Joomla, Wix and Squarespace: when to move, and what it costs

Joomla: check your version first

Joomla 3 lost all support, including security fixes, on 17 August 2023. Joomla 4 followed: its security support ended in October 2025, and the project lists 17 October 2025 as its end of life¹. If your site runs either version, it gets no fixes for vulnerabilities found from then on.

Joomla 5 and 6 are supported, but moving from 3 or 4 is a migration, not a one-click update. Templates and extensions often have to be replaced. Since the work is a rebuild either way, it's the natural point to ask whether you still need a database-driven platform at all.

Wix and Squarespace: when the builder becomes the limit

Wix and Squarespace look after security and hosting for you, so there's no urgent reason to leave. The reasons people do move are about control and growth:

• Speed on phones. Builder pages carry the code for every feature the platform offers. Run your homepage through a speed test on a phone profile. Google's target is the main content in under 2.5 seconds².
• Features. Multi-location pages, a real catalogue, a booking flow of your own, or staff roles in the editor.
• Ownership. You can't take a Wix or Squarespace design with you. Content can be exported in part; the site itself has to be rebuilt elsewhere.

What a move costs

The build is the visible cost. In 2026 the median published starting price for a small-business website in the US is $1,500, and agencies start at a median of $4,500⁴. Add the time to gather and review content, and three years of running costs, which differ far more between platforms than the build does.

Keep your rankings through the move

Every platform has its own address patterns. Joomla sites often have addresses like /index.php/services, and Wix blogs use /post/. List every URL, keep the ones you can, and redirect each one that changes to its new page³. Don't point them all at the homepage.