When you are looking to build a website for your small business, there are several ways to go about it. You can have a web designer – or a team of web designers – build a website from scratch for your business. This is the most expensive way to go, and one that, for the vast majority of small businesses, is overkill.
Alternatively, you can build your business website in-house. One way to do this is to use one of the many cloud-based “do-it-yourself” website builders. Of these, Wix is probably the best and unquestionably the most popular worldwide (over 180 million users in 190 countries count at last count).
Wix has a plethora of features to offer small businesses looking to create an attractive and functional website without paying an arm and a leg. Also, Wix offers its own web hosting and domain names as well, over 600 well-designed templates, blogging, eCommerce, and a wide range of add-ons (both third-party and in-house).
WordPress is another web app creation tool which is popular with businesses of different sizes. Technically, it’s a content management system, not a website builder. A recent study by w3techs.com found that 38.8% of all websites worldwide are powered by WordPress – a very impressive number. Unlike the Wix platform, it is an open-source platform, which means it is much more adaptable and customizable to whatever you want to do with it.
It’s also capable of handling much larger websites than Wix can reasonably accommodate. It also comes in two different forms: a self-hosted version available for free at WordPress.org and a freemium version that includes hosting, available at WordPress.com.
This comparison (along with our site’s WordPress review) is based on the WordPress.com version, as it’s the version most small business owners will have an easier time with.
In spite of their fundamental differences, it is thought it would be pretty useful to clearly compare Wix to WordPress, as these Wix or WordPress development services present two of the most popular ways in order to build a web app and get it online. In addition, because the two offered services differ so significantly, it cannot be said that either one is the best solution for everyone.
With this article, we’ll try to figure out who stands to gain from using Wix and who stands to gain from using WordPress.
Wix VS WordPress
While considering WordPress vs Wix for your business web app, think about your small business needs. Also, for a relatively simple as well as an attractive site to promote your business, provide online restaurant ordering, or a simple online storefront, use Wix. For larger websites, more customizable websites (especially if you are in the publishing industry or business), use WordPress.
Wix Overview
When you use Wix (see our full review of Wix for the full version) to build your website, everything is taken care of in-house. All you have to do is sign up for a Wix site and start building.
Wix sites can cost nothing up to more than $49 per month, depending on the package and features you get; Wix hosting comes free on the Wix domain, and if you like to have your own custom domain for your website (one that does not contain the word “Wix site”), you can also get one from Wix. In addition, custom domains are free for the very first year in the Wix. After that, you will have to pay up to $14.95 every year.
Like most web app builders, Wix is creatively designed to be easy to use for everyone, not just programmers and web designers. You can also freely drag and drop various elements onto your website, and the only knowledge needed is how to use a mouse (or else trackpad or whatever). When you want to add different functionality to your Wix website, you can choose from 251 feature “apps” in the Wix App Market. In addition, these mobile apps cost anywhere from $30 to $40 every month.
Creating a web app with the Wix platform is a pretty intuitive and fun activity. In addition, you can easily use their standard web app editor and start by selecting a different theme of Wix and then editing it, but if you really like to have an even higher degree of hand-holding, you can easily use Wix ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) in order to have a web app automatically created for you using content imported into Wix. In addition, either way, building a Wix site is easy and anyone can do it. This ease of operation is by design. It is one of the primary reasons why the company exists.
If you just want a simple and attractive website to promote your business, if you run a restaurant or a hotel, if you are a photographer or a musician, or if you are building a small online store, Wix is a great option to create a website.
WordPress Overview
When comparing Wix to WordPress, WordPress is a more powerful and flexible platform than Wix, but it takes a lot more work to build and maintain a WordPress site. While knowledge of coding isn’t an absolute requirement (at least not with the WordPress.com software – the self-hosted version on WordPress.org is another matter), it will definitely come in handy if you have it.
You can build a site for free with WordPress.com, but to monetize your site, get access to a wide range of WordPress-compatible plug-ins (including WooCommerce), get an unbranded WordPress domain, or upload custom WordPress plug-ins and themes, you’ll need to make a paid subscription plan.
Building a web app with WordPress software is a prettier process than creating a web app with Wix. In addition, WordPress is a CMS initially designed to create blogs, and while the WordPress blogging platform is second to none, building a website with WordPress is not as simple as it is with Wix. However, it’s not as complex as building a site using WordPress.org software.
If you’re building a large online store, a large and complex website with lots of pages and lots of data, or you’re in the blogging/publishing business, take a look at WordPress.com – it probably has what you need. (I should also mention that if you are a high-volume publisher, you might be better served by WordPress.org’s infinitely customizable and self-hosted software).
Features
In spite of the fundamental differences between these two products, Wix and the very hosted version of WordPress both provide a plethora of the same essential web app features. In addition, this shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, as modern website builders are generally expected to perform many of the same essential tasks these days. However, there are a few differences.
Blogging
Blogging is WordPress’ original raison d’etre, so it should come as no surprise that WordPress handles blogging more skillfully than any other web platform. Consider the fact that with WordPress, the editing interface was originally designed for blogging. This means that adding anything you want to add to a blog post – a form, a pay button, work schedules, etc. – will be easy. You’ll also get WordPress blogging features like categories, tags, RSS, a comment section, built-in social media sharing, built-in sitemaps for SEO, and more. Schedule posts for future publication. Protect individual posts with a password. If it’s tied to the blog, you’ll almost certainly be able to do this.
Wix also offers a robust blogging system. As with WordPress, you’ll get features like post scheduling, categories, tags, the ability to add images and videos, and built-in social media sharing.
However, with Wix, you won’t get the same level of fine-grained control over your blog as with WordPress, so if blogging is your thing, I’d choose WordPress.
eCommerce
Creating an online store with Wix or WordPress requires a paid subscription:
Wix’s online store gives you enough features and options to run a small to medium sized eCommerce outfit. You can sell both physical and digital products, you won’t have to pay any Wix platform fees for each transaction, and you’ll have access to an extensive library of eCommerce templates. From the basics such as product variants and images, SEO and SSL encryption to more advanced features like recovery emails for abandoned cart, Wix eCommerce has a plethora of features to offer online merchants.
However, when it comes to online portal development, WordPress has really ace up its sleeve in the form of its WooCommerce plugin. Developed by the expert developer of WordPress.com, WooCommerce is an open-source shopping cart plugin that comes standard with an eCommerce-tier WordPress subscription. With WooCommerce, you get inventory management, shipping, and tax options with geo-location support and the ability to integrate into any WordPress.com theme. For large online stores, the WordPress-powered WooCommerce online store gives you more bang for your eCommerce buck than Wix.
Plus, with a WordPress Business subscription (one tier down from an eCommerce subscription), you’ll be able to integrate with multiple eCommerce plugins. And with a Premium subscription (one level down), you’ll be able to offer at least simple PayPal elements for accepting payments.
CMS System
One important difference between Wix and WordPress is that WordPress is a full-featured CMS, which facilitates scalability and helps you and your team keep your website fresh and updated with new content. While Wix has some CMS-like features, it is not a CMS.
The Final Verdict
You will notice that I have not proclaimed a winner in the great comparison between WordPress and Wix. That’s because the question of which platform is best depends entirely on your particular circumstances.
Can WordPress produce a cleaner, faster, more adaptable, and more complete website than Wix? Is your eCommerce level subscription, which serves WooCommerce, a superior online store solution to Wix? Precisely, the answer to this question is yes.
Now, if you search online, you’ll find dozens of developers and designers who react with palpable anger when someone suggests that a website builder like Wix might be a better choice for someone than WordPress. If you are looking for a web development agency in India, you can contact us.
At the risk of incurring the wrath of this segment of the web, I will recommend Wix instead of WordPress if you are an amateur or small business owner who does not have cash (a word of caution: if you are in the business of blogging and online publishing and your website is your small business, use WordPress).
With Wix, you’ll have a website that does almost everything you need to do, and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg. If your top priority is simply running your restaurant or hardware store, the convenience of Wix outweighs the undeniable advantages of WordPress.
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