Are you debating whether to build your website with Wix or with WordPress? While WordPress is the most popular website builder on the market, it is not the only one.
Following the appearance of Wix commercials on television, some of our users requested that we conduct a detailed comparison of Wix vs WordPress to determine which is the better option.
In this article, we will contrast Wix vs WordPress and highlight the advantages and disadvantages of each. With this Wix review and comparison, we hope you’ll be able to determine which platform is best for you.
Please keep in mind that this article compares Wix vs Self Hosted WordPress.org, NOT WordPress.com. See the distinction between self-hosted WordPress.org sites and WordPress.com sites.
This comparison has been divided into seven categories:
- Costs of Wix vs. WordPress
- Comparison of ease of use
- Wix design options vs. WordPress
- Apps and plugins
- Which is better for blogging: Wix or WordPress?
- Comparison of online stores
- The ability to transfer data
- Final Thoughts: Wix vs. WordPress – Which Is Better?
- Wix vs. WordPress Frequently Asked Questions
Let’s take a look at how Wix and WordPress compare in each of these categories.
1. Costs and pricing
The cost of website development is an important consideration when selecting a site builder platform. The total cost of developing and maintaining your website will be entirely determined by your requirements. Our goal is to ensure that you can do whatever you need to do while staying within your budget.
Let’s compare the prices of Wix and WordPress to see which one gives you the most bang for your buck.
Comparison of Wix Pricing:
Wix provides a free website builder. However, there are two major drawbacks.
For starters, it places Wix advertisements at the top and bottom of your website. Second, because you are unable to use a custom domain name for your site, your website address will be username.wix.com/sitename.
Aside from that, the basic plan lacks essential add-ons such as Google Analytics, Favicons, eCommerce, and so on. To remove ads and gain access to additional features in their app market, you must upgrade to one of their premium plans.
Wix premium plans differ in terms of storage and bandwidth. You do have a choice of paying monthly or annually.
The Unlimited plan ($12.50 / month) is the best value on Wix.
If you require eCommerce and business features, you must select the Business & Ecommerce plan.
Small business websites and eCommerce plans start at $17 per month.
This cost does not include any apps purchased from the Wix app market to use on your website, regardless of which plan you choose.
WordPress Pricing Analysis:
The WordPress software is open source, which means that anyone can use it for free.
We are frequently asked why WordPress is free and what the catch is.
The main catch is that you must have your own domain name and web hosting in order to install it.
There are several WordPress hosting providers from which to choose. See our guide on how to select the best WordPress hosting provider.
Depending on your budget, you can begin with a basic plan from a WordPress hosting provider such as Bluehost, which costs $2.75 per month and includes a free custom domain name.
If your budget allows, you can use a managed WordPress hosting provider such as WP Engine, which charges $29 per month.
If you decide to use premium WordPress themes or plugins, the cost of your WordPress site will rise (similar to apps in WordPress).
However, there are thousands of free WordPress themes and plugins available to help you save money. You can use a plugin to add any feature to your WordPress site without upgrading your hosting plan.
WordPress includes full eCommerce support out of the box. To create an online store on your website, install the WooCommerce plugin. WooCommerce, like WordPress, is indeed open source and also free.
Conclusion:
WordPress outperforms Wix due to the numerous web hosting companies that offer flexible plans. The cost is determined by the number of resources used, and you are free to use your WordPress website in any way you see fit.
2. Usability
Because they do not want to hire a website designer, most beginners choose Wix or WordPress. Wix and WordPress both allow you to build websites without knowing how to code.
Let’s see which one is easier to use for beginners with no coding experience.
Wix:
Wix includes powerful and simple tools for creating your own website. It has a simple drag-and-drop interface that allows you to select any element on your site and begin editing it in a WYSIWYG editor.
In a user-friendly environment, you can drag and drop items anywhere on your site, rearrange things on your pages, write content, and add media. Many beginners will appreciate this feature because it saves them from having to deal with code.
WordPress:
WordPress includes an extremely powerful WordPress block editor that allows you to edit your pages while viewing a live preview.
By combining blocks, you can create visually stunning layouts. Text, headings, buttons, background images, galleries, and other common elements are all represented by blocks.
WordPress also provides you with access to thousands of themes (website templates) that you can use on your site. Each of them can also be fully customized with the live theme customizer.
Do you need even more code-free ways to visually edit your website? WordPress has some of the most user-friendly drag-and-drop page builder plugins available. These drag-and-drop editors give you even more tools for making professional-looking websites without having to write code.
You can, for example, use a page builder like SeedProd or Divi to create completely custom websites without writing any code.
All of these options provide a plethora of additional options and tools for editing your website.
Conclusion:
Wix and WordPress are tied in terms of usability. Both provide simple code-free methods for creating pages, writing content, and managing business and eCommerce websites.
Wix’s editor interface is excellent, but it is lacking in advanced features. WordPress provides ease of use that can be enhanced with a small learning curve, which is beneficial in the long run.
3.Layout and Design
The design and layout of your website are crucial to its success. Every website owner requires a web design that is not only visually appealing but also user-friendly and distinguishes their brand.
Wix:
Wix includes over 900+ pre-made templates to choose from. Wix designs are 100% responsive and written in HTML5. You can further customize your site’s design, change the layout, and rearrange items as you see fit using the built-in tools.
There are designs for every type of website. Templates are classified into categories such as business, eCommerce, hobbies, arts & crafts, personal, and so on.
One significant disadvantage is that once you’ve chosen a template, you can’t change it. You can change and customize it as much as you want with the built-in tools, but you can’t switch to a different template.
WordPress:
There is a large number of free and premium WordPress themes usable. Free themes have limited support, but they are also subjected to a rigorous review process. Paid themes typically have more features and premium support options.
WordPress themes range from personal blogs to full-fledged eCommerce stores. Most themes include their own built-in customization options. To further style or customize your WordPress themes, you can use one of the many styling plugins available.
Users can get free themes from the WordPess.org directory. There are several WordPress theme and theme shop options for paid themes, including Astra, StudioPress, Themify, CSSIgniter, and others.
You can also hire a developer or learn to create a completely custom theme for your business.
There are also plugins such as SeedProd, a landing page builder plugin that allows you to quickly deploy a website, a sales page, a product page, or even a coming soon page regardless of the theme you’re using.
More importantly, you can switch to a different WordPress theme whenever you want. This allows your website design to grow and evolve alongside your company.
Conclusion:
WordPress has a far greater selection of themes and design layouts than Wix. WordPress users can also easily switch themes and customize them to their hearts’ content.
4. Plugins and Applications
Plugins and apps are third-party extensions that you can use to extend the functionality of your platform.
Wix refers to them as apps, while WordPress refers to them as plugins.
Let’s look at the apps and plugins available on both platforms and what they can do.
Wix:
Wix comes with nearly 200+ apps that you can use to customize your website. These apps include a variety of features such as contact forms, galleries, comments, social media buttons, email marketing, and so on.
Many of the apps are either free or have a limited version. Other apps require monthly payments and come in a variety of price ranges. Despite the limited number of apps available, they cover the most frequently requested features by site owners.
WordPress:
At the time of writing, there were over 58,000 free plugins available in the WordPress.org plugin directory. Not to mention the premium plugins that can be found on other marketplaces.
If you can think of a feature, chances are there is a WordPress plugin that can make it happen.
There is a plugin for everything, whether you want to create a contact form, install Google Analytics, build a membership website, or sell online courses.
WordPress enables you to do just about anything you want. There are numerous plugins, both free and paid, that you can use to create the website of your dreams.
Conclusion:
WordPress easily outperforms Wix in this category as well. Even though Wix’s app library is expanding, it still pales in comparison to the vast selection available to WordPress users.
5. Which is better for blogging: Wix or WordPress?
Many users are looking for a simpler platform to begin blogging on. Both Wix and WordPress can be used to build blogs. Let’s see which one does it better.
Using Wix for blogging
Wix makes it simple to add a blog section to your website. It includes all of the essential blogging features you’ll need. For instance, categories and tags, photos and videos, archives, and so on.
Comments on Wix blogs are slow and difficult to manage compared to WordPress. Many users end up installing third-party commenting systems such as Facebook or Disqus, both of which require users to sign up for accounts.
It also lacks a number of features, such as the ability to backdate posts, create private posts, and so on.
The blog post writing interface is not the same as the Wix website builder. Instead, it employs a plain text editor with very limited formatting options.
Using WordPress to Blog
WordPress began as a blogging platform and since then has developed into a full-fledged website builder. It now powers more than 40% of all websites.
It has all of the blogging features you’ll need, such as a native commenting system, as well as all of the advanced features that Wix lacks.
It includes the powerful Gutenberg block editor, which allows you to create beautiful blog post layouts.
Most importantly, you can use plugins to extend your blog and add any feature you can think of.
Conclusion
As a blogging platform, WordPress far outperforms Wix. Wix blogs are overly simplistic and lack a number of important features. If you want to start a blog, Wix isn’t even close to competing with WordPress.
6. Ecommerce Comparison: Wix vs. WordPress
Another important feature that most newcomers look for is the ability to sell items online. Let’s see how WordPress and Wix stack up in terms of eCommerce.
Wix:
Wix’s paid plans include eCommerce. This means that users on the free plan will be unable to run their eCommerce store on Wix unless they upgrade to a paid plan.
With Wix Stores, you can accept payments through their own native payment system or through third-party apps that connect to various payment gateways such as PayPal, Authorize.net, and others.
If you use Wix Payments, you will be charged 2.9 percent of the transaction amount plus 0.30 USD for the US region. This processing fee adds up quickly as you sell more products.
You can use a few third-party apps to help promote your store and sell items online. The eCommerce platform’s overall features are also limited.
WordPress:
WordPress makes it incredibly simple to set up your online store with WooCommerce, the world’s most popular eCommerce platform.
There are numerous other eCommerce plugins for WordPress that can be used to sell physical or digital goods, services, events, subscriptions, and more.
Using MemberPress, WordPress is also the best platform for selling digital subscriptions. It lets you sell online courses, pay-per-view content, and membership plans to your online community.
Most WordPress eCommerce plugins even have their own dedicated themes and add-on plugins. Some great examples can be found on our list of the best WooCommerce themes.
Conclusion:
If you want to build a proper online store and be ready for growth, WordPress + WooCommerce provides far more flexibility, freedom, and options than Wix.
7. Wix vs. WordPress Data Portability Options
Data portability allows you to move your content whenever you need it. Let’s take a look at how Wix and WordPress can help you move and reuse your content.
Wix data portability options
Wix provides very few options for migrating your content to another platform. Your blog posts can only be exported in XML format. You’ll have to download your pages, images, videos, and other content by hand.
According to Wix documentation, all of your content is hosted solely on Wix’s servers and cannot be exported to another location.
This makes it more difficult to migrate your content to a different platform if necessary. A Wix site, on the other hand, can still be transferred.
WordPress data portability options
WordPress is a proper content management system that makes exporting your content extremely simple. It includes a one-click exporter for downloading your content in XML format.
Because it is a self-hosted platform, you can also create full WordPress backups, download your media files, and export your WordPress database manually.
If you are dissatisfied with your current WordPress hosting company, you can easily migrate your WordPress site to a new host.
Conclusion:
When it comes to downloading and moving data, WordPress is far superior. Wix, on the other hand, makes it difficult to migrate your content.
Final Thoughts: Wix vs. WordPress – Which Is Better?
As a web publishing platform for any type of website, WordPress far outperforms Wix. Whereas Wix provides an easy-to-use website builder, WordPress makes it possible for you to achieve much more in the long run.
Step-by-step instructions can be found in our guide on how to make a website with WordPress.
Wix vs. WordPress Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have any further questions? Here are some of the most frequently asked questions we received from users when deciding between Wix and WordPress.
1. Which is less expensive, Wix or WordPress?
Wix offers free plans that include their own branded domain name as well as advertisements. Their paid plans, which start at $4.50 per month with very limited storage and features, allow you to remove the branding and use your own domain name. If you want to upgrade to more feature-rich plans, your costs will rise.
WordPress, on the other hand, only requires hosting and a domain name. For example, Bluehost starts at $2.75 per month and includes a free domain name and SSL certificate. WordPress becomes a lot cheaper in the long run when you consider that it also allows you to add any feature you want to your website.
2. Is it possible to move my domain away from Wix?
Yes, you can remove your domain from Wix. Wix, on the other hand, makes it difficult to transfer your website’s files and content.
3, What are the benefits and drawbacks of using Wix?
Here are some of the benefits and drawbacks of using Wix over WordPress for a quick comparison.
Pros:
- Wix does not require you to install software or manage updates.
- It provides a simpler and easier-to-use interface for editing websites.
- Because Wix is a hosted solution, you don’t have to worry about backups or security.
Cons:
- In the long run, Wix is more expensive than WordPress.
- When compared to WordPress, it is very limited in terms of functionality.
- It has fewer design options and third-party integrations.
- The eCommerce and business features are nowhere near those of other platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce.
4. Which platform provides the most storage and bandwidth?
The majority of WordPress hosting companies provide unlimited storage and bandwidth. In comparison to Wix, that also limits storage capacity based on the plan you pick. For example, their basic plan provides users with 500 MB of storage, 1 GB of bandwidth, and no video hours.
5. Wix vs. WordPress: Which is better for SEO?
WordPress is better for SEO because it allows you to use SEO plugins and tools to perform tasks such as adding open graph meta tags, advanced XML sitemaps, on-site SEO analysis, and more.
To improve your WordPress ranking, we recommend using the All in One SEO (AIOSEO) plugin.
Wix’s platform includes some search engine optimization features. This gives you the ability to perform basic SEO on your website.
We hope this article helped you compare Wix vs WordPress and learn about their benefits and drawbacks.
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