Due to cutting edge appearance and ease of use of Wix Website builder, many are starting their website using Wix.com.
It's a good platform to start a website.
People who are looking to build a personal branding website are a little confused whether they should use Wix or Wordpress to build it. I don't blame you if you are also doubtful about which platform to choose for your website.
In today's "Webpreneur Q&A" I'd like to show your the main difference between Wix and Wordpress.
I am planning to launch my own website. Which is better, Wix or Wordpress?
Wix vs WordPress is not an easy decision, especially if you are starting off with building websites.
The last thing you want to do is commit a lot of time and energy to building a website, then finding out that you have to re-build it again because you picked the wrong website builder.
Both Wix and WordPress are good website builders, and the differences between Wix and WordPress is fairly significant.
Due to the massive importance of being found online by your target audience, WordPress is one of the best choices for growing your business online.
It includes all of the SEO functionality and tweaks you need to earn those coveted top spots in the search engine results pages.
Here’s a quick comparison of how WordPress stacks up vs Wix in SEO.
Flexibility
Since Wix is not an open source website builder, you cannot freely modify the platform or tools. Only their own in-house developers can create tools and adjust the platform.
WordPress is an open source platform so you can pretty much modify your website however you want to as you have full access to the codes (assuming you are a decent coder, or if you are working with one).
Ease of Use
Wix is one of the easiest website builders available today, and is a much easier platform to use compared to WordPress.
Learning how to use WordPress proficiently is a lot more challenging than Wix.
User Support
As mentioned, Wix has a very comprehensive library of guides to help you understand how all their tools work together.
WordPress has a gigantic community forum where users have posted millions of questions in search of answers.
Ongoing Maintenance
As discussed, Wix is a “closed” system so they handle and manage all the performance and security updates for you, so you don’t have to worry about the technical aspects of building websites.
Similar to Wix, WordPress is continually updating its platform to fix bugs and improve security. When updates need to be deployed, you will receive an alert on your WordPress dashboard. You simply have to click the update button.
Pricing & Ongoing Financial Commitments
Wix offers you 5 premium plans, ranging from $4.50 to $24.50 per month. The higher the plan, the more tools you get. Just note that you can still use Wix for free, but it will display a Wix advertisement on your website.This will be removed when you upgrade to a paid plan.
For WordPress.org, you will have to pay for your own hosting service which can cost about $7 per month (being very general here, as the price range varies depending on the quality of the hosting service provider. WordPress hosting service ).
In Summary
Wix – Much easier to use (no coding required, just drag & drop content around), no backend maintenance required from you, lower cost and ongoing commitments over the long run. Your costs are very predictable. But your website will be a lot less customizable when compared to using WordPress, as you can’t modify the codes to your website.
WordPress – More flexibility and highly customizable (if you know a bit of coding). Requires hands-on the ongoing maintenance, higher initial learning curve and most likely higher financial commitment over the long run. Costs are less predictable, depending on whether you need to hire a coder to help you, the frequency of hiring, and the quality / caliber of the coder.
I hope this helped!
Abe