Will I lose my Showit blog posts?

No. Showit’s blog is WordPress, so posts export with their text and images and can be imported elsewhere.

Can a custom site look as editorial as Showit?

Yes. There’s no template ceiling in code, so a magazine-style layout is entirely possible, and it can load faster too.

Is Custom website or Showit better for SEO?

Custom website gives you more SEO control. Custom website: Tags, URLs, redirects and schema are all under your control. Rankings still depend on content and links. Showit: Basics on pages; WordPress plugins on the blog.

Do I own my website on Custom website or Showit?

Custom website (fully yours): Everything, provided your contract gives you the code. The way I work, it lives in a repository you own. Showit (partial): Blog posts via WordPress; page designs have to be rebuilt.

Custom website vs Showit

Showit is a good fit for a solo photographer or coach who wants to design their own editorial-looking site and blog on WordPress. A custom website suits a creative business that has outgrown two layouts per page and slow image-heavy pages, and wants to rank as well as it looks.

Not sure which fits? Send me your site and I’ll give you my honest view.

Whether it’s Custom website, Showit or something else, I’ll give you a straight recommendation for your business. Free.

Side by side

Ratings are my own assessment for a typical small business, as of October 2026. Platforms change their features and plans often, so check the vendor’s current documentation before you decide.

Custom website vs Showit comparison
	Custom website	Showit
What it is	Designed from a blank page and hand-coded for one business.	A freeform builder for photographers and creatives, with a WordPress blog.
Ownership and portability	Fully yoursIf the contract assigns it to you, the code, design and domain are yours. Any developer can pick it up.	PartialThe WordPress blog is portable; the design isn’t.
SEO control	ExtensiveTags, URLs, redirects and schema are all under your control. Rankings still depend on content and links.	AdequateBasics on pages; WordPress plugins on the blog.
AI-search readiness	StrongPrerendered HTML and structured data can be built in from day one. Citations still depend on content.	MixedFine for the blog; pages offer fewer structural controls.
Performance	StrongCan ship only the code each page needs. Fast if built well, slow if not.	VariesDepends heavily on image sizes; large images can weigh pages down.
Design freedom	UnlimitedNo template ceiling. The brand and budget set the limits.	UnlimitedFreeform canvas with no grid limits.
E-commerce	GoodCustom storefronts are possible; often paired with Shopify for checkout.	Not built inVia third-party integrations.
Maintenance burden	MinimalA static site has no plugins or database to patch, though dependencies and the domain still need care.	LightManaged, but two layouts per page to keep in sync.
Learning curve	GentleYou don’t build it. Editing depends on whether a CMS is included.	GentleComfortable for visual people.
Pricing model	A project fee up front, then optional ongoing care. Static hosting itself tends to cost very little.	Monthly or yearly subscription; the WordPress blog comes with the blog plans.
Day-to-day editing	Text and images through a simple CMS if one is set up, otherwise a quick request to the developer.	Showit’s desktop app-style canvas; WordPress for posts.

Which one suits you

Choose Custom website if…

page speed on phones is costing you enquiries
you’re tired of keeping desktop and mobile layouts in sync
you want the whole site, not just the blog, to be portable

Choose Showit if…

you want to design every page yourself on a freeform canvas
you like buying a creative template and making it your own
you’re a solo business with a handful of pages and a blog

The difference that matters most

Showit has you design desktop and mobile separately. That’s total freedom, and it’s also two layouts to maintain for every page, and large images can weigh down mobile load times if they aren’t optimized. Performance is one of its lower scores in my ratings.

A wedding photographer in Banff whose couples mostly browse on phones will feel that. A custom site can keep the editorial look while serving properly sized WebP images and one responsive layout.

Where each one leads

Counted from my ratings in the table above.

Custom website leads on ownership and portability, seo control, ai-search readiness, performance, e-commerce and maintenance burden.

Showit doesn’t clearly lead Custom website on any of the factors above.

Best fit for Custom website: established businesses whose website has to win work in a competitive market. Best fit for Showit: photographers and creatives who want a visual, editorial look.

Switching between them

The blog is the easy part: Showit blogs run on WordPress, so posts export in WordPress format. Page designs have to be rebuilt. Keep blog post URLs the same if possible, since that’s often where a photographer’s search traffic lives, and redirect anything that changes.

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