[josefresco]

The "middle ground" you speak of has not been ignored, and in fact has seen an explosion in "visual builders" to compete with the like of Wix.

Example: We use Divi (the theme), which is what we call a theme "framework" (not like Genesis) that allows almost any design & layout. This differs from most themes that typically have 1 or a handful of layouts that you must not stray too far from. While Divi offers pre-baked layouts, you're free as a designer to create something custom and then use the Divi toolset to build. We used to build every WP theme by hand, but Divi allows us to focus on design, and not the intricacies of WP theme development which is not core to our business (client solutions)

[unicornfinder]

Thing is, Divi isn't something that your typical Wix / Squarespace user is going to consider when they look at WordPress.

[josefresco]

Absolutely. We serve the market above Wix/Squarespace. We build the site with Divi, then hand it over with tutoring on how to manage page content and create simple layouts (the latter was impossible with stock WP before Gutenberg). If you're DIY you're most likely going to WordPress.com/Wix/Squarespace etc. and aren't a good candidate for our firm.