Is Wix or WordPress the right choice for your website?

You have probably seen the commercials on TV and/or YouTube for Wix.com – “So, you need to create a website?”  The real question should be – Is Wix the right choice for your website?

The simple answer is, yes it might be. Let’s look at some things to help you decide.

While Wix.com is pumping a lot of money into advertising, there are other options. You may or may not have heard of WordPress, but not so long-ago WordPress was mainly considered as the go-to blogging platform. However, a lot has changed and it is also now a powerful webpage builder and ecommerce solution thanks to its open source allowing developers to create amazing plugins.

What prompted this article was a friend asking my thoughts on Wix after he couldn’t seem to find a definitive answer online. That is because the internet is littered with Wix vs. WordPress articles, that all seem a little skewed one way or the other.

Let’s be clear about one fact: Wix owns the beginner market. Similarly, WordPress owns the advanced market and they both know this. What they are competing for is the middle ground, so let’s dive in.

What Wix Offers:

Wix boasts that it is free, and it does offer a free plan – however there are catches as with anything to good to be true:

1. Easy drag & drop interface
2. You will not have your own unique domain name, it will be generic (username.wix.com/sitename), which is not exactly a professional look for a business
3. There will be Wix branded advertising at the top and bottom of your page(s), again not a professional look
4. No Google Analytics access
5. No eCommerce, so you can’t sell online
6. Space and bandwidth are limited
7. No email addresses

You can upgrade to a premium plan that gives you more options:

1. Same easy drag & drop interface
2. A domain name of your choice (if available) – free for first year and then at the going rate upon renewal.
3. Removal of Wix advertising on your pages
4. Access to Google Analytics
5. No eCommerce (this is another upgrade to a Business plan)
6. Plan pricing varies based on space and bandwidth needs
7. Access to hundreds of Wix apps to add functionality
8. Email addresses are additional cost

What WordPress offers:

There is no totally free way to have a WordPress site, because you will need a few things to get started:

1. You will need to find a hosting company like BlueHost or SiteGround (they both specialize in WordPress hosting)
2. You will need to secure your unique domain name (from goDaddy, or your hosting company)
3. Premium WordPress theme – available but not necessary
4. Premium plugins (apps) – available but not necessary

What is free with a WordPress website?

1. The WordPress software itself is a free open source software
2. 1000’s of free themes to create your website from
3. 50,000+ free plugins (apps) to add advanced functionality (forms, email sign-up, etc.)
4. eCommerce plugins like WooCommerce (which powers 40% of ecommerce stores)
5. Free email addresses from your hosting company using your domain (username@yoursite.com)

Who Wins – Wix or WordPress?:

Price:

WordPress costs are upfront, while Wix nickels and dimes you with upgrade fees. You could build the same professional website on both platforms for around the same price.

Ease of Use:

Wix at its core is an easy to use drag and drop editor. However, WordPress has free plugins like Elementor that give you the power of an easy to use drag and drop editor while still giving you advanced customizing control if needed.

Learning Curve:

With Wix the average person could probably hit the ground running, WordPress has more moving parts and may be intimidating to some, but there are plenty of YouTube tutorial videos to get you through it.

Flexibility:

WordPress is clearly more flexible with all of its themes & plugins. However, Wix is working on that and building its library of templates & apps.

NOTE: With Wix once you pick your template, that’s it – no changing it. WordPress allows you to change your theme as many times as you wish.

Expandability:

WordPress is limitless and I don’t see that stopping. Wix is playing catch up. Therefore, may not want to stay there in the future since this gets into the advanced category and out of their beginner to intermediate realm.

Bottomline:

• Are you intimidated by computers and/or learning something new then Wix is for you.
• You are someone who just wants to create a personal website for yourself or your family and doesn’t need a unique domain name then Wix is for you.
• A small business owner with no plans to grow then Wix is your choice.
• A small business owner who wants to grow then you should go with either Wix or WordPress, your choice.
• If you are a serious business owner of any size you should choose WordPress just for its limitless capabilities to grow as you do.

The Facebook/Social Media Excuse:

I have Facebook/Instagram. In other words, I don’t need a website. FALSE!
Even in today’s social media world a company’s website is the hub of its business, and social channels should be extensions of it, not a replacement for it.

No matter what size business you are, if you don’t have the time or manpower to create your website then give us a call – We are here to help!