A company website can be assembled on a website builder, installed on a ready-made CMS, or ordered as custom development. A builder is cheaper to start with, but the site lives on someone else's platform and works while the plan is paid. A custom site sits on your server, and under the Syntra Systems contract the rights to the code pass to you after full payment.
Key takeaways
Below we cover what happens to a site on Tilda, Wix and Shopify when payments stop, what can be exported, when a builder is justified, and what signals it is time to move to custom development.
There are four, and they differ in where the site lives and who controls access to it.
The first two options share one thing: as long as you edit the site in the editor, it depends on the platform. In the last two, the site consists of files and a database that you can move to any host.
When you stop paying, a builder site is unpublished, loses its domain or drops to a free plan, and every platform has its own terms.
According to Tilda's help center, 5 days after the subscription ends the site is unpublished and the domain is disconnected. An unpublished site is stored for 6 months and then deleted automatically. The free plan keeps one project of up to 50 pages without a custom domain, and catalog products are deleted after 30 days with no recovery.
Wix does not delete the site: when the paid period ends, the site becomes a free one, the domain connection is removed and Wix ads appear. The domain is yours as long as you renew it; if you do not, it has about 30 days of grace period and about 30 days of redemption for a fee, after which anyone can register it.
Shopify acts in two steps: if you do not pay, it may suspend access, and if the debt remains unpaid for 60 days after suspension, it may terminate the account, after which the store is taken offline (Shopify Terms of Service).
Important The content of the site stays yours, but the working site does not. Wix states directly that the content created on it belongs to you, and at the same time the site must run on Wix servers (Wix help).
Wix has no site export; Tilda has one, but only on its top plan.
Wix explains this by its architecture: the site must run on Wix servers, and the platform does not support external hosting. You can connect a domain bought from another registrar, but the site itself stays on the platform.
Tilda offers export only on the Business plan: the site is downloaded as static HTML with images, CSS and JS and, once placed on your server, does not depend on Tilda. According to the Tilda price list, Business costs 20 $ a month when paid yearly, while Personal at 10 $ a month does not include export.
Tip Export gives you a copy of files, not a working system. Tilda's help does not say whether forms, payments and connected services keep working outside the platform, so test it on a staging host before relying on the copy.
Other platforms differ: before buying, read their help section on code export and on whether database content, forms and site search are included in the export.
A builder is justified when you need a site quickly and for a short time: it is noticeably cheaper than custom development and needs no programmer.
A builder becomes a risk when the site turns into the main sales channel. The signs:
If the site is also growing, rebuilding it from a builder onto your own foundation is inevitable, and it is cheaper to plan it in advance. How such a move goes is described in the article on website redesign.
The table compares three options on seven criteria, not tied to one platform: the specific terms of Tilda, Wix and Shopify are covered above.
| Criterion | Builder | Builder with export | Custom development |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who owns the working site | The platform: the site runs on its servers | You hold a copy of the files, the editor stays with the platform | The company: code and database are yours, rights pass by contract |
| What happens if you stop paying | Unpublishing and domain disconnection, or a free plan with ads | The exported copy keeps running on your hosting, the subscription is needed for the editor | The site runs as long as your hosting and domain are paid |
| Moving to another contractor | Rebuild from scratch | The exported files can be developed further by hand | Code and database move to any hosting |
| Integrations with CRM and 1C | Within the platform's capabilities | The same as in the editor; they need re-checking after export | Any that can be built through an API |
| Non-standard logic and growth | Limited by the platform | Limited by the platform until export | Limited by budget, not by the platform |
| Where data and leads are stored | With the platform | Files with you, check service data separately | With you |
| Cost at the start and after three years | Low at the start, the subscription never ends | Higher because of the top plan; after export you pay for your own hosting | Higher at the start, then hosting, domain and support |
Let us count the subscription. Tilda Personal, paid yearly, is 10 $ a month, that is 360 $ over three years; Business, which is needed for export, is 20 $ a month, that is 720 $ over three years (Tilda price list, calculation ours). For a simple business-card site this is noticeably cheaper than custom development, and there is no point hiding it.
The difference is in what you pay for: on a builder you pay for the right to keep the site on the platform; with custom development you pay for the site itself, and you pay for hosting separately.
A custom site becomes a company asset if the contract states the transfer of rights to the code and access to hosting, domain and the admin panel is registered to you.
Under the Syntra Systems contract, exclusive rights to the code pass to the client after full payment, and after launch we hand over all access and move the site to your hosting.
Money still goes out: hosting, domain renewal, certificate, backups and updates have to be paid for. What support includes is covered in the article on website launch and support. The difference is that the code and data stay with you and move to any host, instead of vanishing with the subscription.
For a company in Uzbekistan the question is whether data from a lead form must be kept on a server in the country. Under Article 27-1 of the Law on Personal Data, as amended by Law ZRU-1125 of 26 March 2026, biometric data, genetic data and data of users of telecommunications operators' services must be stored in Uzbekistan.
A name and phone number from a form are not on that list, so the law does not require your own server; for other data the same article sets conditions for processing abroad. Your own server simply lets you decide where your customers' data is kept. More about forms and the processing policy is in the article on the corporate website.
The choice between a builder and development comes down to a few questions, and the answers are better found before you pay.
If the answer to the first question is "the site will vanish" and the site brings in leads, the decision is worth revisiting.
We build turnkey sites on proven content management systems, for example WordPress or 1C-Bitrix, and on custom solutions (website development). A landing page costs from 1,200 $, a company website from 1,900 $, and an online store with payment and integration with an accounting system from 10,000 $; we name the exact amount after analysing the task. How a landing page differs from a corporate website is covered in the articles on landing pages and on the corporate website.
If your site is on a builder now, we start with an analysis: what in it depends on the platform, what data has to be taken out and what will need to be rebuilt. In the SHUMI project the site was built together with a CRM: every lead goes into the right funnel without manual transfer.
Let’s discuss your project
Tell us what you need, and we will estimate the timeline and cost and suggest a solution.
You can. The texts, images and structure stay yours, and the site is rebuilt on a new foundation. It is better to register the domain to the company right away so page addresses do not change during the move.
The domain stays yours if it is registered to you and renewed. But it will stop working with the site: on Tilda the domain is disconnected 5 days after the subscription ends, and on Wix the connection is removed when the paid period ends.
Tilda Personal paid yearly is 360 $ over three years, Business with export is 720 $. A company website from us starts at 1,900 $, but hosting, domain and support must be added; the site, however, stays yours.
You do. Wix states that content created on the platform belongs to the user, and Shopify says it does not take ownership of the materials you upload. But the rights to the editor and the working site stay with the platform.
No. Under Article 27-1 of the Law on Personal Data as amended by ZRU-1125 of 26 March 2026, only biometric and genetic data and data of users of telecommunications operators' services must be stored in the country, and contacts from a form are not on that list.
The transfer of rights to the code and the moment it happens, as well as the handover of access to hosting, domain and the admin panel. Under the Syntra Systems contract, rights to the code pass to the client after full payment.
Sources
Cover photo: Lee Campbell, Unsplash
