Can I update my own website without hiring someone every time?
Yes, in most cases — but "updating it yourself" and "not paying every time" are two separate questions. DIY builders like Wix, Squarespace and GoDaddy let you make every change yourself for a flat monthly fee; a free Google Business Profile covers hours, photos and posts for many local businesses; and some agencies include edits, meaning you send the change and someone else makes it at no extra charge. The thing to compare is who does the work and what each change actually costs.
First, decide what "update" actually means for you
Most owners picture the same handful of changes: fixing hours, swapping a photo, changing a price, adding a service, or putting up a seasonal message. These are routine content edits, and almost every tool handles them easily. A smaller category — a brand-new page, a layout change, adding online booking — is structural work that's slower on any platform and sometimes needs help regardless of who owns the login.
Being honest with yourself about which kind you'll do most changes the answer. If you're only ever tweaking text and images, you have a lot of options. If you expect to keep reshaping the site, the tool and the support behind it matter more.
- Routine content: hours, prices, photos, staff, a new service, a promo — easy to do yourself on any builder
- Structural: new pages, redesigns, booking or payment features — more effort everywhere, and where DIY tends to stall
- For most small businesses, routine edits far outnumber structural ones
Your main options, and who does the work
There's no single right answer — it depends on whether you'd rather do the edits yourself or hand them off, and how often you make them.
- DIY website builders (Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, WordPress): you edit everything yourself in a visual editor, changes publish instantly, and you pay one flat monthly fee with no per-change charge. The trade-off is that the work — and the learning curve — is yours.
- Google Business Profile only (free): you control hours, photos, posts and review replies from your phone. For some local businesses this is genuinely enough, and you may not need a full website at all.
- Freelancer or traditional agency: they build and maintain it, but you usually pay per change or by the hour for updates. Good for custom work; small edits can get slow or expensive.
- Agency with edits included: you send the change by text or email and they make it, with no per-edit fee. You don't touch the site yourself, but you also don't pay each time. fivedaylaunch works this way (from $25/mo or $1,499 to own it, live in 5 days) — one option among the above, not the only one.
The pricing model matters more than the platform
The question in your head is really about cost, and the cost of updates comes down to three patterns — not to which brand of builder you pick.
First, your own time: DIY builders charge a flat fee and let you make unlimited changes yourself, so the 'cost' is the hour you spend and re-learning the editor when you come back months later. Second, per-edit or hourly: many freelancers and agencies bill for each change, which is fine for occasional custom work but adds up if you tweak things often. Third, included/unlimited: a flat fee where content changes are done for you at no extra charge. None of these is automatically better — the right one depends on how often you change things and whether you want to be the one doing it.
You might not need a full website to keep things current
This is the honest part sales pages skip: if you rarely change anything and mostly need to be found, a free Google Business Profile plus an Instagram or Facebook page may be all you need. Don't pay for a website you won't maintain.
A dedicated site is worth it when you have something a listing can't hold well — a full menu, a booking calendar, a service catalog, a portfolio, or a story you want told your way. If that's you, then the update question is worth solving properly. If it isn't, keeping your free listing accurate is a perfectly reasonable answer.
Whatever you choose, protect your ability to leave
The biggest risk isn't who makes your edits — it's getting stuck. Before you commit to any builder, freelancer or agency, confirm three things: the domain is registered in your name (not the provider's), you can export or download your content, and you know what happens to the site if you stop paying.
Owning your domain is the single most important safeguard. As long as it's yours, you can move your site or hand it to a different provider later without starting from zero — no matter who is making your updates today.
Frequently asked
Is it hard to update a Wix or Squarespace site myself?
For text, photos and hours, no — the editors are visual and drag-and-drop, and changes publish instantly. The learning curve shows up with layout, keeping the design consistent, and larger structural changes. Budget an afternoon to get comfortable, and it gets easier with repetition.
What if I only update my site a few times a year?
Then almost any option works, and a free Google Business Profile may cover most of it. If you go DIY, expect to re-learn the editor a little each time you come back; if you use a provider that includes edits, you just send the request. Choose based on whether you'd rather do it or delegate it.
Does "unlimited edits" really mean unlimited?
It usually means content and text changes — hours, prices, photos, copy, adding a service — done for you at no extra fee. It typically does not mean unlimited brand-new pages or a full redesign. Ask any provider exactly what counts as an 'edit' before you assume, so there are no surprises.
Will I get locked in if someone else manages my site?
You can avoid it. Register the domain in your own name, confirm you can export your content, and ask what happens if you cancel. As long as you own the domain, you can move to another provider later without losing your web address or starting over.
Sources
Related questions
This answer is published by
fivedaylaunch, a web-design service for small businesses — we try to answer these honestly whether or not you hire us. If you want a hand-designed site done for you (from $25/mo or $1,499 to own it, live in about 5 days, you own it),
here is how we work, or run a free
site check to see where yours stands.