SiteScope Freedom Score Explained: How We Rate Website Builder Lock-In
Why Lock-In Matters More Than People Realize
A large share of first-time website builder users never plan to switch platforms — until they need a feature their current builder doesn't offer. At that point, many discover their content can't be exported cleanly, and the only path forward is rebuilding from scratch.
This is the single most common regret reported in website builder forums and reviews: not the price, but the trap of realizing you can't leave.
The Four Inputs Behind the Score
Content exportability asks: can you download your pages as portable files (HTML, Markdown, XML) rather than proprietary blocks? GitHub Pages and Google Sites score well here; Wix and Weebly score poorly.
Custom domain support asks whether you can point your own domain at the site on a free tier, which matters if you ever want to leave the builder's subdomain behind.
Reliance on proprietary blocks or apps measures how much of your site's functionality depends on features that only exist inside that one builder.
Platform maturity and shutdown risk accounts for how long a platform has existed and whether it has a track record of sudden discontinuations, since younger builders carry higher structural risk.