Whenever websites are compared, whether it’s for its features, functionality or price, WordPress always makes the cut as a formidable competitor. In this article, we want to explore the benefits and cons of WordPress and Wix to see which one packs a bigger punch and which one will be best for your business.
Wix or WordPress
Both WordPress and Wix are popular website build options with merits in different areas, but which one stands out from the crowd and which one will suit your business needs?
When it comes to creating a website, you might wonder if Wix is better than WordPress in terms of which platform has the most to offer based on its “free” features, or which one is quick and easy to setup. WordPress and Wix fit that profile but let’s flesh it out and see which one comes out on top for you.
If you’ve seen our comparison on WordPress vs Shopify, this article might seem like you’re experiencing déjà vu, and we’re highlighting this because you’ll notice that many of the features that come with Shopify resembles Wix. More often than not, when WordPress and Wix are compared, it focuses on WordPress being a well-rounded CMS while Wix is more of a website builder. Let’s explore how these two platforms differ.
Wix: A quick overview
Wix is a website builder which offers a variety of free options and editing capabilities that even a novice can master. Before website builder platforms like Wix, businesses had to hire the relevant professionals to create their company websites and this would typically cost a small fortune. Today, both skilled and novice website builders can create a great website by simply using their free easy-to-use templates.
Wix was developed a few short years after WordPress but their success and popularity can’t really be compared because they don’t function the same way. Wix is a website builder that offers all the features you’ll need to create a website quickly and easily without the need for coding expertise. It is a tool that is suitable for beginners and it is maintained by the Wix support staff. There’s more…
Wix App market is quite the unique feature when considering what other similar website builder platforms offer amateur website creators. The App Market would essentially be the equivalent to WordPress’s plugins, but a large number of these apps have to be paid-for on a monthly basis – so keep an eye out and only choose what you need.
Many website builders provide the option to set up a classic website manually by using their customisable themes and templates, but Wix offers an AI (Artificial Intelligence) support model which allows beginners to create a website by answering a series of questions that’ll put key components together for their site.
If we consider the numbers, Wix has more than 110 million users while WordPress swoops in with a whopping 450+ million users. Later on, you’ll get a sense of why certain users gravitate towards each platform.
WordPress 101
WordPress is a powerful CMS with a host of features that are available in both a free and paid version, but ultimately, it has also been created to suit the needs of novice and expert website creators.
In our previous article where we compared WordPress and Shopify, we covered the basics of WordPress and had already established that it has its pros and cons where the former outweighs the latter.
In relation to Wix, WordPress plugins have often been a key selling point, but the jackpot comes with the open source freedom for developers. The fact that WordPress is an open source platform means that developers are able to create custom coding for your website in any shape or form in order for it to suit your business or individual needs. Unfortunately, this also means that with open source editing, WordPress doesn’t offer the same level of support as you would get with Wix (this doesn’t mean that it’s non-existent).
Much like Wix, WordPress can be used by individuals with no expertise in coding and still create a good-looking, functional website – just because it is an open source platform doesn’t mean that you have to use it for all it’s worth if you don’t need it. With WordPress, you can create a fully functional website with multiple pages, a blog and ecommerce store without a developer. It’s simply a matter of plug-and-play, as in plugins, of course.
So which one is best for your business?
Any website platform you choose will come at cost and that includes WordPress and Wix. Whether you’re paying for a domain name, developer services, themes, plugins or apps, you’ll have to be willing to spend a small amount at some point to either maintain or upgrade your website. Here are some pros and cons about WordPress and Wix to help you determine which platform might work for you:
1. Ease of use
Wix: Creating your website on this platform is as easy as 1, 2, 3. All you need to do is sign up, create an account and follow the prompts to start building your website. It caters to ecommerce sites, blogs as well as portfolios (for those who’d like to create a website to document their work experiences in a professional setting). No history or expertise in design or development is required.
WordPress: Even though this is an open source CMS, you won’t require the assistance of a developer or designer to create a basic, functional or aesthetically pleasing website on your own. There are also plenty of free themes and plugins to get you started with a new site without having to depend on someone else for help.
Winner: We have to award this to Wix for the portfolio component. A simple template-based portfolio may be time-consuming to create in WordPress given all of its additional features that can be overwhelming and unnecessary to some.
2. Value for money
Wix: The Wix pricing packages typically include ecommerce, hosting, customer support, themes and apps. The most popular offer is the one for Entrepreneurs and Freelancers at £8.50 per month for a website – which seems to be their target audience considering what we’ve outlined in the ease of use section. A small business could easily get by with the Business Basic and Business Unlimited package which varies between £13 and £16 per month. While each package offers unlimited bandwidth, storage and a domain for 1 year, you are still likely to spend on add-ons such as items from the App Market. However, with your Wix package, you’re guaranteed customer support, but you’ll only be able to “skip the line” if you opt for the Business VIP package at £22 per month.
WordPress: It is not ever an ideal situation to wait on customer support but, with WordPress, you could potentially eliminate that step by hiring a designated developer for your custom site or you could stick to the array of features at your disposal to help you manage all of the basics. While the WordPress business package costs around £20 and the ecommerce (WooCommerce) package costing £36 per month, you will still receive a myriad of features and customisable code (at no additional cost from WordPress) that can be changed when you need it. And, when you need support, the worldwide web is your oyster – it is quick and effortless to find support through forums regarding WordPress technical issues, all of which would likely have been tried and tested by the time you learn about it.
Winner: WordPress wins this round. Even though certain features cost a little more than the components offered by Wix, the open source code freedom is basically priceless, and the adaptability is potentially limitless. This flexibility will essentially save you more in terms of investing time and money in the long run.
3. Flexibility
Wix: Once you’ve made a decision about what your website would look like – in terms of choosing your Wix template – it cannot be changed easily. Perhaps you could call customer support or start over? Tests have also shown that Wix sites tend to have a slower loading speed than most WordPress sites and nobody wants that when assessing a website’s performance or user experience. Another major downside to Wix is it not offering a responsive layout. This means that your website will change to adapt the size of the users screen, which may mean your content being cut off if you aren’t super careful.
WordPress: Again, WordPress with its open source abilities, means that you don’t have to go through much trouble for authorisation to change your website layout because you can get a developer to do that for you. Additionally, any website speed concerns, URL changes or any adjustments to SEO improvements can be done with a few easy clicks.
Winner: WordPress as it’s a lot more flexible and much better for SEO – need we say more?
4. Features
Wix: This platform comes with everything you may need to set up your website in minutes. Free themes, apps and paid-for features that basically come with the average website builder. However, Wix, is an exception to the website builder ‘rule’ when it comes to its ADI feature that ‘holds your hand’ and helps you set up your website step-by-step (with absolutely no knowledge of any web experience required).
WordPress: This CMS requires a bit more finesse because it does not have the ADI functionality and you’ll need to do a bit of thinking while creating your site – from the individual design elements to the overall functionality at the end. You do get the array of free and paid plugins with WordPress which means you can add additional elements to your website easily.
Winner: For this round, we are going to say it’s a tie. Both have some great features along with free and paid themes and we just can’t split them.
5. Help and support
Wix: If you experience any trouble with your Wix account, you’ll have access to their customer help centre which is available in English 24/7. However, if you log a ticket in a different language, your ticket might not be attended to as quickly as you’d need it to because alternative language support is only available Monday to Friday during business hours.
WordPress: As mentioned earlier, you will have access to support for WordPress and you can alleviate the stress of having to depend on an appointed expert to respond to your query by simply locating a WordPress forum for assistance within the WordPress online community.
Winner: WordPress – for the vast community of experts with detailed and helpful information available to you anyplace at any time. Even though Wix offers all-round customer support, it is not enough to guarantee timeous resolution to any of the technical issues you or your customers may experience. Therefore, we feel that WordPress is the most efficient and flexible platform in terms of support.
Our conclusion
An easy-to-use website is never the “easy way out” if you’re trying to avoid expenses. But it is the best option for you or your business if you do not have a designer or developer available and need a good option for the quickest turnaround time for results. Wix can work for your business if you’re starting small and the requirements are basic. However, the most challenging part about using Wix is not being able to change your website design easily (should you feel your business needs a new look and feel) – this might mean you’d have to start over and it would not be the ideal scenario when running a business. WordPress is great for any size business, even if you’re a one-man team, WordPress will work for you because it allows you to modify your website to scale whenever you’d need it.
For us we would say if you are serious about growing your business you need a WordPress website. Yes it may cost a little more to begin with, but the net results will be much higher.
If you are looking to build a WordPress website we are WordPress specialists. We have built hundreds of amazing WordPress website for a wide variety of businesses across the country. So give us a call on 01249 847 447 or drop us an email at studio@milkandtweed.com
