Website Platforms Directory

Verified pricing for website platforms for spiritual practitioners as of mid-2026. Prices change - confirm at each platform before committing.

Quick Reference Table

Platform	Entry Price	Free Trial	Ecommerce	Booking	Best For	Avoid If
Squarespace	$16/mo (annual)	14 days	Core+ ($23/mo)	3rd party only	Polished portfolio + services	Need complex membership or courses
Wix	$17/mo (annual)	Free plan (shows Wix ads)	Core+ ($29/mo)	Built-in (Wix Bookings)	Beginners; booking included	Switching templates later (locked in)
Showit	$22/mo (annual)	14 days	No native	No native	Visual-first brand + blog	Need selling or booking built in
WordPress (self-hosted)	~$5/mo (hosting)	None	Plugin (WooCommerce, free)	Plugin (Calendly/Acuity)	Max flexibility + SEO	No technical patience or support
WordPress.com	$8/mo (Premium)	Free (limited)	Commerce plan $45/mo	Via plugins	Managed WP without server	Paying premium for features free on .org
Squarespace + Acuity	$16 + $20/mo	Separate trials	Yes	Advanced ($20+)	Full booking + site combo	Budget-tight solo practitioners

Sources: squarespace.com/pricing, wix.com/plans, showit.com/pricing, elementor.com/blog, wordpress.com/pricing - all 2026.

Platform Profiles

Squarespace

Plans (annual billing):
- Basic: $16/month - portfolio, blog, personal site. No online selling.
- Core: $23/month - ecommerce unlocked, transaction fees waived
- Plus: $39/month - lower processing fees (2.7% + $0.30), additional features
- Advanced: $99/month - lowest processing fees (2.5% + $0.30)

14-day free trial. 1 year free domain on annual plans. Hosting, SSL, and domain management included.

Honest picture: Squarespace looks excellent and requires minimal technical knowledge. The templates are cohesive and design-forward in a way that suits a premium-positioned spiritual practice. The gap is booking - there's no native booking system, so you'll pay for Acuity or Calendly separately.

WordPress plugin ecosystem doesn't apply here. If you ever need something Squarespace doesn't offer natively, you are often stuck.

Wix

Plans (annual billing):
- Light: $17/month - basic portfolio, limited features
- Core: $29/month - ecommerce, events, analytics, Wix Bookings
- Business: $39/month - multi-region shipping, automated tax
- Business Elite: $159/month - advanced analytics, unlimited storage

Free plan available (displays Wix advertising on your site). 14-day refund guarantee. Most annual plans include 1 year free domain.

Honest picture: The most beginner-accessible platform on this list. Wix Bookings is included from the Core tier - scheduling, availability, payment, and reminders without a third-party tool. The locked-template model is a real constraint: you choose a template at launch and cannot change it without rebuilding. Think carefully about the structural choice before going live.

Showit

Plans:
- Basic (no blog): $228/year ($22/month equivalent, annual only)
- Blog Starter: $288/year ($27/month equivalent, annual) / $34/month (monthly)
- Advanced Blog: $408/year - supports custom plugins and WordPress blog migration

14-day free trial. Includes hosting, 20GB storage, HTTPS, backups.

Honest picture: Showit uses a canvas-based editor - you place elements pixel-precisely, not within a grid. The visual output ceiling is the highest on this list. It's popular with photographers and creative entrepreneurs for a reason: the sites look hand-designed rather than template-built.

The hard constraints: no native ecommerce, no native booking. Both require third-party integrations. The blog runs on a WordPress installation that Showit manages but still adds complexity. For practitioners where the visual brand IS the product, Showit justifies the limitations.

WordPress (Self-Hosted)

Estimated annual costs:
- Software: Free (wordpress.org)
- Shared hosting: $3-$5/month (Bluehost, SiteGround basic)
- Managed WordPress hosting: $19.99-$30/month
- Domain: $10-$20/year
- Premium theme: $20-$200+
- Total estimated: $50-$300/year (basic blog) to $300-$1,500+/year (full ecommerce)

Sources: bluehost.com, elementor.com, 2026.

Honest picture: WordPress is the flexibility maximum. 60,000+ plugins cover every use case: WooCommerce for selling, Calendly or Acuity plugins for booking, LearnDash or LifterLMS for courses, any membership system imaginable. The SEO ceiling is the highest of the four options.

The real cost is maintenance. Security patches, plugin conflicts, occasional white screens. Without technical comfort or a developer relationship, the ongoing management burden is real.

WordPress.com (Managed)

Plans:
- Free: Exists but limited, WordPress.com subdomain only
- Personal: $4/month (annual) - basic, still shows ads
- Premium: $8/month (annual) - custom domain, no ads, basic monetization
- Business: $25/month (annual) - plugin access (critical - without this you're locked out of the plugin ecosystem)
- Commerce: $45/month (annual) - full ecommerce

Honest picture: WordPress.com managed hosting trades the maintenance burden for a pricing premium over self-hosted. The critical nuance: the plugin ecosystem is only accessible from the Business tier ($25/month). Below that, you have a limited managed experience for features that are free on self-hosted wordpress.org.

Common Combinations

Most common solo practitioner setup: Squarespace Core ($23/month) + Calendly Standard ($10/month) = $33/month total. Clean site, workable booking.

Most integrated single-platform setup: Wix Core ($29/month). Booking, ecommerce, and site in one, no extra tools for basics.

Highest SEO ceiling: WordPress self-hosted. Budget $150-$300/year and be honest about maintenance.

Most visual: Showit Blog Starter ($27/month) + Acuity ($20/month) = $47/month. High design quality, no native selling or booking.