A web design agency versus a builder you talk to
An agency brings people: a strategist, a designer, a writer, someone who runs the project. This builder brings software and a conversation. Here is where each one earns its place.
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Short answer
A web design agency gives you people, strategy and custom design. Website Builder Studio gives you software. You answer questions in a chat, the in-app assistant writes the pages, and a check that runs before anything publishes keeps each page in shape. Choose an agency for custom design and a hands-on team. Choose the builder for a written, checked business site you run yourself, or that your agency runs for you.
Where an agency is the better choice
If you want a design that exists nowhere else, an agency is the better choice. Custom layouts, a brand built from scratch, photography, illustration and a print piece to match all come from people, not from a chat.
An agency is also the better choice when the project is bigger than a website. A store, an app, or a booking system with rules of its own wants a team that owns the whole thing. So does a redesign that starts with customer interviews.
And some people simply want a person to call. That is a fair reason, and no product replaces it.
What software and a conversation give you
You answer questions in a chat about your services, your areas, who you serve and what makes you different. The builder writes the titles, descriptions, headings, copy, an answer capsule near the top, and the questions people ask. Pages that are genuinely useful come from true, specific answers, so the chat is worth doing properly.
Before the build runs you see the planned pages and what the build costs, and you approve it. Then every page passes a check validated against Google Search Essentials and modern web standards. A page that fails does not publish, and the assistant says why.
A site can be up to 100 pages, with its own page structure and internal links. Each one carries a sitemap, breadcrumbs and structured data that says who you are and what you offer.
The assistant can also read your existing website address to fill gaps, and a Google Sheet of your services, areas and prices through a read-only share. No Google sign-in is needed for that.
What an agency's client gets here
If your agency builds your site here, you get the same product they do. The Leads screen shows every submission with a status and a note you can edit. Every publish keeps a version you can roll back to. Page views and conversions are counted on the server, with no cookie added to your site.
Each lead is delivered to HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho CRM, Pipedrive, GoHighLevel, Mailchimp, Kit, ActiveCampaign, Slack, Microsoft Teams, SMS, email or any webhook. Connecting a CRM takes one credential you generate yourself and a Send test lead button that proves the connection.
You can invite teammates into one shared account with the same sites, leads and plan, so you and your agency see the same screens.
How an agency and the builder can work together
The two are not rivals so much as different layers. An agency does the thinking: who you serve, what makes you different, what the brand looks like. The builder turns that thinking into pages written from a conversation and checked before they publish, and the agency runs it all on one account.
One account can hold many sites. Starter holds 10 websites, Growth 25, Scale 50, and Platform up to 300. An agency can invite its people in, set each client's brand color, logo and hero image through the in-app assistant, and answer the chat on the client's behalf.
See the agency page for how that account is set up and what is not offered to agencies yet.
Who owns what when you part ways
With an agency, the answer is in your contract. Ask who owns the domain, the files, the images and the form submissions before you sign, because the answer differs from agency to agency.
Here the answer is written down. You can export every lead across every site to a spreadsheet in one click. After your first payment you can download your site files, and published sites stay live for 30 days after you cancel. Your legal pages publish exactly as you upload them.
How to decide between the two
Ask yourself three things. Do you want a person or a product? Do you need a custom design, or a written business site that passes a check? And is your budget for people, or for $99 to $399 a month?
Every plan starts with a 15-day free trial with a card, and you pay nothing if you cancel before day 15. Run the chat and look at the planned pages. If you still want a person, hire the agency and bring the builder along.
Questions people ask
Can my agency build my site here and invite me in?
Yes. Teammates share one account with the same sites, leads and plan. Your agency can do the chat, set the brand, and invite you to see the same screens.
Does the builder do strategy?
No. It writes from what you tell it about your services, your areas and who you serve. The thinking about positioning is still yours, or your agency's.
Will the design look custom?
You set your brand color, logo, hero image and a hero video link through the assistant. There is no canvas for pixel-level design. If that is what you want, an agency is the better choice.
What does it cost an agency to run client sites here?
The same four plans as everyone else: $99, $199, $299 and $399 a month, holding 10, 25, 50 and up to 300 websites. Every plan includes every feature.
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See your website built from a conversation
15-day free trial. Card required. Cancel before day 15 and you pay nothing.