Every website builder says it is the one contractors use. We checked. Using the same sample as our contractor website study, we loaded each homepage again and recorded which platform built it, from the code each platform leaves in the page.
How we checked
The sample is the 2,137 contractor homepages counted in our contractor website study, drawn from OpenStreetMap across 21 states. We loaded each again in headless Chrome as an iPhone on October 29, 2026; 1,996 loaded and showed the business's own site. Each platform leaves its own marks in a page: the folders WordPress serves files from, the image servers Wix, Squarespace and Duda use, a generator tag naming the builder. We recorded every mark we found and checked samples of each platform by hand before counting it.
- WordPress: files served from /wp-content/ or /wp-includes/, or a WordPress generator tag. Page builders such as Elementor run inside WordPress and count as WordPress.
- GoDaddy Website Builder: only sites whose generator tag names GoDaddy's builder. Many WordPress sites hosted at GoDaddy load a GoDaddy script too; those count as WordPress.
- Thryv and Hibu: both build their customers' sites on Duda, so a Duda site that also loads Thryv's or Hibu's files counts as Thryv or Hibu. Other Duda sites count as Duda, a builder sold mainly to web agencies.
- Scorpion: the marketing agency's own code or links in the page.
- GoHighLevel: a site built with GoHighLevel's site builder. A WordPress site that only embeds a GoHighLevel form counts as WordPress.
- Not identified: no platform mark we looked for. Most are custom-built sites; some use a small builder we did not check for.
The platforms
| Platform | Sites | Share |
|---|---|---|
| WordPress | 1,096 | 54.9% |
| Wix | 94 | 4.7% |
| Squarespace | 87 | 4.4% |
| Duda (other than Hibu and Thryv) | 72 | 3.6% |
| GoDaddy Website Builder | 57 | 2.9% |
| Hibu | 38 | 1.9% |
| Next.js (custom-built) | 38 | 1.9% |
| Thryv | 34 | 1.7% |
| Scorpion | 33 | 1.7% |
| Webflow | 30 | 1.5% |
| GoHighLevel | 12 | 0.6% |
| Weebly | 10 | 0.5% |
| Other (HubSpot, Framer, Joomla, Shopify, Drupal) | 27 | 1.4% |
| Not identified | 368 | 18.4% |
Platform behind 1,996 contractor homepages, October 29, 2026
WordPress runs more than half of contractor websites, more than every other platform we found put together. The do-it-yourself builders (Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy and Weebly) add up to 248 sites, 12.4%. Platforms sold mostly through agencies and directories (Duda, Hibu, Thryv, Scorpion and GoHighLevel) add up to 189, 9.5%. Among WordPress sites, the most common page builder named in the code was Elementor, on 154.
By trade
| Trade | Sites | WordPress | Wix | Squarespace | GoDaddy | Agency platforms | Not identified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HVAC | 537 | 60% | 3% | 3% | 3% | 10% | 18% |
| Roofing | 410 | 64% | 4% | 2% | 1% | 7% | 14% |
| Plumbing | 382 | 57% | 3% | 3% | 2% | 12% | 20% |
| Landscaping | 192 | 43% | 6% | 9% | 5% | 9% | 20% |
| Electrical | 182 | 49% | 8% | 3% | 5% | 9% | 24% |
| General contractor | 102 | 49% | 13% | 10% | 4% | 6% | 10% |
| Carpentry | 98 | 34% | 7% | 15% | 4% | 11% | 21% |
| Painting | 93 | 43% | 5% | 3% | 2% | 14% | 27% |
Share of each trade's homepages by platform, October 29, 2026
Roofing and HVAC are the most WordPress-heavy trades, at 64% and 60%. Carpenters and general contractors lean furthest toward the do-it-yourself builders: about one carpentry site in four and one general contractor site in four runs on Wix, Squarespace or GoDaddy. 'Agency platforms' is Duda, Hibu, Thryv, Scorpion and GoHighLevel combined.
What each platform's sites offer a phone visitor
We matched each site to what the website study recorded on its homepage on October 27 and 28: a tap-to-call link, an online booking tool, and a chat or text option. The platform does not decide these. A WordPress site has booking because someone added it. But the pattern is plain.
| Platform | Sites | Tap-to-call link | Booking tool | Chat or text | Neither booking nor chat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress | 1,096 | 90% | 17% | 20% | 70% |
| Wix | 94 | 87% | 1% | 4% | 95% |
| Squarespace | 87 | 54% | 3% | 3% | 93% |
| Duda | 72 | 99% | 19% | 15% | 74% |
| GoDaddy Website Builder | 57 | 67% | 4% | 0% | 96% |
| Hibu | 38 | 100% | 5% | 47% | 50% |
| Next.js (custom-built) | 38 | 89% | 24% | 24% | 55% |
| Thryv | 34 | 97% | 3% | 6% | 94% |
| Scorpion | 33 | 100% | 27% | 48% | 42% |
| Webflow | 30 | 80% | 7% | 13% | 87% |
| Not identified | 368 | 72% | 10% | 9% | 83% |
| All sites checked | 1,996 | 84% | 13% | 17% | 75% |
Platforms with at least 30 sites, share of their homepages, October 2026
- Do-it-yourself builders: on the 248 Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy and Weebly sites, 2% had a booking tool and 4% a chat or text option. 94% had neither. Only 54% of Squarespace sites and 67% of GoDaddy sites coded the phone number as a call link.
- Agency platforms: on the 189 Duda, Hibu, Thryv, Scorpion and GoHighLevel sites, 98% had a call link and 31% a chat or text option, mostly on Hibu and Scorpion sites, where nearly half had one.
- WordPress sat in between: 90% had a call link, 17% a booking tool, 20% a chat or text option.
Small groups
Hibu, Thryv, Scorpion and Webflow each have 30 to 38 sites here, so one or two sites move their shares by several points. Treat their rows as a direction, not a precise rate. Our chat check looks for the widgets listed in the website study; a platform's own chat that is not on that list is missed, which may understate Thryv in particular.
What it means if you are choosing a platform
The builder matters less than what is set up on it. The DIY builders can all show a call button and embed a booking page, yet on the contractor sites we checked almost nobody did. If you build on Wix, Squarespace or GoDaddy yourself, budget the time to add a call link, a booking or quote form, and a way to text. If someone builds it for you, ask what happens to a call you miss. Our best website builder for plumbers compares the options on cost and time.
Limits
- Homepages only, loaded once as an iPhone. A platform that leaves no mark we looked for falls into 'Not identified'.
- 141 sites from the website study did not load on October 29 and are left out.
- Feature figures come from the website study's October 27 and 28 load, matched to the platform found on October 29; a site that changed in between would be mismatched.
- The sample comes from OpenStreetMap, which lists the businesses volunteers have mapped; it is large and real, but not a weighted census.
Every figure from this study and the others in the series is on one page, with a CSV: contractor website statistics.
Questions this post answers
What website builder do most contractors use?
WordPress, by a wide margin. Of 1,996 US contractor homepages we checked in October 2026, 55% ran on WordPress. Wix was next at 4.7%, then Squarespace at 4.4%, Duda at 3.6% and GoDaddy's website builder at 2.9%. 18% showed no platform we could identify.
Do contractors use Wix or Squarespace?
Some do, mostly smaller trades. Wix ran 4.7% and Squarespace 4.4% of the contractor homepages we checked. Squarespace was most common among carpenters (15%) and general contractors (10%), and Wix among general contractors (13%).
Do Wix and Squarespace contractor sites have online booking?
Rarely. On the 248 contractor homepages built with Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy or Weebly, 2% had an online booking tool and 4% a chat or text option; 94% had neither. Across all sites we checked, 75% had neither.
Originally published at www.advai.cloud/blog/contractor-website-platforms-study.
Top comments (0)