With numerous web publishing options available, it becomes difficult to choose the one that is the best for you. However, in most cases, especially when referring to smaller personal websites or small to medium business websites, the choice is between WordPress and Wix. These are definitely among the best builders on the market but which one is better?
The answer is not as easy as it might seem for some. The only way to actually answer is to know many different things about why you need a site and what your knowledge level is.
Fortunately, when going through the WordPress vs Wix debate, there are some things that can be analyzed. Hopefully, these will help you to choose!
Ease Of Use
One of the best things of using Wix is the user interface. It is really user-friendly, intuitive and completely visual. What you see on the screen is exactly how the website is going to look like. This is particularly important for those that do not know much about site creation.
Wix was designed for people that do not know anything but want a website. No matter what site creation stage you are at, everything is easy. It is very simple to change backgrounds, connect domains, add blog posts, create accounts and so on. All is easy with some clicks because of Wix’s visual interface.
When you use WordPress you only get the open source CMS. Nobody can argue the fact that this is the best CMS you could use but the problem is you cannot just install the system and then build the site. You also need to add templates and plugins.
Which One Is Easier To Use?
Up until some time ago there was no way to deny that Wix was easier to use. However, WordPress templates are much better than they used to be. Many offer visual interface builders that are similar to what Wix has. Even so, you will need to go through a learning curve in order to be able to build the site exactly as you want it. Given the learning curve, which could be a hassle for the beginners, we need to say:
- Wix is easier to use but
- The number of customization options possible with WordPress is practically limitless, if you learn
Flexibility And Features
With Wix you do not have access to codes. There is a “Custom HTML” widget that you can add but you do not get to modify source code. The idea behind it is that you build your website through drag and drop. In order for this to happen and actually offer a lot of flexibility, Wix uses add-ons. There are free and paid options available in the App Market.
The Wix apps are very simple to install and manage. You can build your site from scratch quite fast, add forums, blogs and more.
WordPress began as a wonderful blogging platform that eventually turned into a complete site builder. You can create anything you want, like webstores, portfolios, testimonial section or practically anything you want. This is done through the use of plug-ins. Some themes also support features themselves.
Which One Has More Features?
When it comes to flexibility, we can say that both Wix and WordPress are highly flexible but WordPress is better because it offers FULL access to everything. When looking at features, everything depends on add-ons and plugins. You can build almost anything with Wix or WordPress. What you cannot would require hiring professionals anyway.
Design
One place where Wix is limited is the number of themes already available for you. There are simply many more WordPress themes available. However, when looking at the free options for both platforms we can say that things are different. Where WordPress gets better is when using a professional paid theme. This can cost anywhere between $25 and hundreds of dollars.
The big difference appears when trying to modify the design of the template you use. When you use WordPress you do need coding knowledge. At least basic knowledge is necessary if you want to get the theme to look exactly as you want it to.
Which One Is Better?
If you do not know much about coding and you do not want to at least learn basics, you should seriously consider Wix. If you do not mind learning a little, which is what is actually always recommended on the long run, WordPress can create any design desired.
Customer Support
This is where the clear winner is Wix. There is an official support center that you can get in touch with, which is not possible with WordPress. You can find thousands of articles that talk about WordPress problems and you can find solutions. There is no shortage of WordPress experts out there. However, the lack of the official support staff is something to consider.
One thing that should be added is that support is often available from plugin and theme developers. While they only deal with what they did, it is still something that can be used. Still, this normally takes more time than with Wix.
Pricing
Wix is practically a freemium site builder. It is completely free to create and then publish a website with your account but it will be ad-supported. This is not a problem for those that do not worry about such a thing or those that do not really have a budget available for hosting. If you go for a paid version, you can choose out of different ones, with the VIP and the eCommerce options costing the most. VIP is $24.5 per month but the cheapest pack is $4.5 per month, which also connects a domain.
WordPress has a completely free CMS but you will need to buy a separate hosting plan and a domain name in order to use it. The domain name is around $15-$20 per year and hosting starts at around $7 per month, although for most users the hosting package should be around $15-$20. Besides the hosting and the domain, you may end up having to pay for a really good theme and some of the plugins are paid. However, these are one-time payments.
The Wix plans cover hosting, site themes and extensions. However, if you need to add a paid app from the App Market, you need to pay more. WordPress is free and costs practically cost on the plugins that you need, the premium or free theme you use and the hosting provider. Also, developers might be needed when deep customizations are necessary.
Conclusions – WordPress vs Wix – What Should You Choose?
We cannot deny the fact that WordPress is simply more powerful. It is the option you want to go for when you can use it properly. However, in order to use it you do need to learn HTML/CSS and the initial investment will be higher. WordPress is definitely the smart decision when you want to build something that you completely control and that will offer truly complete customization.
Wix is better suited for the individuals or the businesses that simply do not want to worry much about the site. If you just need to upload content and make some slight customizations from time to time, this is a really effective and fun-to-use option. You can use it to build a site of different sizes and purposes but remember that WordPress is what you will most likely want to use in the future if the site gets big.
Conclusion: If you do not know much about HTML, PHP and CSS, you should consider Wix as the best option. If not and you do have extra cash, you want to use WordPress.
