WordPress vs Wix – which wins out?
September 6. 2019
If you plan to start a business or expand the one you already have by building a website, then there’s a good chance you’ve come across a certain dilemma. This particular puzzle is the one which troubles many who wish to start a website of their own. Basically, the choice usually comes down to two of the most prominent website builders – WordPress vs Wix. You may or may not have heard of both of them – but they are what you would call two very big names in this niche. So, how can you be sure you’ve made the right decision? And which of these two options is the most suitable for you, your website’s SEO – and your business in general?
Know the difference between a website builder and a CMS
In order to fully understand the differences between Wix and WordPress, we must first clarify that they are not the same type of platform. Whereas Wix is a full-service site builder, WordPress was built to be a content management system (CMS). This means that Wix enables even inexperienced users to easily set up a website. Meanwhile, WordPress makes various page builders (Elementor, Gutenberg, Divi) available to you as a user. So, what you have here in the WordPress vs Wix battle is a choice between a fully hosted website builder and its self-hosted opponent. If it’s flexibility you are looking for, then WordPress is the clear choice to make here.
Let’s try to make it even clearer
To put it in simple words – Wix is definitely supposed to be more user-friendly, but on the other hand – less customizable. And since website builders include hosting, you need to be aware that your website could never be moved to another web host. And although it may seem that learning your way around WordPress may be somewhat more difficult, this CMS is highly customizable – and open-source. This means that it is free to use and alter for anyone. And don’t worry, if you ever feel that you need professional WordPress maintenance, there are ways to make it happen!
Consider the costs
There is a rather wide range of factors that affects the costs of having and maintaining a website. And naturally, as your website grows and evolves – the costs change. With Wix, it’s rather simple to calculate the costs, since it is a hosting platform and a website builder. If you opt for using Wix, it will make it easy for you to calculate your website-related costs. You’ll be able to utilize a free starter plan, however, you should be aware of its limited features, and the necessity of accepting advertising on your site. Since Wix makes its tools available in packages that have fixed monthly fees – there’s no need to take external costs into consideration.
And when we talk about the costs, it ought to be mentioned that WordPress is indeed free to both download and install. You are given the option of setting up your entire website virtually free of charge. You’ll be able to use free themes and plugins. You will, nevertheless, possibly have to pay for the costs of setting up and running your WordPress website. Using WordPress would mean you need to buy and register a domain name – perhaps even purchase premium plugins and WordPress themes.
Which one is easier to use?
As a website owner, you need to choose the option which you will have no problem using. If you’ve heard anything about WordPress, then you must know that as much as one-third of all websites today use it. This must mean that is it undeniably user-friendly, doesn’t it? You are right to think so. However, we must mention that by choosing Wix, you’ll be getting a variety of different features. After all, Wix creators and developer claim that this website builder is something virtually anyone can use. There are more than 500 website templates you can choose from with Wix. Dragging and dropping elements enables you to create a website in no time!
But if you thought that your WordPress vs Wix dilemma ends here, think again. Because with Wix, once you choose a template you are stuck with it. You cannot change your website templates as easy as you would when using WordPress. And yes, you might need some time to learn how to work with WordPress dashboard and all the themes and plugin options. But one the other hand, the possibilities, and the adaptability of WordPress are almost endless.
You’ll need your website builder to be flexible and versatile
You might be only starting with your business. But hopefully, it will grow and expand. And as it does, so will your website. As your business grows, the ability of your website to scale up will become more and more important. If your website ever happens to experience a sudden traffic surge – Wix may not be able to support it the right way. Also, we’ve already mentioned the limitations to Wix’s website customizing options.
Meanwhile, the versatility that is almost limitless is one of the main reasons behind the popularity. You can easily choose and switch themes and also add plugins of your choice, as well as delete them. of WordPress. One reason for the enduring popularity of WordPress is its virtually limitless versatility.
WordPress vs Wix – the final verdict
Surely, your final choice of WordPress vs Wix has to depend on what you actually need your website for. Perhaps, if you are only getting started with the website-related issues and you don’t really have any background experience – Wix would be a wiser decision. However, if you have the will and the time to learn how a website works and get creative in the process, WordPress is the better solution. And of course, if you happen to be someone who needs a blog – WordPress would be the obvious choice here.