This question gets way more attention than it deserves. Google does not rank platforms, it ranks pages. A clean Squarespace site with real service pages and steady reviews will outrank a bloated WordPress install with twenty plugins and no content. Pick based on who is going to touch the site every month. If that is you or your office manager, use the thing you will actually log into. If it is a developer or an agency, the platform is their problem, not yours.
The honest tradeoffs: Wix and Squarespace are easier, hosted, and hard to break, but you are limited to what they allow and you cannot move the site elsewhere later. WordPress gives you full control, every integration you could want, and portability, but it needs updates, backups and someone watching for security. Shopify is for product sales. Page builders stacked on WordPress are where most slow contractor sites come from, so keep the stack thin whatever you choose.
Before you pick, ask two questions. Can I get a real page for every service and every town I want to rank in, with full control of the title, headings and text? And can I export or move this later without rebuilding from scratch? If yes to both, the platform is fine. Then spend your actual attention on the parts that move the needle: service pages, town pages, page speed, review flow and Google Business Profile.
Send the site over. We will tell you what is broken, what you could rank for, and whether AI search knows you exist. No charge and no pitch deck.
