Microsoft 365 Website Builder — Is It Enough for Your Business?

Microsoft 365 Business Standard and higher subscriptions include access to a basic website builder. For businesses already paying for Microsoft 365, the appeal is obvious: it’s included in a subscription you’re already running, there’s no additional monthly fee, and it connects naturally to your Microsoft account. Setting up a simple one-page presence takes minutes. For a brand-new business that needs something online immediately and has no website budget, it’s a reasonable stopgap.

The difficulty is that Microsoft’s website builder is not positioned as a serious web platform — it’s a lightweight feature bundled into a productivity suite. The design options are minimal, SEO controls are basic or absent, e-commerce functionality is extremely limited, and the resulting sites do little to distinguish one business from another. UK businesses that need their website to generate leads, rank in local search results, or reflect a professional brand identity will find the Microsoft 365 builder insufficient within months of launching on it. Understanding your options — and when the right moment to upgrade is — can save considerable time and frustration.

What the Microsoft 365 website builder actually provides

The Microsoft 365 website feature (accessible via Microsoft 365 Business Standard or higher) lets you create a simple website connected to your Microsoft account and custom domain. You can add basic pages, insert images, include contact information, and link to your social profiles. The interface is clean and straightforward. For an internal-facing page or a minimal placeholder while a proper site is built, it serves its purpose.

Beyond those basics, the functionality is sparse. There’s no blog, no e-commerce capability, no booking system, no form builder beyond a simple contact form, and no meaningful control over page-level SEO settings. The templates are generic and not easily customised. The platform doesn’t support third-party integrations or plugins. What you see in the builder is broadly what you get — and for most UK businesses competing for customers online, it’s not enough.

Comparing dedicated platforms: WordPress, Squarespace, and Wix

WordPress, even at the entry level, offers substantially more than the Microsoft 365 builder. A self-hosted WordPress installation on affordable UK hosting gives you full control over your content, access to thousands of plugins for functionality like booking systems, e-commerce, contact forms, and membership areas, and proper SEO tooling through plugins like Yoast or Rank Math. Monthly costs for hosting start from around £5–10, and the platform scales with your business indefinitely.

Squarespace and Wix are more directly comparable to Microsoft’s builder in terms of their managed, hosted nature — but both are far more capable. Squarespace produces genuinely attractive, professional designs and includes e-commerce, blogging, and email marketing in its plans. Wix offers a larger template library and a flexible drag-and-drop interface. Both platforms typically cost £12–25 per month and deliver a level of design quality and functionality that the Microsoft builder simply doesn’t match. If you’re already on Microsoft 365 and need a proper website, either platform is a sensible and affordable next step.

When to commission a bespoke site instead

Off-the-shelf platforms cover the majority of business website requirements, but not all of them. If your business needs a website that integrates with your CRM, handles complex pricing logic, supports trade accounts, or requires a level of brand expression that no template can deliver, a bespoke-built site is worth considering. The upfront investment is higher than a builder subscription, but you own the result outright and are not dependent on a third party’s pricing or feature decisions.

Xpose builds bespoke and platform-based websites for UK businesses that have moved beyond what tools like Microsoft’s website builder can offer. Whether you’re starting fresh or migrating from an existing solution, we help you choose the right platform, build a site that performs well in search, and ensure your online presence reflects the quality of your business. A conversation with our team in Norwich is a good starting point if you’re unsure which direction to take.

Our view on Microsoft 365 Website

We are a Norwich agency established in 2015, and we have worked with businesses on both sides of this comparison over the years. Our honest view: the right choice depends on your business, your team and where you want to be in two years — not on which platform is currently the most talked-about.

If you would like a straight opinion on which makes more sense for you — or whether you should leave the decision alone entirely and focus on something that will move the needle more — a free, no-pressure conversation is always available.