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During the process of designing and developing your website, you will be faced with the dilemma of choosing which platform to host it on. This can be nerve-racking, especially if you are new to working with websites. However, we are here to help you make that decision. There are plenty to choose from but today we are going to put Wix Vs WordPress.
Two popular and effective options out there are Wix and WordPress. They are 2 strong contenders for hosting websites. The main difference between Wix and WordPress is the level of technical knowledge needed to run a website on one of the platforms. Wix is generally easier to set up and requires little technical knowledge.
On the other hand, WordPress is more difficult to set up but it is a more powerful platform in certain areas as we will see below. Let’s take a look at how these 2 platforms match up against each other.
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Wix Vs WordPress – Background Information
Let’s get started by examining what exactly Wix and WordPress are in a nutshell.
Wix Background Information
Wix is a website-building platform that lets you put together websites with minimum coding. It’s easy to use and is operated with a drag-and-drop interface.
You can get started on Wix for free but, with the free plan, your website will have a domain that contains wix.com. Packages that allow for custom domains and features like accepting payments from customers cost more money.
WordPress Background Information
WordPress is an open-source content management system that allows users to create, edit, and publish web pages on the internet. Out-of-the-box, everything is done from a backend interface but there are page builder plugins like Divi that allow users to create pages by dragging and dropping. It’s more difficult to use than a platform like Wix, but it can be customized to a greater extent.
WordPress is free to install but to get it set up, you will need to purchase a domain name and a hosting package.
Ease Of Setup
Some problems can be so difficult to solve that you may just give up before even getting started on a solution. Building your website shouldn’t be this type of problem. Below, we will compare the ease of getting set up with Wix to getting set up with WordPress.
Wix Setup
It’s straightforward to get started with Wix. With just a few clicks you will be up and running. Your first step will be to select the industry your site falls under. Then, you will have the option of having Wix’s Artificial Design Intelligence (ADI) create a website for you, or you will be able to choose a website template as a starting point for your website.
WordPress Setup
Setting up WordPress is a little more involved. You will first need to purchase a domain name and a hosting package. You will also need to install WordPress on your hosting server. After getting this done, you can begin customizing your site. Some hosting packages offer a WordPress installer and other help setting up the platform. This isn’t necessarily the case across the board. Check with your hosting provider to see if they will offer any assistance if you choose to use WordPress.
Customization
Now it’s time to talk about making your website a unique creation. After setting up your website, you can begin putting the elements together that will deliver your message to the world.
Wix Customization
Wix has a front-end editor that shows users exactly what their website will look like as they edit it. Elements are added to the page being worked on from the toolbar on the left pictured below.
In addition to editing elements, you can add apps to the website from the toolbar at the left as well as upload relevant files.
WordPress Customization
Working with WordPress is a little different. Everything to do with customization starts from the dashboard of its backend interface. With WordPress, users won’t be able to see what their website looks like until they preview the particular page they’re working on.
From the backend, users can make blog posts, upload media files, create pages, and edit things like the color scheme of the website. You can also add plugins to add more functionality to the website.
Maintenance
After you get your website started, there will be some occasional maintenance required as with anything else. Wix and WordPress have different maintenance requirements as we will see.
The good thing about Wix is that it automatically updates all apps and features without any user intervention. This is great for people with limited technical skills because it allows them to have a professional website without having to put in a lot of work on setup or maintenance.
Wix Maintenance
The good thing about Wix is that it automatically updates all apps and features without any user intervention. This is great for people with limited technical skills because it allows them to have a professional website without having to put in a lot of work on setup or maintenance.
WordPress Maintenance
WordPress is more difficult to maintain than Wix. Depending on your hosting provider, your WordPress installation might be automatically updated. However, this may not be the case and you may need to take care of this yourself. In addition to extra features, WordPress updates typically bring security patches and bug fixes, so you will need to make sure that your updates are carried out promptly. This allows for a more robust and unique website.
You will also need to make sure that your plugins are kept up to date or else you risk having issues with plugins conflicting with each other and negatively impacting the performance of your website. You can set your plugins to update automatically if you don’t have the time to keep up with them.
Use Cases
While there are many different uses for a website, we will focus on 2 of the more popular ones. In many cases, users will set a website for a blog or as an eCommerce store. We will examine how well suited each platform is for these applications.
Blogging
Wix Blogging
As with everything else, blogging with Wix is quite straightforward. Simply create a new page dedicated to blogs and then you can add a blog module to that page. The blogging interface is quite friendly and it’s easy to arrange the text according to your preferences.
WordPress Blogging
WordPress was built with blogging in mind. This is clear from how streamlined their blog editor is.
It is designed to facilitate ease of writing and it allows you to add relevant information like tags, featured images, and excerpts. You can even set up schedules for publishing your posts.
WordPress offers several features that allow you to create well-formatted content like the block editor which lets you add blocks of content. For example, you can add blocks of text, things like images and videos, or even audio files. You can then arrange those blocks as you see fit.
WordPress’ blog editor is both easy to use and powerful. It provides users with all the features they need to produce a professional blog. When it comes to blogging, WordPress is a superior option. If your website will mainly contain blog content, then WordPress is probably the way to go. However, if your website will contain a few blog posts here and there, then Wix is a perfectly valid option.
E-commerce
Wix eCommerce
Wix comes with an eCommerce plugin built into the platform. To use it effectively, you will have to sign up for a Wix eCommerce plan. Other than that, there’s no additional setup work. Simply add your product information and then get to selling.
WordPress E-commerce
To run an eCommerce WordPress site, you will need to do some groundwork first. You will need to install a plugin like WooCommerce which will give you the eCommerce functionality that you need. WooCommerce offers much more flexibility than Wix. You can set up different payment methods, set up subscriptions, and more with WooCommerce. Please bear in mind that WooCommerce is just one example of a WordPress eCommerce plugin. There are other plugins available that you can use. You might need to do some research to see which one fits your needs best.
Wix Overview
Wix is a relatively closed platform. This is a good thing in many ways. Firstly, everything that needs to be tweaked on your site can be done from within Wix. You also won’t need to be technically skilled to get started with a Wix website. In addition, Wix comes with a large number of useful plugins and options, like Wix Stores. Furthermore, many of these plugins are free. Moreover, you will get excellent support from Wix’s team if you run into any issues.
While there are clear benefits of having a closed platform like Wix, it also takes away some control from the user. For example, Wix has the power to take your site offline at any moment. Customization options are also limited to what Wix provides. Overall, Wix is very easy to use and allows users to quickly create functional websites. This service is good for simpler websites. Those looking for more advanced features may have to look for another option like WordPress.
WordPress Overview
WordPress is a powerful, open-source content management system. It’s free to install and there are thousands of themes and plugins available to download for the platform. This is possible due to WordPress being open source. WordPress gives users much more control over the customization of their website and makes it easy to add custom code.
While there isn’t a dedicated support team for WordPress, it is a well-known open-source platform and therefore has a large community that’s capable of providing support. Moreover, it is updated regularly and kept relevant. Blogging with WordPress is also a seamless experience.
While WordPress does give users more options for customization, you will need to purchase a web domain and web hosting to run it. These things require you to spend money. In addition, your hosting company may not provide you with technical assistance when it comes to setting up your WordPress installation.
This means that you will need to be somewhat tech-savvy if you want to set up a WordPress website. If you are tech-savvy, then WordPress will be perfect for you since you will be able to customize your website to your heart’s desire. However, if you’re not then Wix may be the better option for you.
Final Thoughts
The theme throughout this comparison has been that WordPress lets you do more things, while Wix is easier to use. If you are a tech-savvy person, then you will appreciate the sheer number of things that are possible with a WordPress website.
If you aren’t tech-savvy but need a website, then Wix is for you. In fact, even if you are tech-savvy but want a fast solution for creating a website, you could first create a Wix site and then transition to something more advanced when it is appropriate to do so.
Consider your needs and then make your decision based on them. We hope that we have been able to make things clear and that you have a much better idea of which platform suits you best with this Wix Vs WordPress comparison.
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