Wix vs. WordPress: 6 Key Differences That Matter Most in 2023

In 2023, Wix has over 8.5 million live websites. That’s a lot, but also a whole lot less than WordPress which runs over 43% of all sites according to W3 Techs. That means WordPress has hundreds of millions live websites worldwide. That’s one big difference, but there are more practical differences as well. If you’re comparing Wix vs. WordPress, here are 6 key differences to help you make an informed decision.

Wix and WordPress are great platforms for building websites but have different technical approaches. Wix is a website builder that allows users to create websites through drag-and-drop tools. Whereas, WordPress is a Content Management System (CMS) that allows users to host and build a website.

• Wix is simpler to use but offers fewer customization options. Wix also offers a multi-cloud web hosting service so you don’t have to set up a web host but restricts you from moving your website from Wix to another web host.
  
• WordPress has a steeper learning curve but offers a lot of customization options. You need to set up WordPress on a web host and can take it to any web host you want.

Note: There is one important thing to note here. WordPress has two domains: WordPress.org and WordPress.com.

• WordPress.org is the site where you can get the software itself, which you can use to build and maintain a website on your own.
• WordPress.com is a service that assists you in building a website using WordPress software with managed hosting.

In this post, we’ve covered the 6 key differences between Wix Vs WordPress that matter the most so that you can make more informed choices. So, read on to discover which platform is right for your business:

1) SEO Potential of Wix vs WordPress

As per Search Engine Land, more than 53% of all site traffic comes from organic search, making SEO one of the top in-demand marketing capabilities today. 

Wix: There are numerous ways to boost your SEO with Wix. See the below image, there are various sections like SEO Tools, Marketing & SEO, Multichannel Campaigns, etc. on your dashboard in Wix. You’ll find everything you need right here to start appearing in Google searches.

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WordPress: When using WordPress, you have total freedom in how you manage SEO. Of course, there aren’t many SEO-specific capabilities included in the WordPress core software. However, if you install the appropriate SEO plugin, you’ll have a virtually infinite number of possibilities for enhancing your site’s performance and SEO.

A great place to start is the Yoast SEO plugin, which will allow you to edit your sitemap, submit it to Google, and measure your SEO writing effectiveness. However, there are several other excellent options, including:

• All-in-one SEO Pack
• Rank Math
• LiteSpeed Cache
• W3 Total Cache and many more. 

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Wix is an excellent choice, if you’re a casual or small business website builder, have no experience with SEO, and only require access to the minimum features. With Wix, you can quickly build a beautiful website while making sure your SEO basics are taken care of. 

WordPress is by far the best option for business owners that are serious about using SEO to drive traffic to their websites. Wix can’t compete with WordPress’s ecosystem of plugins since you can add functionality to your website and optimize it to make it simpler for visitors and search engines to find. 

Winner: When it comes to SEO, WordPress is the winner. Both are more than capable for smaller businesses, but WordPress is more scalable than Wix for businesses that aim to steadily grow over time. 

2) Wix Vs WordPress: Features & Functionality

Usability is critical for the success of any website. We all know that we want a website should be easily accessible for all users regardless of device type and browser. WordPress and Wix both offer solid features to help build successful websites. As in SEO, a key difference is just how advanced you want those features to be.

If you’re creating a simple website with fundamental functions, Wix offers all you need. However, if you’re creating a more complex website with advanced features and customization, WordPress is the best option because it supports all plugins with different capabilities.

Wix: Many small businesses or websites do not need so many features and functionalities. They just need basic things like contact forms, social media icons, marketing apps, website analytics, etc. Wix has all these basic features and is sometimes easier to use than WordPress. 

That said, Wix website functionalities can be increased by adding Wix apps. Wix offers around 300 apps that cover a broad range of add-on requirements, including online bookings, event tickets, and powerful e-learning portals. 

Source: Wix

Wix apps have more guaranteed compatibility than WordPress plugins. Wix apps are all tested for reliability, so you won’t end up with a website that isn’t working because of incompatible apps. WordPress plugins, in contrast, are created by different developers, and some of them just don’t get along with other plugins and themes.

WordPress: WordPress is known for its unlimited features & functionality, which is supported by a vast number of WordPress plugins. By simply including useful plugins, WordPress can be used to create anything from an eCommerce store, affiliate websites, academy websites, dropshipping websites, event marketing websites, and many more. 

Any WordPress website can be enhanced with a variety of marketing, web analytics, and call-to-action features using free or paid plugins.

The strength of the WordPress platform is its diversity, which includes over 55,000 plugins and many new options added daily. This means that if you have a particular feature in your mind, WordPress can probably support it and help you build a stunning website. 

Here is a list of some of the features that come with WordPress by default. However, since thousands of plugins let you extend what WordPress can do, the actual functionality is almost limitless: 

• Flexibility
• Easy theme system
• Extendable with plugins
• Search Engine Optimization
• Easy installations and upgrades
• Built-in Comments and many more. 

The point here is that WordPress plugins are available for a wide range of functionalities. 

Winner: We’re going to call this one a tie. Wix is great for small stores or businesses because it includes many amazing basic features. Whereas, WordPress is great for large and medium-scale businesses as WordPress has a lot of features & functionalities to offer. The guaranteed compatibility of all Wix apps is a nice plus that helps to somewhat offset the advantage that WordPress has with its vast library of plugins.

3) Design & Layout

In-built business features, galleries, inner pages, and fully designed web pages with sample content are known as templates. Every single one of them is completely editable and is a great starting point for your website design journey.

The website design & layout are crucial to its success. Every website owner requires a web design that is not only attractive but also user-friendly and defines their business or brand.

Wix: There are more than 800 ready-to-use templates available on Wix. Every Wix design is HTML5-based and responsive. You can further modify your site’s appearance, alter the layout, and rearrange the elements using the built-in tools.

Each type of website can have a different design. Whether you run a beauty salon, an online fashion store, or want to start a blog, you’ll find templates in each category that are already set up with popular design trends, content, and tools that are appropriate for your industry in Wix.

One disadvantage of Wix is the inability to change a template after selection. It can be modified and customized to your best ability using only the tools available in Wix, but you are unable to switch to another template.

Source: Wix

WordPress: For WordPress, there are over 31,000 WordPress themes. That total includes both free themes and paid themes.  Free themes have restricted support but are subject to a strict evaluation procedure. Themes that cost money typically have more functionality and access to premium support.

WordPress themes are available for everything from simple personal websites to robust online stores. The majority of themes include the ability to customize them on their own. You can further style or modify your WordPress themes using one of the many styling plugins.

The WordPess.org database offers free and paid theme downloads for users. There are many WordPress themes and theme shops, like Elegant themes, Astra, Themify, CSSIgniter, and many more. 

Source: WordPress

Winner: WordPress is the winner here. As compared to Wix, WordPress offers a much wider selection of themes and layout options. Additionally, WordPress users can change themes with ease and give them as much personalization as they desire without any restrictions.

4) Wix vs WordPress for eCommerce

Whether you’re expanding an existing brick-and-mortar store or starting a business from scratch, the appropriate eCommerce platform will make a significant impact on your profitability and stability. Let’s compare Wix vs WordPress eCommerce features to help choose the one that perfectly serves your business. 

Both Wix and WordPress offer many features for your eCommerce store. Wix has built-in eCommerce features and you can also add more with apps. There aren’t any built-in e-commerce features for WordPress, so you’ll need to use a powerful plugin called WooCommerce. With a market share of 36.68%, WooCommerce was the top e-commerce software platform globally in 2022.

Wix: The dashboard of Wix is easy to use, and adding a product page is simple. Additionally, you can easily link social media and add product galleries. Furthermore,  you can view live updates as you make changes to your pages, and you can preview how your site will appear as you make changes.

You can edit pages, design products, add components, access the app market, and check your settings using the dashboard’s simple navigation interface.

You can easily check the status of your orders, inventory, and customers by pressing a button. Its user interface is simple and enjoyable.

Source: Wix 

Note: You can now create a fully integrated Amazon Shop sales channel using Wix. Having access to perhaps the biggest online store in the world increases the amount of your prospective audience and the effectiveness of your Wix website. It’s just accessible for US sites right now, but eventually, it’s likely to be made available globally.

WordPress: WooCommerce is a well-known plugin that mostly powers WordPress eCommerce. It’s the most popular eCommerce plugin worldwide. You can modify WooCommerce for your store and do practically anything you want it to because all WordPress apps are open-source.

An eCommerce plugin like WooCommerce provide all the advanced features you need to create an online store: 

• Inventory management
• A modular system
• Worldwide community
• Data security
• Multi-currency and many more. 

WooCommerce has grown and has a devoted fan base on its own. The plugin, like many other WordPress-related tools, is free and accessible via the WordPress dashboard. A potential downside for business owners managing their own store is that WooCommerce is more complicated and the learning curve might be a bit steeper than with Wix.

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Winner: We’re calling this one a tie as well. Both have solid eCommerce functionality and can get the job done. WordPress has the advantage of more robust features while Wix has the advantage of being a bit easier to use for business owners who are starting out.

For a startup and small store Wix is good to use. But when we talk about growing or building a large-scale eCommerce store and you want a full-feature eCommerce solution WordPress + WooCommerce is a difficult combo to beat.

5) Designing in Wix Vs WordPress

It is the design of your website that visitors will notice first. As a result, it’s crucial to design a stunning layout for your websites. Let’s compare Wix vs WordPress in terms of web design.

Both Wix and WordPress allow you to utilize (and then customize) premade templates rather than being forced to create your website from scratch. These designs are referred to as “templates” on Wix and “themes” on WordPress.

Wix: As discussed, Wix is an easier website builder and easier to design attractive websites. On Wix, building a website is as straightforward as building a blog. Select a design to get started, or use Wix’s ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) to have the platform make design suggestions based on your requirements.

You can choose from hundreds of attractive, pre-made templates on Wix to have a fantastic base before customizing. These templates contain editable content blocks that are ideal for emphasizing key information on your page. Additionally, the Wix platform has guidelines that you can use to arrange objects correctly even as you drag and drop them.

Each of these templates has built-in pages, so all you need to do is change the standard text and photos for your content. Additionally, you can include fresh components like social media buttons, videos, and lists.

Wix will create a special template for you based on the objectives of your site. The design can then be modified using a unique color scheme.

Source: Wix

Note: As mentioned earlier, Wix restricts you from changing designs on your website once you select your template. If you decide to use a different template in the future, you will have to create a brand-new website if you wish to change the design and template. This is a significant downside for website owners who are not 100% committed to their design template from the beginning.

WordPress: WordPress gives you a brand-new blank canvas to work with. The extent to which you can personalize a WordPress website is essentially limitless. This makes WordPress both more flexible and also perhaps more difficult to use. Keeping ease of use aside, WordPress has multiple design options available like: 

• Choose from over 31,000 WordPress themes including premium ones
• You can even work with a designer to create a completely custom theme
• Enhance your site with over 55,000 plugins

A great approach to save money is to use some of WordPress’ existing themes, some of which are free. But if your site’s aesthetic is important to you, you should consider investing in a premium theme. The premium themes tend to come with the potential for more of a “wow” factor.

Source: WordPress

WordPress has the potential to create aesthetic and stunning websites but it takes more time and effort compared to Wix. 

Winner: When it comes to design, Wix is the overall winner. With its beautiful and simple-to-edit templates, Wix is great for design. WordPress is one of the best options for you if you feel comfortable building your website from a blank canvas. However, Wix generally makes it easier to design an attractive website.

If you are someone who isn’t completely sold on your design theme, or likes to change up your aesthetic, the above statement probably does not apply to you. Since you can’t change your Wix design template after you’ve built your site, you may want to consider the flexibility of WordPress.

6) Cost of Wix Vs WordPress

Budget is almost always a key factor when selecting a website builder. It’s important to take the entire website into account, including what you need and don’t need.

Wix: The costs for Wix are straightforward and can be paid monthly, annually, or twice yearly. There are several different plans with a wide range of features and web hosting. You can check out the Wix pricing plan here. 

WordPress: WordPress is an open-source CMS platform. Since it’s open source, access is free, but there are still costs associated with WordPress. Where are those costs coming from? 

There are several important things you’ll need to pay for on your WordPress website: 

• Domain name
• WordPress hosting
• Design services (if you don’t do it all yourself)
• Plugins and extensions (app) 

A WordPress domain name can cost you around $0.99-$20/year 

WordPress hosting can cost you around $1.99-$17.99/month

WordPress premium themes can cost you around $2-$200/license

WordPress premium plugins can cost you around $5-$1000/one-time & ongoing fees

Design prices can vary greatly amongst WordPress experts. Whoever you choose, we recommend you pick someone who specializes in WordPress sites to make sure your site captures the full potential that WordPress offers.

Winner: WordPress beats Wix in its pricing plans due to its flexibility and because the long term performance potential of WordPress sites exceed Wix sites. This implies that compared to Wix costs, WordPress prices offer greater value in the long run.

Wix Vs WordPress: No Bad Choice Here

Without knowing your specific situation we can’t objectively conclude which website builder or platform is best. The good news is that both Wix and WordPress perform very well in comparison to other website builders. The key distinction between Wix and WordPress is determined primarily by user preferences and the type of website you wish to create.

Wix is unquestionably a superior option if you don’t have any prior website development skills and have a small business. You can create your site with less effort and time, and it is much simpler to use. Wix will guide you through the entire procedure from start to finish. 

The WordPress platform is available to anyone interested in controlling and understanding the functions of a website. You are in complete control of your website. Plugins can be added or removed, and the underlying code can even be changed manually. In the long run, this option provides the best performance potential. The drawback to WordPress is that it will be a challenge for many small business owners to build themselves. That’s why many people elect to work with an experienced WordPress design team to get the job.

If you’re interested in exploring customized WordPress web design and development our team is ready to assist you. Feel free to click in the prior sentence and we’d be happy to tell you more about our professional and cost-effective service.

And remember: there’s really not a bad choice you can make here. Both Wix and WordPress are strong platforms that are getting better all the time. And both help you to get your business online. After that, the possibilities are endless.

Rajat Chauhan is a Manager of Digital Marketing at Ace Infoway Pvt. Ltd – A leading web and mobile development company with offices in LA and India. He is a full-stack marketer with a deadly focus on better writing and disciplined creativity while implementing growth strategies for organizational goals.