Two of the most popular options are WordPress and Wix. There’s no right answer to which one you should use, but there are some distinct benefits and disadvantages to each one.
We’ve taken a look at both WordPress and Wix to bring you the definitive 2020 guide.
Usability
Wix
Wix prides itself on being one of the easiest website builders to use, and it certainly comes through on its promise.
What stands out about Wix is how easy it makes it to just get started and get building your website. It takes away all the complications of setting up and in just a few clicks, you can choose your template and start editing your site.
The drag and drop builder system are excellent and is particularly handy if you have limited tech skills. Many website builders have drag and drop systems that are difficult to use, but this one is so easy and lets you customise lots of elements.
From getting a simple website set up quickly, it’s tough to look past Wix, but if you want something more complicated, that’s where WordPress starts to take over.
- Setup in seconds
- Easy to use drag and drop builder
WordPress
WordPress is a little different from Wix in that it is a self-hosted open-source content management system, rather than an all-in-one website builder.
While this offers a considerable amount of flexibility, as we will see later, it does mean there’s a little more work to do in setup. With WordPress, you have to sort out your domain and hosting separately before bringing everything together, but this is a onetime thing, and once you’ve got everything sorted, you’re good to go.
If you’ve got great computer skills, then this is where WordPress is a dream, as it really allows you to do anything you want without the limitations of Wix, and it’s very straightforward and logical to use.
For those people who are newer to building websites, things are a little bit more complicated, but there’s still plenty you can do with basic skills. The other thing to remember with WordPress is there are millions of plugins that can help you with your site, and if you struggle with the basic website builder on WordPress, there are lots of plugins you can use to help you out.
- Slightly more complicated setup – gives you more options
- Great for people with coding ability
- Lots of plugins available to help you build your site
Customisation
Wix
With Wix, one of the essential things is that you can get set up and have a viable looking website in no time at all. The platform offers hundreds of great themes to choose from, and from there, you can move things around and fill bits in to get your website looking how you want it.
Everything is easy to do, but with ease comes limitations. There’s only so much the drag and drop builder can do, and if you want to go beyond this level of customisation, then things get trickier.
Again, Wix is brilliant for a quick setup and to get your site looking something like you want it to. If you’re not too choosy about exactly how your site looks and works, then there’s very little to dislike about this platform.
- Lots of industry-specific templates
- Easy to use drag and drop tool for basic customisation
- Limited options for complete customisation
WordPress
Customisation is one of the significant reasons WordPress powers 35% of the web. Quite simply, the sky’s the limit with WordPress, as it gives you complete control over how your site looks and how it runs.
Whether it’s getting the site looking exactly how you want it, or making technical changes to improve performance, you’ve got access to it. Of course, this requires a little extra know-how than Wix, but it’s something you can learn, and there is lots of help out there.
One of the nice things about WordPress is that it’s the go-to place to build your website, which means there’s tons of information about how to get the most out of it.
There are also a virtually unlimited number of themes to get you started, and although you might choose to pay for a more advanced theme rather than going with one of the free standard themes, it can be worth it to get your site looking exactly how you want it.
- Endless themes to choose from
- Easy to access code, and have complete control over your website
- Lots of information available to help you build your ideal website
Limitations
Wix
While the drag and drop builder makes your life much easier, on the one hand, it does limit you on the other. Even when you’re using a drag and drop builder, it’s still got to be interpreted into code and how it is interpreted won’t necessarily look like it would if you were in control of the code yourself.
Drag and drop systems have got much better over the years, but they’re always going to have this basic limitation, which impacts on your creativity slightly.
From getting ranked in the search engines, Wix doesn’t always make this easy either. It does have an SEO wizard to help you with things like keywords, but other than this, it’s a little bit limited and doesn’t offer you the in-depth options that modern SEO requires.
Another slight issue is that while the basic plan is very cheap at £3 a month, it will show Wix ads which you don’t have any control over, which for some people will automatically rule that plan out and mean they have to go for a more expensive package.
- Drag and drop limits creativity
- SEO wizard isn’t great
- The basic plan shows Wix ads
WordPress
The main limitations on WordPress come from the fact it’s that little bit harder to use. If you’ve never done any website building before, then it can be a little bit intimidating, but at the same time, it’s not so difficult that people can’t do it.
It will take you more time to learn how to set up your website with WordPress, and there’s a steeper learning curb, but for this, you do get a lot more flexibility and design options.
That same flexibility can also lead to problems, if not used correctly. For example, there are lots of great plugins available on WordPress, but they do put a strain on your load speeds. It’s easy for people to get carried away with these plugins, and have them all over their site, making it extremely slow.
Flexibility allows you to do great things with your website, but it also allows you to make significant errors if you’re not using it right.
- More skill required to create a good website
- Flexibility allows for errors
What Type of Businesses Would You Recommend Them For?
Wix
Wix is great for small businesses who are looking to create an essential website that works for them without spending vast amounts of money. Anyone can build a beautiful site with Wix, even with very limited technical skills, and the platform gives you the tools you need to create a page that represents your business.
The themes and plugins that are available are particularly well suited to hospitality, with cafes, restaurants, and hotels all able to take bookings directly from the site. The site offers templates for any kind of business, though, and you can find the tools you need to scale your business.
To quickly build a website with reasonable functionality, Wix is hard to beat, but when you want to take things to a more professional level, it does have its limitations.
- Simple websites for small businesses
- Nice templates for hospitality businesses
WordPress
The ability to customise WordPress sites so thoroughly makes it ideal for any business. You’re in control of what it looks like, how it runs, and how it converts, and this is exactly what businesses want from a professional website.
Its limitations might make it more difficult for individuals to get started on a website. Still, for companies with a budget to spend on creating a professional, high functioning site, this shouldn’t be a problem. This takes away one of the few barriers to people using WordPress, giving your business access to the benefits of being fully in control of your website.
- Customisation options make it an excellent fit for any business looking for a professional website
Pricing
Wix
Wix offers a lot of different pricing options for both individuals and businesses. With 7 different packages, ranging from £3 a month to £22 a month, you’re bound to find the package that suits your needs.
Of course, the more you pay, the better functionality you get, but this really depends on your needs. For example, for some websites, 2GB bandwidth will be enough, but for others, it won’t.
WordPress
WordPress’s pricing is a little bit simpler, with four packages ranging from £3 a month up to £36 a month. While WordPress’s prices tend to come out a little bit more expensive than Wix, you do get a little bit more built-in.
Benefits such as no ads on the personal account and much more storage across all plans do help push things in Wix’s favour and mean their prices are very competitive.
Conclusion
Wix and WordPress both do the same job, but they do them very differently.
If you wanted to create an essential website very quickly and have something that looked good and represented your business nicely, then Wix is a great option. However, the more you want to customise your site and add more functionality, the more things tips in WordPress’s direction.
When it comes to a high-quality, professional website, your options are much greater with WordPress, especially if you’re working with someone who has excellent computer skills.
There’s nothing wrong with Wix at all, and it does a brilliant job at making it easy to set up a website, but the bigger your goals are, the more WordPress offers you.
