Wix Vs WordPress - What Platform Is Best And Why

Website builders or CMS (content management systems) are a great tool for people who wish to start a website without needing to code like a developer. However, since there are so many on the market, it is important to ensure you are choosing one that will meet all your individual needs. There are two that I’d recommend to my clients but I often get asked, which is better, Wix Vs WordPress?

In this post, I’ll help you go through the many many factors that may influence your decision and equip you with all the knowledge you need to choose between Wix and WordPress, but of course, if you need more help, you can always get in touch.

WordPress is one of the most popular and most powerful website builders available. Originally, it was created as a tool to assist with blogging, but it has evolved over time and now supports the publishing of other web content including internet forums, mailing lists, membership sites and online stores (E-commerce sites). 

Wix is a cloud-based website builder which includes design services and web hosting. Wix makes it possible for individuals to create their own professional websites, without existing coding knowledge (but it does have a code functionality called Velo if you DID want to tailor it). Wix has less raw functionality than WordPress but provides an easy drag-and-drop builder to make design simple. 

The big cheese – Cost

If you need to keep it cheap and cheerful (think free) both websites offer this, but it’ll come with certain downsides including:

• Not having a unique domain/URL (the www.ThisBitIsMine.com)
• Adverts on the pages
• Inability to add extras e.g Google Analytics or Google Search Console so you can track your website performance
• Limited ability to tailor the website design

WordPress requires that you manage and purchase your domain and website hosting separately, allowing you to scale as desired based on your business needs, storage and bandwidth limitations. Although sometimes a little pricier, WordPress gives you full flexibility to manage, build and maintain your site as you wish.

Wix provides a more simplified system and options. You can choose to either go with their bundle package of hosting and domain (and you often get the first year of the domain for free) or you can pick and choose to buy your domain separately and host with Wix. Wix uses Google Cloud Hosting and Amazon Web Services (AWS), to protect user sites via multi-cloud hosting so either way, you’re in safe hands.

Wix’s USP is providing all the tools you need under one roof, but with this does come some aspects which you lose control over, such as backing up your site and being able to increase storage independently of the hosting.

If you decide to use any plugins (see below for more information on plugins), you need to consider the cost of maintaining and renewals of these plugins and if it’s worth it.

What level of skills do you possess – Complexity

When set up and configured correctly, WordPress is like a Lego set, with lots of different pieces that you can choose to attach to give you different outcomes. The base editor in WordPress relies on a block editor, which allows users to customise the free templates which they provide. While good, this editor can sometimes feel limited and not produce the effect you’re after, which is where I recommend taking advantage of the free Elementor plugin – this will provide you with a ton of extra flexibility, and let you drag and drop to your heart’s content!

Wix on the other hand provides its own drag-and-drop software which comes with everything you need and is super easy to use, update and change. You can either build your own custom site or use one of their pre-designed templates. All the edits you make are within Wix, you can’t very easily add external add-ons but there are a few you can use. It’s important to note that Wix will not automatically mobile optimise your site for you, so this is something you have to do within the builder.

Storing your website – Data transfer

For some users, being able to move your content to another platform or hosting provider when needed is an important factor when considering Wix Vs WordPress. When comparing the two in terms of data portability options, it appears Wix has very limited options compared to WordPress.

Although it is possible to move your domain from Wix, it is a slightly complex process to transfer your content. If you were to try and move your content using Wix, then it would require you to export your posts and manually download your other content such as images and videos. On the other hand, with WordPress, there is the option of a one-click exporter, making it incredibly easy to export your content. WordPress also allows users to create backups and download their media files before moving their site to a new host. WordPress is undoubtedly the easier platform in terms of data portability.

Adding Lego-like pieces to make it easier – Apps and plugins

Ah, the snazzy extra functionality section. Wix calls them apps, WordPress calls them plugins, but whatever you choose to call them – they are third-party extensions that can be used to enhance some of the features of your website. With Wix, there are approximately just over two hundred different apps that you can add, giving you a wide range of additional useful features that will certainly help towards the growth of your website. Most of these apps are also free – another bonus! However, some need to be paid for (a developer did spend time making them after all, and they do also need to earn a living).

Despite Wix offering a vast number of apps when we compare this to the availability of plugins through WordPress, it soon becomes clear that WordPress is the more advanced of the two. WordPress currently has more than sixty thousand free plugins available to its users, this is not inclusive of all the paid plugins that are also available.

This is an area where WordPress really outshines Wix, but consider when using a plugin, it’ll need to be regularly updated (they often release updates you need to manage or they might stop working) and paid plugins will be subscription-based, or large one-off-life cost.

The right plugin can be worth its money though, it’s a super easy way to add additional functionality in a few clicks rather than spending days (or longer) agonising over and coding the same functionality (for free- excluding your time).

Tip: If you use a larger digital agency to build your website, they might suggest using plugins to save you time/cost of the build HOWEVER check if these plugins have a cost and who’s paying for them once the site is handed over – I’ve seen people get stung with this unexpected cost outside of the initial budget. I NEVER do this because it’s unethical to me.

Make it look pretty – Design

How you want to set up the layout and design of a website is crucial when considering Wix Vs WordPress. With Wix, there are premade templates to choose from. These templates are sorted into categories, making it easy for users to browse and find the most suitable template for them. All templates can be further enhanced using the built-in editing tools. However, the disadvantage of using Wix for design is that once a template has been selected, this can only be edited, but cannot be altered – a new template cannot be selected.

Alternatively, with WordPress, there are thousands of free and paid themes that are available to choose from and luckily, most themes come with built-in customisation options (if you’re comfortable editing them), allowing users to alter themes to suit their vision. Many useful plugins can assist with further customisation of themes. Unlike Wix, WordPress does allow you to change your theme at any time, which is useful for the growth and development of the website.

Spend all the money – E-Commerce or shop functionality

The ability to sell items online is something that a lot of users look for in a website builder, especially if they are in the process of developing or growing their business. Luckily, Wix and WordPress both offer this feature, however, there are some differences.

Wix offers E-commerce, but this is not included in their free, basic plan, so users wanting to use this feature would need to purchase the paid plan (which isn’t very expensive and does come with loads of extra easy functions e,g secure card payment options). Wix allows users to process payments via some third-party apps including PayPal, however, if you use Wix payments then all transactions are subject to a transaction charge, depending on the route you take.

In comparison, WordPress supports E-commerce via the WooCommerce plugin, which comes ready set up for many payment gateways such as PayPal, bank transfer and Klarna. With WooCommerce, users are only required to pay their normal payment processor fees, there are no additional fees to be paid. Some plugins make this a great platform for selling digital subscriptions such as online courses, as well as physical goods and digital downloads like eBooks and music. WooCommerce is already being used by thousands of your favourite stores, due to its robustness.

Making it appear on Google – ​​SEO

It used to be considered that WordPress was the king when it came to SEO, but Wix has stepped its game up massively and there are actually now some Wix websites that actually rank better than WordPress. They both have their own strengths and weaknesses though when it comes to SEO (Search engine optimisation).

• Customisation and Flexibility – WordPress gives users complete control over their website’s code as they can easily install SEO plugins to optimise content. Whilst Wix has improved its customisation options over recent years, it is still more limited in comparison to WordPress. Users can optimise their site using Wix’s built-in SEO tools (which in my experience, is easier for a novice), but this comes with less control than WordPress.
• Site performance – The performance of a WordPress site depends on the theme and plugins you use, whereas Wix handles hosting and performance optimisation for you. 
• Mobile Responsiveness – Both Wix and WordPress offer mobile responsive templates, which means your website adapts to various devices.
• URL Structure – WordPress gives users complete control over their URL structure, allowing them to create SEO-friendly links, Whereas Wix automatically generates URLs based on your page titles, which are only slightly customisable.
• Sitemaps and Robots.txt – Both platforms offer ways to manage your site’s sitemap and robots.txt files, ensuring search engines can index your content properly.
• Meta tags and on-page SEO – WordPress: with SEO plugins, you can easily optimise meta titles, descriptions and other on-page SEO elements for each post and page and Wix gives you guides on how to customise meta tags for each page using its SEO settings
• Technical SEO – WordPress: with direct access to the website’s code and extensive plugin options, users can fine-tune technical SEO aspects. Wix on the other hand, handles many technical aspects for you, making it easier to set up, albeit not offering as many options for customising advanced technical SEO.

SEO takes time and dedication, there’s no one-stop way to foolproof your business to the top of Google (or other search engines), but certainly, both platforms are strong contenders in helping you. There are additional plugins that you can download to use with WordPress to help SEO – but there are split opinions about these, and they often come at an extra charge, so take these with a pinch of salt.

Wix Vs WordPress – the summary

So which is best, Wix Vs WordPress… well it all depends on you and what you want out of your website. I often recommend those who have never used a website builder before, or someone who is just starting out to go with Wix – it gives you freedom and flexibility where you need it and is SUPER easy to use (and you’re less likely to break your website). WordPress is the next step up once you’ve gotten a bit used to playing around with a CMS and gives you more options, but it does take a lot more time and energy to set up and maintain. Either way, I can help you create or manage either Wix Vs WordPress websites, so get in touch if you’d like to talk more or you can read more about how to make your website amazing yourself.