Wix vs WordPress Ultimate Guide (2024)

14/06/2021

Choosing a Platform

Choosing the right platform for your website is crucial for its success. Your platform determines much of what your website will capable of and how it will function. Every web-hosting platform out there has it’s own unique set of features, pros, and cons that come along with it. For this reason, choosing the right platform for you may be very hard.

If you know anything about site-creation platforms, then you should know that Wix and WordPress are two of the most popular ones that people choose. They both are great platforms with unique suites of features, strengths, and weaknesses. This ultimate guide will have several sections that weigh the two platforms to see which is better.

Each category in this article will explain the individual pros and cons of each platform. With this guide, you can see which platform is the right one for you. Though before we can compare Wix and WordPress, I should explain what they are.

What is Wix?

Wix is an Israeli web-hosting platform and service company that offers one of the most popular site-creation solutions. Wix was originally founded by Avishai Abrahami, Giora Kaplan, and Nadav Abrahami in 2006. Now in 2021, they have more than 180 million users in over 190 countries worldwide.

They offer an already hosted platform for your website, meaning that you do not have to pay for a separate host provider. Everything you need for your website is all on one site and can be accessed with one login. Furthermore, they offer one monthly plan with no other extra fees or added costs.

This trait is easily Wix’s biggest strength and what makes it such a popular platform. The all-in-one nature of the platform means that you get what you see. Once you sign up, there is nothing else you need to dol no extra fees or hassle. Now that we know what Wix, we can move onto WordPress.

What is WordPress?

WordPress is an open-source content management system that was created by Automattic in 2003. It is a service/tool that anyone can use to create their very own website without having to know a single line of code. WordPress has been around for years and has gone through countless versions.

It uses an open-source content management service that anyone can download. WordPress has made it so easy for someone to create and run their site that it powers nearly 40% of the internet.

It comes in two different versions that people can use; WordPress.org and WordPress.com. If you want to the differences between the two versions, then I highly recommend reading this article. For the sake of clarity, we will be only talking about WordPress.org.

Since WordPress has been around for years, it already has a library of thousands of plugins and themes for you to use. This pre-existing ecosystem of features makes WordPress perfect for every type of website.

Furthermore, WordPress allows you to self-host your website. This means that you have to set-up and maintain your website, but you have full control over it. There are barely any restrictions when using their platform.

With a vast sea of available plugins and themes bundled with one platform that gives you complete control, you can see why WordPress is so popular. Versatility, accessibility, and customizability are what makes WordPress great. Now that you know what Wix and WordPress are, we can move on to seeing which one is right for you.

Ease of Use & Accessibility

The first category for our platform stand-off is going to be ease-of-use and accessibility. This section will test how accessible the platforms are and how easy it is to make a website using them. This section will also explain how easy it is to create content and build your site.

To start with, we have Wix and their site-building platform. Wix offers a lot of features but also stays simple and easy to use. As far as accessibility is concerned, Wix can be used by pretty much anyone from anywhere speaking any language. All you need is one account to access their website.

Wix also features a fully-functional drag and drop site builder. The builder is fully responsive and has a simple, clean, and non-intrusive UI. Their UI is one of the best because it lets you build your site without getting in your way and having clutter.

Wix also offers something they call an ADI module. This module is a tool that chooses the right theme for you, depending on the answers you give the AI. This AI can pick from 700 beautiful templates that are already fully designed to be ready to use from the get-go.

Furthermore, their entire website’s UI is very well organized and easy to navigate. There is no extra fluff or intrusive ads that take away from the experience of using their service. Overall, I think that they provide a clean, pretty, and easy to use interface without compromising on performance and security.

On the other hand, we have WordPress and their site-builder. WordPress also a full suite of features and accessibility options. WordPress supports most languages, is translation-ready, and open-source. However, there is a catch to this because WordPress is self-hosted.

To use WordPress, you need to have a hosting provider for your website’s server. You must also do extensive installation and maintenance before your website will be fully functional and ready. There is no one account and website that you can use.

Moving onto the page-builder, WordPress has some reliable options. WordPress has a default page-builder called the “Gutenberg Editor”. This page builder is fast, though it lacks several features and can be intrusive at times. This issue, however, can be easily solved by using a third-party page-builder.

Since WordPress is open-source and supports plugins, you can pick between a lot of great page-builders. For this guide, we will be using the Elementor page-builder as our example, though there are countless other page-builders.

Elementor and the Wix Editor both have extensive customizability and a large feature list. Though the Wix page-builder is easier to use and has a cleaner interface. Another great thing is that a lot of page-builders like Elementor are usually free.

As far as the actual WordPress dashboard UI goes, it is well built but still needs some work. It has an easy to use sidebar that has everything you need in one place. However, there are some small issues, such as admin notices and trackbacks.

Wix and WordPress both support all languages and make access easy, meaning they are both accessible. Though, WordPress is worse because setup takes more time and effort.

Furthermore, Wix only requires one website and one account to access everything. The default WordPress page-builder is much harder to use compared to the Wix editor.

Performance, Security, & Maintenance

Performance and security are two crucial elements to running any website. People expect your website to load in seconds. Site security is vital for your site because security breaches will endanger user data and slow down your site.

To start, Wix doesn’t deviate as much in performance because they are not self-hosted. You will not have to worry about optimization or performance. However, if the Wix servers go down, you cannot do anything about it. This aspect can be a double-edged sword, but their servers are unlikely to go down.

Their optimization and speeds are not perfect, but they are fast and reliable for their price. Wix also gives you multiple plans, each with different specs for your website, so there is room for extra performance. You don’t even have to do maintenance on your site.

Security is also not an issue you will have to worry about for Wix. Wix will automatically keep your site updated to the latest versions and software. Wix has no security vulnerabilities as long as you secure your account. If your site is experiencing a breach or a similar issue, then they will have it sorted out for you.

WordPress is a very different case when you look at performance and security because it is self-hosted. Self-hosting requires you to manage your site’s security and performance yourself. Thus, performance and security will vary from WordPress site to site.

Having to maintain a site yourself is also a double-edged sword. You will have full control and customization on your site, but you are responsible for everything on your site and how you manage it. Unlike Wix, if you have technical problems, you have to fix them yourself.

WordPress performance requires a reliable and fast host, like Host Armada, to get the full potential out of your site. There are also countless plugins, CDNs, and other things you can install to increase performance. On the bright side, the overall performance of the WordPress platform is exceptional.

For security, WordPress also does a good job. Their site security features are not perfect, but good enough for the average person. As long as you keep your account secure and maintain your site well, you won’t get a beach. If you have a security breach, then you and your host have to deal with it.

As far as maintenance is concerned, WordPress can be a hassle. You have to consistently clean, optimize, and manage your site to make sure you’re getting the most out of it. If you want an easy solution for WordPress maintenance, then Labinator’s web-experts can auto-pilot your site for you!

For this section, I believe that for optimization and security, Wix and WordPress are nearly equal. WordPress performance heavily depends on site maintenance and your hosting provider. They offer fast, reliable, and well-coded service, though WordPress requires more work to set up.

Restrictions & Monetization

Some other vital things to consider if you operate a website are restrictions, monetization, and growth potential. These elements will be very critical in the long-term and business side of things. This part of the guide will cover the implications of SEO, monetization, rules, ownership of content, and any restrictions/limitations.

Wix has its own set of rules and regulations you need to follow. Although they are lenient, there are still some restrictions on what types of content you can put on your site. Furthermore, you cannot sell specific products and services. Lastly, you do not have full ownership over your site.

Moving on, Wix does not allow you to transfer any of your site’s data to another place. Since your website is hosted by Wix, you cannot export any content created there. If your website does not follow its guidelines, it will be taken down.

Wix also has some limitations on what you can change internally about your website. If you use Wix, it can be difficult to alter your website’s SEO aside from editing your content. They do not let you change several of your site’s settings and aren’t that flexible with what you can change.

The growth potential of your site depends on the performance limitations and monetization streams your website can use. With Wix, there are several ways to monetize your site for profits. These can range from Google Adsense to creating a membership.

You should note that Wix also has a built-in eCommerce store feature. The Wix store feature is only available with some pricing plans that are more expensive than the normal ones. They make creating a store very easy, but it lacks customizability.

There are also other options for revenue ranging from sponsorships to memberships. Like WordPress, Wix does not limit the number of ways you can make money with your site, as long as you don’t do anything against their guidelines.

Wix combines usability with functionality to create an excellent platform. If you reach a certain amount of users and traffic, you will need to switch to a more expensive plan, but Wix can become a long-time business or prospect.

Moving onto WordPress, a lot of similarities with Wix are present. WordPress is mainly different because it is self-hosted and open-source. These attributes allow for WordPress to have more flexibility and control. There are much fewer restrictions and limitations on what you can do.

Firstly, WordPress has very few rules on what type of content you make and the things you sell. WordPress does not have ownership of your content either. As long as you are not breaking laws, you can create or sell anything you want.

Secondly, they give you full control over your website. You can edit and tweak your site in any way you want. Almost everything in WordPress can be changed or removed. They also let you directly edit the code of your website and change SEO.

Lastly, WordPress offers more growth potential than Wix because of more monetization options. WordPress provides plugins like WooCommerce that have much more eCommerce capability than Wix. These allow you to create a fully customizable store.

WordPress is excellent for the long-term because you can quickly transform your site into a fully-fledged business. Furthermore, there are fewer performance limitations because you can always upgrade your site. Unlike Wix, there aren’t only a couple of plans you can choose for upgrading your site.

In conclusion, I think that this section was very close between Wix and WordPress. They are both exceptional platforms for creating long-term businesses. However, due to the higher degree of control, potential, and flexibility, WordPress wins the point.

Wix has a set of guidelines and rules that you must follow. They offer less control over SEO and do not give you ownership over your content. They provide fewer monetization features and have a limited number of plans. Therefore, making WordPress a much better choice for creating a site.

Customizability & Features

One of the last sets of things we will be covering is customizability, features, and design components of Wix and WordPress. These things are crucial for both adding functionality and designing a good website. This section will cover the functionality, site designing features, plugins, and aesthetic options that Wix and WordPress offer.

To start, we have Wix and its site-building toolset. Wix offers an AI that asks questions and gives you a selection of themes to fit your goals. The themes that they have are not as many when compared to WordPress but have quality.

Overall, the aesthetic options and design features that Wix gives you are charming. Their features can be basic, but they provide everything you will probably need for a conventional site. Wix masters simplicity and design without focusing too much on adding extra functionality.

As far as extra functionality is concerned, Wix is underwhelming. Wix has an app library that is similar to WordPress. However, Wix has much fewer plugins, and those plugins cannot do that much.

The customizability of your Wix site is also very important, though Wix also lacks this. The customizability options on Wix are average, but if you chose one of their themes, you can’t change much. In the end, there isn’t much you can customize with Wix.

On the other hand, we have WordPress and its toolset. WordPress offers so much that it can get overwhelming. Although creating a site is more difficult with WordPress, it has thousands of add-ons to help you. Its themes can range from full overhauls to frameworks you can build on, like NanoSpace.

The design options are extensive and flexible. The page-builders and customizability features let you change everything about the website. Wix has excellent aesthetic and design options, but WordPress has more.

WordPress gives you full control over your site and complete customizability. They give you the tools and options to make your site into whatever you want. This fact is also helped by its exceptional library of plugins.

WordPress features tens of thousands of plugins that can do anything from removing a specific notification to overhauling everything about your site. Plugins and themes are the bread and butter of WordPress. Since WordPress is open-source, the plugins can achieve anything imaginable.

In conclusion, I believe that WordPress easily wins this discussion. It has a much higher level of customizability, aesthetic options, and extra functionality. Wix offers some great options for you, but WordPress has more and does it better.

Pricing

Pricing and cost are always one of the first things people consider when deciding on a platform for their website. Pricing and costs can vary considerably when it comes to Wix and WordPress. This section will cover the costs for hosting, using services, extra plugins, and any other fees.

Wix has a set of price plans like most other platforms. These plans are split by their features, performance specs, and some limitations. There is also a completely free plan, though it has a lot of limitations and restrictions. The pricing plans range from the free plan to $30 a month.

If you decide to use Wix, then you must buy a domain for your site. For some plans, you get a free domain name and some useful tools for a year but have to pay for them afterward. They also offer eCommerce plans that range from $23 to $40 every month. These plans come with extra features and some benefits.

With each plan, you get a certain amount of storage space, video hours, and unlimited bandwidth. The plans also come with tools like payment systems, sales tax collectors, and support for currencies.

Besides buying a domain name and your pricing plan, there are other things you might buy for a Wix site. Wix offers some business-related tools for email marketing, sales automation, and apps you can get. Besides the products listed here, there isn’t much else you can buy for Wix.

WordPress is a very different case because pricing for a WordPress site can range between $15 a month to $500. There are several things you can buy for WordPress, but you can also take the free route. WordPress gives you financial flexibility and countless options.

If you want a WordPress site, you need a domain and hosting provider. WordPress itself is free, but since it’s self-hosted, you will need a hosting provider. Hosting providers range in price from $3 to $20 every month, each with different speeds and features. I would once again recommend Host Armada if you want a place to start.

After getting a hosting provider, domain name, and installing WordPress, you don’t have to pay for anything else. However, WordPress has a library of thousands of plugins, themes, services, add-ons, and other products you can buy.

Plugins and themes are the main things you can buy, but things like CDNs and services are also useful. All of these products can range in price. If you want a place to buy the best WordPress products and services, I would highly recommend Labinator.

In conclusion, I believe that WordPress would win this category because of its incredibly flexible pricing. Wix is much more restrictive with pricing and has less flexibility. Overall, WordPress is the cheaper option for a full website because the Wix free plan doesn’t offer much.

Pros & Cons of Wix

Pros of Wix:

Everything is accessible on one website.
Simple and appealing visuals that fits any style.
Easy to use with no technical knowledge required.

Cons of Wix:

Pricing can get very expensive and isn’t worth it.
To get the most out of your site, you need to pay.
Very limited customizability and settings.
You do not have full control over your site.
You do not own your site and content can’t be transferred.
Limitations and restrictions on the content you can make.

Pros & Cons of WordPress

Pros of WordPress:

The platform itself is completely free and open-source.
It’s a much more popular option.
Already a library of thousands of plugins and themes.
You have full control and customizability.
There are very few restrictions and limitations.
It costs much less Wix and has more flexible pricing.
You can add a lot of functionality and extra features.

Cons of WordPress:

It requires technical knowledge and isn’t easier to use.
It takes some time to learn and create a site.
You have to perform maintenance and optimization.
You have to pay for third-party services, like a host.

Final Verdict

In conclusion, there isn’t a right or wrong answer for choosing between Wix and WordPress. Wix and WordPress both have individual strengths and weaknesses that make them different. It comes down to what type of site you want. They are better at separate things, though I recommend WordPress over Wix for most people.

Wix might be better for short-term or simple websites that only have one purpose. The easy-to-use tools, accessibility, free option, and reliability make it a good option for small sites.

WordPress is better for long-term sites or businesses because of its degree of control, flexibility, and customizability. It offers more monetization choices, features, control, and more functionality. Even though it is hard to set up and operate, it has growth potential and flexibility that Wix cannot compete with.

Wix vs WordPress Comparison Table

Feature	WordPress.org	Wix
Open-Source
Design Options
Flexibility & Scalability
Control & Customizations
Ease Of Use
Core Features
eCommerce
Popularity & Community Size
Support
Value & Pricing
Total Points	9.5/10	6.5/10

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