are already finished and the monthly costs remain manageable. For someone who builds an online presence for the first time, this sounds like the simplest solution. And in certain situations it is.
However, the boundaries are quick as soon as it comes to more than a pure business card page. SEO optimization is often only superficially possible in modular systems – technical foundations such as clean URL structures, charging time optimization or structured data can hardly be controlled individually or not at all. The result is often generic: The templates are used thousands of times, a real positioning or a targeted user guidance cannot be represented in it. Anyone who wants to grow will encounter structural boundaries that cannot be overcome without a complete restart. In addition, the dependency on the respective platform – price increases, function changes or a setting of the service are completely outside of your own control.
Specifically, this means that in Wix, for example, you cannot incorporate your own server-side logic, set complex forwarding rules or clean up the generated HTML. Squarespace allows you to connect domains, but the source code generated remains proprietary – full of unnecessary scripts and flawed CSS classes that both Google and users are braking. Jimdo limits structured data (JSON-LD) to a few predefined types. If you need landing pages for different target groups, a clean Breadcrumb navigation or individual Open-Graph images, you can quickly find limits that cannot be configured away.
The hidden price: What modular systems cost in the long term
The favorable entry is one of the strongest arguments for modular systems – and at the same time one of the most misleading. The monthly subscription price will initially be manageable: Wix calculates between 10 and 45 euros per month, Squarespace between 14 and 65 euros, Jimdo between 9 and 39 euros. Over three to five years, this sums up to 360 to over 2,000 euros – for a solution that doesn't belong to you at the end. Return the subscription, disappear your website.
In addition, the indirect costs that can hardly be quantified, but are real: a website that does not provide signals to Google brings less organic traffic. Less traffic means less inquiries. If a local craftsmanship company does not receive only two potential jobs every month, this quickly exceeds the savings in web design. The actual price comparison is not "Baukasten-Abo vs. professional web design project" – but "what does it cost me if my website doesn't work?"
Anyone who dares to change will also pay twice: the old building block will be dismantled, a new professional side will be built – and nothing can be transferred. Content must be rewritten or manually copied, images re-optimized, backlinks set to new URLs. The rebuilding costs time, money and nerves that would have saved themselves from the start in a professional solution.
Performance and Core Web Vitals: Why choose charging times via Google rankings
Since Google Core Web Vitals officially introduced as a ranking factor, the technical performance of a website is no longer an optional game – it is a direct influence on visibility in the search. The three central measured variables are: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), which measures how quickly the main content of a page is loaded; Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), which evaluates unexpected layout shifts during loading; and Interaction to Next Paint (INP), which assesses the responsiveness to user inputs.
In these metrics, modular systems cut down structurally worse than individually developed websites. The reason lies in the structure: modular platforms generate expanded HTML code, load many JavaScript libraries – even those that are not needed on the specific page – and do not offer any control over image formats, lazy-loading behavior or the order in which resources are loaded. The result are poorer PageSpeed scores, higher bounce rates and in case of doubt lower positions in search results.
On the other hand, a professionally developed static website only delivers what the respective page actually needs: optimized images in modern WebP format, preloaded fonts, clean resource timing and no unnecessary JavaScript. This is not only noticeable in Google measurements, but also in user behavior – pages that load quickly are visited longer and are more often converted into requests.
Where professional web design makes the difference
A professionally developed website does not begin with a template, but with a question: who should address this website, what should it trigger and how do we guide the user there? This strategic basis makes the greatest difference – it determines structure, content, language and design. The result is not an adapted standard layout, but a page that makes the positioning of a company visible.
Technically, professional websites start from scratch on SEO-optimized: clean semantic award, fast charging times, core web vitals in the green area, consistent mobile optimization. These basics directly influence whether a website ranks well with Google – and whether visitors stay or skip immediately. No platform lock-in. The code belongs to you, the hosting is where it makes sense for you. What was once built can be expanded, adapted and developed – without dependency on the decisions of a third-party provider.
For whom a modular can still be useful
It would be dishonest to say that a website builder in no situation is a sensible choice. With very small budgets, time-limited presences – for example for an event or a test project – or private side projects without business ambitions, a modular system can be quite sufficient. The entry is low-swell and the costs remain controllable.
However, for companies who want to grow via their website, generate inquiries and want to be professionally perceived, the modular system is usually not a sustainable solution – but a first step that needs to be repeated sooner or later. This is not a verdict, but an observation: In our work as an agency, customers who have started using a modular system regularly meet us and after two to three years find that the platform actively hinders their growth. The change to a professional website is unavoidable – and much more complicated than it would have been at the beginning.
The real question: What should your website do?
A website is far more than a digital business card for most companies. It is an active acquisition channel – often the first touch point with potential customers. If a website is intended to generate inquiries, build trust, work professionally and find it at Google, then the decision between the modular and professional web design should not be made on the basis of the entry price, but on the basis of these goals.
The better starting question is not: "What does a website cost?" – but: "What should my website do for my company?" Anyone who can answer this question clearly almost always comes to a decision that lasts long-term – whether it means starting with something simple or investing professionally from the outset.
Our conclusion
Professional web design requires more initial investment, but provides better results in the long term: visibility, user management and external impact. Who wants his website to work actively for the company – Trust builds up, requests are generated and visible at Google – should be strategically thinking from the outset. A modular system can be a first step. Rarely, he's the last one.