WordPress vs Wix are two of the most popular website building platforms available today. Both offer easy-to-use drag and drop editors that allow anyone to create a professional looking website without needing to know how to code.
WordPress
WordPress powers over 40% of all websites, making it the most widely used CMS (content management system) in the world. It started out as a blogging platform but has evolved into a versatile open-source CMS that can be used to create all kinds of websites, from personal blogs to ecommerce stores. WordPress is highly customizable and has a huge library of themes and plugins available.
Wix
Wix is a proprietary website builder that uses an AI-powered editor. It offers hundreds of designer-made templates along with drag and drop modules to build sites. Wix currently powers over 200 million websites across industries like restaurants, photography, online stores, and more. Its user-friendly editor makes it easy for non-techies to create professional sites.
Both platforms have their strengths and weaknesses, which we’ll explore in this guide to help you determine which is the right choice for your website project, i.e., WordPress vs Wix.
WordPress vs Wix: Which One is the Best Choice for You?
Let’s discuss all the attributes necessary for creating a remarkable website and analyze which of these platforms align more closely with those attributes, features, or functionalities typically needed during website creation.
Ease of Use
When it comes to ease of use, Wix is generally considered better for beginners, while WordPress has a steeper learning curve.
Wix uses a drag-and-drop editor that is very intuitive and easy to use, even for someone with no web design experience. You can quickly build a professional-looking website by dragging elements like text boxes, images, and apps onto a page. Wix has hundreds of designer-made templates to choose from, making it easy to get started. Their editor is similar to using Microsoft Word – everything is very visual and WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get).
In contrast, WordPress is more complex since you need to work within themes and plugins to customize your site. The learning curve is steeper because you have to understand concepts like HTML and CSS to tweak your site’s design. While WordPress has a visual editor, you still need some technical knowledge to build a site. There’s more flexibility, but also more complexity. Those without coding experience may find WordPress overwhelming at first.
So when evaluating ease of use, Wix is the clear winner for beginners who want a simple drag-and-drop website builder. But WordPress offers more customization for those willing to learn and understand the platform. It comes down to your skill level and willingness to learn the intricacies of WordPress.
Customization
When it comes to customization, WordPress offers far more flexibility than Wix.
WordPress allows you to fully customize your site’s design and functionality by modifying the theme code. For developers and advanced users, this complete access to the codebase is a major benefit of WordPress. You can tweak the CSS, JavaScript, and PHP files to achieve exactly the look, layout, and features you want.
In contrast, Wix does not allow code access. The customization options are limited to what the Wix site builder interface provides. You can choose different themes, fonts, colors, etc. but can’t modify the code behind the scenes. This makes achieving a truly unique site design more challenging with Wix.
Additionally, WordPress has an enormous library of plugins and extensions to add all kinds of functionality to your site – forms, galleries, sliders, social media integration, and much more. Wix offers some apps and integrations, but not nearly as many as what’s available for WordPress.
So if you want maximum control and flexibility to build a customized site, WordPress is the clear winner. But if you just need something simple without needing to touch code, Wix provides an easier starting point. It comes down to your comfort level with technology and how unique you want your site to be.
Design Flexibility
When it comes to design flexibility, Wix has the advantage with its drag-and-drop website builder. Wix makes it easy to customize the design of your site without needing to know any code. You can choose from hundreds of designer-made templates and tweak them to your liking by dragging and dropping elements like images, text boxes, buttons, and more.
With WordPress, you have more design flexibility if you’re able to code or install additional plugins. Out of the box, WordPress has a limited selection of free themes. Most WordPress themes use a similar layout and design structure. To achieve a unique design, you’d need a premium theme or you’d have to edit the theme code and CSS yourself. This requires web development knowledge that beginners usually don’t have.
Workarounds like page builder plugins can add drag and drop functionality to WordPress, but the experience isn’t as seamless as Wix. Overall, Wix offers better design flexibility for beginners who want an easy way to create a stylish website without learning to code. WordPress offers nearly unlimited design flexibility for experienced developers willing to put in the work.
SEO
When it comes to SEO, WordPress has a clear advantage over Wix. WordPress gives you more control over important on-page SEO elements like URLs, metadata, alt text, and more.
With WordPress, you get clean URLs that are optimized for search engines by default. Wix uses less SEO-friendly dynamic URLs.
WordPress also makes it easy to customize page titles, Meta descriptions, heading tags, image alt text, and other metadata on each page and post. Wix doesn’t provide the same fine-grained control.
Additionally, there are many WordPress SEO plugins like Yoast SEO that add advanced functionality like XML sitemaps, SEO analysis, and automatic meta tag generation. The SEO plugins for Wix are more limited.
Since search engine optimization is so important for driving organic traffic, WordPress’ superior SEO capabilities give it a leg up. WordPress sites tend to perform better in search rankings with minimal effort.
Extensions and Apps
When it comes to extensions and apps, WordPress has a clear advantage. WordPress has access to over 55,000 plugins in the official plugin directory alone. These plugins allow you to add all kinds of functionality to your WordPress site, like ecommerce, forums, user login systems, SEO tools, security plugins, and more. There are plugins available for just about anything you could want to do with WordPress.
Wix, on the other hand, has a much more limited app market. They currently have about 500 apps available. While some of the most popular app categories are covered, the selection is nowhere near what’s available for WordPress.
The extensive plugin ecosystem is one of the main advantages of WordPress. No matter what features or functionality you want to add to your site, there’s likely a plugin available to make it happen in WordPress. The wider selection gives you more flexibility and customization options.
For most websites, WordPress’ vast library of plugins provides more options to get your site working just the way you envision it. The broader app market is a key factor that makes WordPress the better choice for many website owners and developers.
Ecommerce
When it comes to built-in ecommerce features, Wix has the upper hand for small websites and stores. Wix offers a full featured online store builder with the ability to create product catalogs, customizable checkout pages, coupons and promotions.
Wix stores integrate with payment providers like PayPal, Stripe and Authorize.net. You can manage orders, inventory and shipping all from the Wix dashboard. Wix also provides reliable SSL encryption for transactions.
With WordPress, you need to install and configure ecommerce plugins like WooCommerce to get online store functionality. This requires a bit more technical skill and setup. However, WordPress offers more flexibility and customization for larger, more complex stores.
Overall, Wix is the easier platform for launching a basic online store. But WordPress offers more growth potential for established ecommerce businesses that need custom features.
Scalability
When it comes to scalability and handling high traffic loads, WordPress is the clear winner. WordPress was built from the ground up to be able to handle large amounts of traffic and scale with your site as it grows.
With WordPress, you get:
- Caching plugins like WP Rocket to speed up sites
- Ability to use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
- Support for hosting on dedicated servers or cloud infrastructure
- Multi-server architecture for larger deployments
- Advanced database caching and query optimization
- Easy scaling from a few dozen to millions of pageviews per month
WordPress powers over 40% of all websites, including some of the largest and most-trafficked sites on the internet like TechCrunch, The New Yorker, Forbes, and more. The core software is built to be lightweight, fast, and highly extensible.
In contrast, Wix sites are hosted on Wix’s proprietary servers. While Wix claims their infrastructure can scale, larger Wix sites tend to suffer performance issues compared to WordPress. As your traffic grows into millions of visits per month, Wix can become unwieldy and unreliable.
For those planning on significant growth in the future, WordPress offers a clear scalability advantage over Wix. WordPress gives you the flexibility to scale your infrastructure along with your traffic.
Pricing
When it comes to pricing, Wix vs WordPress offers different models.
Wix uses a subscription-based pricing model, with plans ranging from free to $25+ per month. The free plan allows you to create a basic website, while paid plans add features like ecommerce, mailing lists, and more storage. For a simple website, Wix is very affordable.
WordPress.org is open source software, so the core platform is free. However, you need web hosting, which typically costs $5-20 per month. There are also additional costs for themes, plugins, custom development, and other features. So while WordPress is free upfront, costs can add up for more complex sites.
The main difference is that Wix scales in features, while WordPress scales in traffic and size. For a small business website, Wix is likely cheaper. But as your site grows, WordPress gives you more flexibility to scale your hosting and capabilities. Large enterprises often find WordPress more cost effective at scale.
So Wix is better for beginners on a budget, while WordPress offers more advanced capabilities for larger sites and higher traffic volumes. Consider your needs and growth plans when evaluating the pricing and value of each platform. The “better” option depends on your specific website goals.
After discussing and analyzing all the above attributes, we now have a clear understanding of the standing of both WordPress and Wix.
To gain further clarity on when to choose between WordPress or Wix, let’s examine some real-life examples. Let’s compare WordPress and Wix through three different real-life scenarios:
WordPress vs Wix: Real Life Examples
Website for a Local Bakery
Requirements:
- Showcase products effectively
- Allow customers to place orders online
- Share baking tips through a blog
Features, Attributes, or Functionalities for Remarkable Website Creation:
- Customizable design options
- E-commerce functionality
- Blogging capabilities
- SEO optimization
- User-friendly interface
- Secure payment processing
- Mobile responsiveness
Platform Comparison
Customizable Design Options:
WordPress:
- Offers a wide range of customizable themes tailored to specific industries, including bakery themes.
- Provides flexibility to modify designs using page builders and custom CSS.
Wix:
- Provides a drag-and-drop editor with numerous bakery-themed templates.
- Allows easy customization of colors, fonts, and layout.
E-commerce Functionality:
WordPress:
- Integrates seamlessly with WooCommerce, a robust e-commerce plugin.
- Offers features such as product variations, inventory management, and secure checkout.
Wix:
- Provides built-in e-commerce features, including product listings, payment processing, and order management.
Blogging Capabilities:
WordPress:
- Known for its strong blogging capabilities with features like categories, tags, and scheduled posts.
- Offers various plugins for advanced blogging functionality and SEO optimization.
Wix:
- Includes a blogging platform with basic features like post scheduling and social sharing.
- Suitable for simple blogging needs but lacks some advanced features compared to WordPress.
SEO Optimization:
WordPress:
- Supports SEO plugins like Yoast SEO and All in One SEO Pack for optimizing content and metadata.
- Provides control over permalinks, headings, and image alt tags.
Wix:
- Offers basic SEO tools for optimizing titles, descriptions, and URLs.
- Limited customization options compared to WordPress plugins.
Outcome:
While both WordPress and Wix can fulfill the requirements of a bakery website, WordPress emerges as the winner due to its superior customization options, robust e-commerce functionality with WooCommerce, and powerful blogging capabilities. WordPress provides developers with the necessary tools and flexibility to create a remarkable website tailored to the bakery’s needs.
Website for a Digital Marketing Agency
Requirements:
- Showcase services offered by the agency
- Highlight client success stories and case studies
- Include a contact form for potential clients to inquire about services
Features, Attributes, or Functionalities for Remarkable Website Creation:
- Professional design to reflect the agency’s brand
- Clear presentation of services with detailed descriptions
- Integration of testimonials and case studies to build credibility
- Contact form for lead generation and client inquiries
Platform Comparison
Professional Design:
WordPress:
- Offers a wide selection of professional themes designed specifically for service-based businesses like digital marketing agencies.
- Provides flexibility to customize designs using page builders and custom CSS.
Wix:
- Provides pre-designed templates suitable for service-based businesses, but customization options may be more limited compared to WordPress.
Clear Presentation of Services:
WordPress:
- Allows for detailed service descriptions and benefits using custom post types or page templates.
- Offers plugins for creating interactive service pages with pricing tables, FAQs, and call-to-action buttons.
Wix:
- Provides basic options for presenting services on website pages, but customization may be restricted compared to WordPress.
Integration of Testimonials and Case Studies:
WordPress:
- Supports plugins for showcasing client testimonials, success stories, and case studies.
- Offers flexibility to display testimonials in various formats and integrate them seamlessly into website pages.
Wix:
- Provides basic options for including testimonials and case studies on website pages, but customization options may be limited compared to WordPress plugins.
Contact Form for Lead Generation:
WordPress:
- Offers numerous contact form plugins like Contact Form 7 or WPForms for creating customized inquiry forms.
- Allows for integration with email marketing services to automate lead capture and follow-up.
Wix:
- Includes built-in contact form features that are easy to set up and customize.
- Provides straightforward options for collecting client inquiries, but customization may be more limited compared to WordPress.
Outcome:
For a digital marketing agency website, WordPress emerges as the preferred platform due to its professional design options, flexible service presentation capabilities, and extensive plugin support for testimonials and contact forms. While Wix offers simplicity and ease of use, WordPress provides the customization and scalability necessary for a service-based business to showcase its offerings effectively and generate leads. With WordPress, the agency can create a professional website tailored to its brand and services, enhancing its online presence and attracting potential clients.
Online Portfolio for a Graphic Designer
Requirements:
- Showcase graphic design portfolio effectively
- Highlight creative projects and achievements
- Provide easy contact options for potential clients
Features, Attributes, or Functionalities for Remarkable Website Creation:
- Stunning visual presentation of portfolio pieces
- Easy-to-update gallery sections
- Simple and intuitive contact form
- Mobile responsiveness for viewing on various devices
Platform Comparison
Stunning Visual Presentation:
Wix:
- Offers visually appealing graphic design templates with modern layouts.
- Provides drag-and-drop functionality for easy customization of portfolio sections.
WordPress:
- Requires more technical knowledge or the use of premium themes/plugins for comparable visual results.
Easy-to-Update Gallery Sections:
Wix:
- Includes intuitive gallery features with easy upload options for new projects.
- Allows for simple rearrangement and updating of portfolio items.
WordPress:
Requires the installation and configuration of gallery plugins, which may be more complex for beginners.
Simple and Intuitive Contact Form:
Wix:
Offers built-in contact form features that are easy to set up and customize.
Provides straightforward options for collecting client inquiries.
WordPress:
Requires the installation of contact form plugins, which may involve more steps for configuration.
Mobile Responsiveness:
Wix:
Automatically optimizes websites for mobile viewing, ensuring a seamless experience on smartphones and tablets.
WordPress:
Requires additional optimization efforts or the use of responsive themes/plugins to achieve comparable mobile responsiveness.
Outcome:
Wix emerges as the preferred platform for creating an online portfolio for a graphic designer due to its visually appealing templates, easy-to-update gallery sections, intuitive contact form features, and automatic mobile responsiveness. While WordPress offers customization options, Wix provides simplicity and convenience, making it the ideal choice for showcasing creative work to potential clients.
Personal Blog for a Travel Enthusiast
Requirements:
- Share travel experiences and tips through blog posts
- Showcase travel photography and videos
- Engage with readers through comments and social media integration
Features, Attributes, or Functionalities for Remarkable Website Creation:
- Blogging capabilities with post scheduling and categories
- Integration of multimedia elements like photos and videos
- Comment section for reader engagement
- Social media sharing buttons for content promotion
Platform Comparison
Blogging Capabilities:
Wix:
- Offers a simple blogging platform with basic features like post scheduling and categories.
- Provides an intuitive interface for creating and publishing blog posts.
WordPress:
- Known for its robust blogging capabilities with advanced features like post tags, scheduled posts, and custom post types.
Integration of Multimedia Elements:
Wix:
- Allows for the easy addition of photos and videos to blog posts using built-in media features.
- Provides simple options for arranging and displaying multimedia content within posts.
WordPress:
- Offers extensive plugins and themes for enhancing multimedia integration, providing more customization options for displaying photos and videos.
Comment Section for Reader Engagement:
Wix:
- Includes a basic comment section feature for reader feedback and engagement.
- Allows for moderation of comments within the Wix dashboard.
WordPress:
- Offers robust comment management features with options for threaded discussions, comment moderation, and anti-spam measures.
Social Media Sharing Buttons:
Wix:
- Provides built-in social media sharing buttons for easy content promotion on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
- Allows for customization of button placement and design.
WordPress:
- Offers various social media sharing plugins for integrating sharing buttons into blog posts, providing extensive customization options for button styles and placement.
Outcome:
For a personal blog focused on travel experiences, Wix emerges as the preferred platform due to its simplicity and ease of use. While WordPress offers more advanced blogging features and customization options, Wix provides the simplicity and convenience necessary for quick setup and management of a travel blog. Wix’s intuitive interface, basic blogging capabilities, and built-in social media integration make it the ideal choice for sharing travel stories and engaging with readers.
WordPress vs Wix Attribute Comparison Table
Below is a table representing the attributes of each platform using thumbs-up symbols. You can select the platform based on your priorities.
 |  | |
| Ease of Use | 👍 | 👍 👍 |
| Customization | 👍 👍 | 👍 |
| Design Flexibility | 👍 👍 | 👍 |
| SEO | 👍 👍 | 👍 |
| Extensions and Apps | 👍 👍 | 👍 |
| Ecommerce | 👍 👍 | 👍 |
| Scalability | 👍 👍 | 👍 |
| Pricing | 👍 | 👍 👍 |
Recommendations
- For small businesses wanting a simple website with limited needs, Wix is a great choice for its ease of use.
- For advanced users, companies wanting maximum control and customization, or high-traffic websites, WordPress is preferable.
- For online stores with specific product and checkout needs, WordPress with WooCommerce offers superior ecommerce functionality.
Summarizing WordPress Vs Wix
When deciding between WordPress vs Wix, it really comes down to your specific needs and goals for your website. WordPress offers more advanced customization options and better SEO capabilities, while Wix is easier for beginners to use with its drag-and-drop editor.
Consider your technical capabilities, desire for customization, and potential growth when deciding between these two popular platforms. Both can work well depending on the context, so review the key differences to determine the best fit for your website goals.
Bio
WebHub is your one-stop partner for digital success. Our team of experts in web design, development, marketing, and creative fields works together to craft custom solutions that propel your business forward. We believe in building trust and exceeding expectations through exceptional service, quality, and transparency.
