WordPress, Wix or fully custom code? For a Hyderabad clinic, salon, restaurant or retailer, this one decision shapes your costs for the next five years. Here is the honest comparison we walk customers through at DeskBees – including UPI payments, GST invoices, WhatsApp integration and who owns what.
For price context, see our pillar guide: How much does a website cost in Hyderabad?
Which platform should a Hyderabad small business choose?
Most Hyderabad small businesses should choose WordPress. You own the site, UPI and GST invoice plugins for India work out of the box, WhatsApp and booking integrations are mature, and any local developer can maintain it. Choose Wix only for a simple portfolio you will never sell from. Choose custom code only for a web app with workflows no plugin can handle, like multi-branch billing or dealer portals.
What does WordPress do well for Indian businesses?
WordPress with WooCommerce is our standard build – see website design. Strengths: you own files and database; Razorpay, PhonePe and Cashfree UPI plugins; GST invoice formats; Contact Form 7 plus WhatsApp alert plugins that ping your phone on every enquiry; Telugu/Hindi multilingual plugins; and easy host shifting, including our managed Hostinger hosting. Weakness: needs monthly updates and backups – either learn it or pay a maintenance plan. Ignore updates and the site gets hacked; that is the number one cause of “my website shows betting ads” calls we receive.
When does Wix or Squarespace make sense?
Hosted builders make sense for a photographer portfolio, a single-event page, or testing an idea for three months. You get drag-and-drop editing and no update chores. The trade-offs for Indian businesses are real: monthly fees in dollars that rise every year, weak UPI and GST support, limited WhatsApp and booking integrations, and no clean migration path – rebuilding from scratch when you outgrow it. If you plan to take payments, rank on Google Maps, or run Telugu content, start on WordPress instead of paying twice.
When is custom code worth the money?
Custom code (Laravel, React, Flutter apps) is worth it when your workflow is the product: salon billing with GST across branches, clinic appointment queues, catering orders across outlets, inventory with dealer pricing. Off-the-shelf software forces your staff to adapt to it; custom software adapts to them. Expect Rs. 80,000-plus and a discovery phase where the developer maps your process first. Our web application team prices by scope after that mapping – beware any quote for a “custom app” given in five minutes.
How do the costs compare over 3 years?
- WordPress: higher one-time build (Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 60,000 for a business site), low yearly renewals (domain plus hosting). You own everything.
- Wix / hosted: low start, perpetual monthly fee, plus paid apps for basics. Over three years most sellers pay more than a WordPress build – and still own nothing.
- Custom: highest build cost, but lowest subscription drag for process-heavy businesses. Pays back when it replaces two or three monthly subscriptions and manual registers.
Can I migrate from Wix to WordPress later?
Yes, but treat it as a rebuild, not a button press. Pages, blog posts and images move with manual effort; design, forms and store settings are recreated; URLs need 301 redirects so Google rankings survive. Budget the same as a fresh small-site build and do it before peak season, not during Diwali rush.
FAQs
Is WordPress free? The software is free and open source. You pay for domain, hosting, premium theme or plugins if needed, and the professional build and maintenance. Anyone selling “free WordPress website, pay only hosting” is selling hosting margin, not a website.
Which is better for SEO? WordPress, because you control titles, schema, speed, redirects and server. Builders control (and limit) most of that for you.
What do you build at DeskBees? WordPress plus WooCommerce for sites and stores, custom web apps where workflows demand it. Talk to us via contact with what you sell and how customers reach you today.
Last updated: 20 September 2026.