WordPress vs Wix – Which To Choose for Building Your Website?

If you have made the decision to build your own website, for whatever purpose, then you are certainly facing another important decision – which content management platform (CMS) should you use to build your website? There are many reliable and smart options available, but probably the best two options that you can choose from are WordPress and Wix. So, in this article, we will talk about these two platforms and do a head to head comparison of their strengths and flaws. But before we go there, let’s discuss some basics first.

What is a CMS?

A content management system (CMS) is a platform that manages the majority of the technical sides of creating or building a website. They are great for beginners and people that don’t have a lot of technical or website building experience because they allow you to upload and manage your content in a very straightforward and easy manner.

Generally, there are two kinds of CMS platforms: robust and highly customizable platforms like Drupal and WordPress, and more trimmed drag-and-drop alternatives like Weebly and Wix. Each of these CMS platforms has its own advantages, flaws and unique traits and features, so you need to get to know these features before you can make a decision and choose the CMS that fits your needs perfectly.

What is WordPress?

WordPress is the most popular and widely used CMS today. It began operating in 2003 and after extremely modest beginnings it grew to be the biggest self-hosting blogging tool on the Internet. More than 70 million websites have been created with WordPress.

WordPress is an Open Source project, which means that anybody can work on it. It also means that it is completely free to use by anyone. So, if you don’t want to pay a license fee and other fees for your website, WordPress is a great tool for you to build your website.

WordPress can be customized to the unlimited extent and can be used for almost anything. All you need is a web host that suits some basic requirements and a little bit of time to create the website that you desire.

Before we go further, you should also know that there is a difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com. The first website allows you to download and install software that offers you a lot of flexibility when you design your website. WordPress.com, on the other hand, offers you the opportunity to create a completely free and new blog in a matter of minutes, but it is slightly different and less flexible than the downloadable version of WordPress.

What is Wix?

Wix.com is a web creation and development platform that is based on the cloud technology. It was created by the Wix Company from Israel. This platform lets users design HTML5 websites that are also mobile friendly, by simply using drag-and-drop tools.

Wix is working on a freemium business method, which means that this company makes money on premium upgrades, while the basic use of Wix is completely free. Premium upgrades are, however, necessary if you want to connect your website to your own domain, or if you wish to remove ads or add e-commerce features. Premium upgrades are also required if you wish to purchase additional storage space and bandwidth.

Wix was founded in 2006 and began operating in its beta version in 2007. Today, Wix has more than 50 million users, which makes it one of the most popular website building platforms, along with WordPress.

Now that you have some basic information about WordPress and Wix, it is time to see which platform is better for your needs by comparing them head on.

WordPress vs. Wix

As we already said, we will now do an in-depth comparison between these two building platforms, which should help you decide which one suit you better. You just have to remember that both of these platforms offer great service, but they are also almost completely different, so the choice that you make should be based on the things you need and, primarily, on the type of the website you want to create.

Ease of Use

A lot of people that want to create their own website do it for a specific reason and the majority of them don’t really have any tech knowledge or background. Also, most of them don’t really want to invest too much time to learn these additional tech skills. That is why both WordPress and Wix are extremely popular since they let you design a website without having to go through troubles of learning to code.

• Wix – Wix offers many straightforward and easy to use tools that allow users to make their own website with ease. It has a very simple drag-and-drop interface in which you can choose any part or element of your site and edit it. You will be able to drag and drop items on any part of your website, rearrange items on your pages, create content and add different types of media.
• WordPress – This platform has a visual editor that enables users to write their content, as well as customize and edit their themes with another powerful tool. However, in contrast to Wix, WordPress doesn’t have a built-in drag-and-drop tool for building a website. So, if you want to have complete control over the looks of your website, you will have to get familiar with various sections in WordPress that allow you to edit the appearance. That means that you will have to take some time to learn some basic WordPress functions and features.

Winner: Wix. Even though both websites are easy to use, WordPress does require at least some basic understanding of HTML or CSS, while all you need to create a website with Wix is your mouse.

Design

Having a lot of options when it comes to design and layouts is very important if you want your website to look unique and attractive. Both platforms offer a wide variety of layouts and designs, which means that you will be able to create a website that suits your desires.

• Wix – Wix offers hundreds of wonderful and completely customizable designs in more than 70 industry categories. You can also find numerous one-page templates that you can use for landing pages, as well as blank templates that only outline your website’s structure but do not contain any kind of content in them. However, even though templates that Wix offers are truly beautiful, there is one important drawback – you can’t change templates once you have begun your editing process. All designs that Wix offers are mobile-friendly and you can even change the appearance of your website on mobile devices with Wix’s Mobile Editor.
• WordPress – WordPress themes can be found at two places: the theme directory at the WordPress.org and various independent websites and theme shops. The first option is official and has the biggest choice, but it is certainly good to have the option to look elsewhere if you don’t find what you like on WordPress.org. You can also choose between free and paid themes. In contrast to Wix, you won’t be able to use WYSIWYG editing to change and modify your WordPress theme, which means that you have to know how to read code if you want to do this.

Winner: Tie. The selection of themes on both websites is big enough, which means that everyone will be able to find the right theme for them. However, editing your theme in Wix is a lot easier and doesn’t require any tech skills, so Wix takes the win here, at least when beginners are in question. On the other hand, WordPress allows users to be much more creative with their designs and doesn’t have any restrictions. So, we will call it a tie in this category.

Features and Flexibility

There are many important features that both platforms offer to their users that allow them to be very flexible when they design their website, and this is one of the reasons why these two website building platforms are the most popular.

• Wix – Wix is a very versatile website builder that offers blogging and eCommerce support to its users. Also, there are numerous extensions that you can include into your website. Some of these extensions are free (Holiday Badges, Comments, Live Chat Room), while others can be bought through the App Market. However, even those free extensions sometimes can be upgraded to premium versions that offer more features. These apps are easy to install and operate, just like the platform itself. Some are created by Wix, while others are designed by third-party developers. Next to eCommerce and blogging support and features, you can also use Wix to create forums and use Wix ShoutOut and Smart Actions to collect important data from your visitors.
• WordPress – Even though WordPress started as a simple blogging platform, it quickly outgrew this and became a versatile builder that allows you to create many different website types, like web stores, portfolios, etc. This is achieved thanks to the wide variety of plugins that can probably make anything you can think of come true. There are more than 40,000 free plugins available just in the plugin directory at WordPress.org. In addition to this, there are premium plugins available on other websites and marketplaces. There are commenting plugins, social plugins, SEO packs, safety plugins, and much, much more.

Winner: WordPress. Even though Wix has a lot to offer and does so in a much simpler and easier manner, WordPress still takes a narrow win here. With so many features and plugins WordPress is simply much more flexible and has more features that allow users to design their website just as they envisioned.

Customer Support

Having a great customer support is one of the most important things you need to consider when you are choosing the platform in which you will build your website since that is one of the things that can really make a difference and improve your overall user experience.

• Wix – Wix has an enormous support center and that is really helpful in many situations. There are more than 250,000 topics posted in the official forum for Wix support, but there are also hundreds of guidelines and video tutorials as well. You can use email support and learn about Wix from its educational program, WixEd. Even in the editor itself, there is a help icon for almost all elements that can be edited. You simply have to click on it and you will receive helpful information to solve your problem.
• WordPress – WordPress has been around for much longer and has more users, so there is a huge WordPress community with experts specialized in WordPress. That means that you will have no problem in finding a solution to any WordPress problem. However, WordPress doesn’t have an official customer support or support staff.

Winner: Tie. Even though WordPress should maybe take the win here due to the sheer quantity of available information and community size, the fact that they miss official customer support makes this category a tie.

Pricing

Finally, we come to our last category, but not the least important one, since many website owners who are just starting out must consider all the costs that they will have to face when they build their website before they make the decision on their preferable website builder.

• Wix – As we have already mentioned, Wix is a freemium website building platform. That means that you can design and publish a website, even have ads on your website, with a free account. However, if you so decide, you can upgrade your website to another, paid version. There are five premium versions: Connect domain, Combo, Unlimited, eCommerce, and VIP, all of which are available on discount if you decide to pay an annual fee instead of monthly.
• WordPress – The building platform itself is completely free. However, if you are looking to get published, you will have to buy a hosting plan.

Winner: Tie. Once again, benefits and flaws from these platforms annul each other. WordPress might end up costing more, but that simply depends on your needs and desires. For example, your cost will be affected by the number of plugins you want to use, whether you go with a premium theme and the price of your hosting provider. On the other hand, all premium plans Wix has to offer cover hosting, themes and free extensions, but you might have to pay for a paid app from the Wix app market.

Which Should You Choose?

It is pretty obvious from our analysis and comparison that both building platforms we have covered have their own advantages and disadvantages. Which one you should choose is entirely up to you and your needs and desires.

If you are looking for a quick and easy solution to setup a simple website for your company, you might go with Wix.

WordPress offers much more flexibility, so if you are planning to setup a website and extend it in the future, probably this platform would be a better choice for you. For self-hosted WordPress website, we highly recommend BlueHost.

We only hope we have helped you make an informed decision with our article.