In this Video, we’ll compare WordPress Vs Wix to help you make an informed decision
on which is the best platform for you.
Specifically, we’ll evaluate how they compare in terms of getting started, pricing, design
and customization, and features.
As well as consider where you’re at, what your objectives are, and what you want to
get out of creating a new website or blog.
We’ll then wrap it up with a summary, and explain when Wix is a better option than WordPress
and vice-versa - so stay tuned.
If you’d like to follow along, we’ve created a blog post that goes into a little more detail,
that you can access on the OHKLYN blog, at OHKLYN o-h-k-l-y-n.com/blog (we’ll add a
direct link to the post in the description below).
We’ll also include a link to each platform, so you can learn more about each Content Management
System, or CMS.
So, without further ado, let’s compare WordPress vs Wix, to reveal which is the best option
for you.
Let’s start with Wix.
What is Wix?
Wix is a commercial Content Management System.
It is a service offered by an organization with the goal of making web creation available
to everyone.
While it might have some negative connotations, specifically in regards to its current commercial
application, Wix is solid platform and continues to evolve.
Wix has been around since 2006, and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.
Wix is built around the idea of its users needing zero coding experience to easily build
and launch their own attractive website or blog.
All the fringe requirements are taken care of by them, and all you need to do is signup,
add your content, and launch your site.
There is a free versions which comes with a number of restrictions, or you can subscribe
to various premium packages that we will discuss later on.
To learn more about Wix and view some of their designs, follow the link in the description
below.
So, What is WordPress?
WordPress is open-source software, meaning that the technology is not owned by anyone,
and is free to use by the general population.
You can use, extend, and improve WordPress for both personal and commercial purposes.
WordPress has been around since 2003, and was born from the desire for an elegant, well-architectured
personal publishing tool.
In other words, it originally started as a highly customizable blogging platform, and
has grown into the most popular Content Management System online.
Powering over 25% of the web, WordPress has evolveed from being the choice of personal
bloggers, to the choice for some of the largest and most prestigious companies in the world
like Walt Disney Corporation, Mercedez Benz, and Vogue, just to name a few.
There are two ways that you can make use of WordPress, a WordPress hosted option (wordpress.com),
or a self-hosted option (wordpress.org).
The hosted version of WordPress is more limited, and for the purpose of this article we’ll
explore the self-hosted option of WordPress.
You can download the WordPress software from WordPress.org, and install it on your domain
via your hosting provider.
Many quality hosting providers feature a one-click WordPress installation tool that takes care
of this for you.
To learn how to do this, check out one of our free tutorials.
The first part of our WordPress Vs Wix comparison will look at process of getting started with
each platform.
Let’s take a look at getting started with Wix
There is not much to say here.
Getting started with Wix is really, really easy.
All you need to do is follow the link to wix below or on the OHKLYN blog post, and create
a new account.
You can also use your Facebook or Google account to speed up the process.
You then choose the kind of website you want from some preset categories like business,
Blog, or Portfolio & CV.
You can then choose to either manually design and create the website through their easy
drag-and-drop user interface, or let their Wix ADI (an Artificial Intelligence website
designer) do it for you, by asking you some simple questions.
You then simply choose your theme, and start editing!
Although you may feel a little overwhelmed by the range of customization options at first,
you will soon get used to it, and become grateful for all the control as you get more confident.
Alternatively, let’s take a look at getting started with WordPress
Setting up WordPress is relatively straight forward, however it’s not as easy as Wix.
There are a few extra steps you need to go through, however we have created a number
of step by step tutorials to help you through this.
These are designed for beginners, and feature either one of our preferred hosting providers
that leverage a one-click WordPress install feature, or managed hosting through WP Engine
who take care of installing WordPress for you.
To learn more check out one of our free tutorials like:
How to setup a WordPress blog WordPress tutorial for beginners, or our
How to make a WordPress website tutorial for some help walking you through it.
If you’re a little more technically savvy, you can opt to install WordPress manually
via your hosting solution or on your local environment.
To do this, follow the link in the description below to WordPress.org, and download the latest
version of WordPress.
Then, follow the “famous 5-minute” installation process which can be found in index.html file,
once you unpack the WordPress download.
So, the verdict?
This round undoubtedly goes to Wix.
WordPress will take some elbow grease to get going, while Wix requires little more than
a sign-up process.
That being said, our step by step tutorials make it really easy to get up and running
with WordPress.
Next, we’ll review WordPress Vs Wix in terms of pricing
Let’s review the Wix pricing structure first
As you can see Wix’s pricing structure is pretty straightforward.
You can use Wix for free (the caveat is that, your site will be a subdomain like: username.wixsite.com/mysite).
To use your domain on the Wix platform, you will need to display Wix branded ads on all
your pages, which won’t work if you’re trying to build a brand or business, or concerned
about the user experience.
However, from the $8 plan onwards, you are completely free from these ads and can register
a new top-level domain with Wix.
In our opinion (and by popularity), the Unlimited plan is the best value for money at $12.50
per month.
It comes with your own domain, unlimited bandwidth, and the form builder.
If you need a store you will need to upgrade to the eCommerce plan for $16.50 per month.
Let’s take a look at the WordPress pricing structure
With WordPress, it’s not as straightforward as that.
You will need to find your own hosting, and domain providers.
If you plan on taking credit card payments on your site (and not via a third-party provider
like PayPal, etc), you will also need to purchase an SSL certificate.
There are many sites online that provide these services (including your hosting provider),
so that’s not overly difficult.
We are putting together a number of free WordPress eCommerce tutorials as we speak, so subscribe
to our YouTube channel and newsletter to stay in the loop.
Another consideration is if you want to get a premium WordPress theme, plugins, or widgets.
If you plan on taking your website or blog seriously, and want to create an amazing site,
they are worth the investment.
Premium themes can cost between $50-$200 depending on the theme.
Check out our WordPress theme review articles for inspo, and to find the right look for
your site.
The average cost for WordPress should amount to around $12 per month, with some being yearly
installments.
A quality theme should remain current for at least 2 years, and most theme providers
provide regular updates.
So, unlike Wix your only ongoing cost is hosting, which is typically $5 - 10 per month with
a shared hosting provider like Bluehost, and around $20 - 30 per month if you want lightning
fast hosting through a provider like WP Engine.
Discount links to both providers are in the description below, and on the OHKLYN blog.
If you want a full-blown layout of the costs, read our How much does it cost to make a website
with WordPress?
article.
The verdict?
Wix only comes out slightly on top.
It comes down to what you prefer.
WordPress might come with a higher upfront payment to get the best quality themes and
plugins, but you can technically pay less per month.
On the other hand, Wix has no upfront lump sum, and all your payments are made with one
vendor.
Next we’ll evaluate WordPress Vs Wix from a design and customization perspective
Let’s explore the design and customization options available with Wix
When you create a site with Wix you have to select a template.
You should take your time, and select one carefully because you can’t change it afterwards.
Wix comes with over 500 templates that cover a range of categories, such as Design, Business,
eCommerce, Blog, Portfolio & CV, and much more.
Designing and customizing a theme through Wix is very easy.
They make full use of an intuitive drag and drop interface.
You can move elements around, change the typography, swap colors, and pretty much anything else.
There is absolutely no web design or development experience necessary.
The only thing you need is a good eye and some free time.
Let’s see how that compares with the WordPress design and customization options
The amount of freedom available to you when you want to design and customize your WordPress
site is endless.
There are over a 1,000 free themes available on the WordPress repository alone, and a countless
number of premium themes available via WordPress theme providers and marketplaces, which is
what we would recommend.
We’ve put together a post and video on the top providers.
Premium themes usually range from $50-$200 which may seem pricey.
However, when you take all the benefits into account, such as premium level support, enhanced
security and SEO, widgets and extra functionality, it seems much more worthwhile.
Unfortunately, WordPress, at the time of this recording, doesn’t come with an out of the
box drag and drop designer.
Although, you can find plugins or themes that give you this capability.
Some page builders, like Visual composer, the Divi page builder, etc, allow you to build
amazing websites with intense features quickly and easily, without needing to know any code
The verdict?
It’s a knockout win for WordPress in this round.
With such a small pool of choices, you can bet a lot of others have already scooped up
the best designs on Wix, which means you won’t have a unique-looking blog or website.
That being said, Wix have some nice designs.
However, WordPress has an unbeatable range of choices, and is just too much to contend
with.
Lastly, we’ll analyze WordPress Vs Wix in terms of features
As a service, Wix comes with some pretty good features.
Most of which provide even more ways for you to have a high-quality site without any technical
know-how such as: Wix Arena – Which is a place where you can
find Wix experts to help you improve your website or blog.
SEO Wiz – Which is a tool that is tailored towards your specific site to improve its
search rankings Share It – Makes better social media sharing
and integration possible.
Wix FAQ & support – Allows you to find the information or help you need on any Wix related
obstacle.
Wix Bookings – Is an easy and powerful way to manage client information and handle bookings.
Wix Chat – It’s become a trend for sites to run chat popups for their clients to reach
out, now you can have it too.
Wix drag and drop editor – Which is a powerful, user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface to
design and customize your page.
Art store – Made to showcase your creative endeavours.
Wix ADI – Which is an AI made to optimally design your page after asking you questions
related to your site.
Lightbox – Which is a popup with enhanced features.
It can be used as an image gallery or as a welcome message.
And Wix Video – Which is their very own video player.
So, as you can see - Wix comes with some pretty rad features.
Let’s explore some of the features available for WordPress.
To a large extent WordPress features and functionality depend on the theme and plugins you choose.
As WordPress is an open-source development tool, you can literally do anything if you
have the development skills, or can find the plugin to do what you want to do.
Different themes come with different widgets and design elements that can add an extra
dimension to your site or blog.
Where WordPress is unique to Wix, is that their is a massive community of contributors
who are always creating features, and solutions to solve almost anything you could image.
Check out the OHKLYN blog post for the full list of ‘out of the box’ features available.
There is also the WordPress plugin repository, with well over 50,000+ available plugins covering
everything from contact forms, to social media integration, chat and messaging, eCommerce,
and much more.
The verdict?
A narrow win for WordPress.
Let’s not forget many different people have been working on this open-source software
for years.
That means a lot of innovation.
Yet, if you just want the basic tools at your fingertips, with as little work as possible,
then Wix will get you going.
Ok, so let’s start to bring this all together - here’s our WordPress Vs Wix Summary
By now you should’ve noticed how different these two options are.
Saying that one is better than the other, would be narrow-minded at best, and reckless
at worst.
Both have their own merits depending on your needs, finances, and skills.
Overall, we have to say that WordPress is the better solution in the long run.
You will need to broaden your knowledge and responsibilities, but the control and options
it gives is far superior.
This doesn’t mean that Wix isn’t a solid option, and for many who are just getting
started, or tinkering with an idea, it may even be the better option.
However, if you’re building a business, brand, or a community, and see yourself in
it for the long run, then go with WordPress.
In closing, When is Wix a better option than WordPress?
You either don’t have any development experience, or don’t want to develop a site by yourself.
You just want to be responsible for, and work on the design and content of your site and
not much else.
You want great, dedicated support.
Conversely, when is WordPress a better option than Wix?
Well, You aren’t frightened by the idea of installing
different frameworks and the WordPress platform (or you’re happy to follow a step by step
tutorial) You have small budget (about $100-150) to
use upfront to purchase premium themes and plugins, and setup your hosting.
You want a comprehensive solution that can be expanded and enhanced over time at your
own pace.
And that’s our WordPress Vs Wix review.
Hopefully you have more clarity on the differences between the two, and ultimately which CMS
is the best option for you.
If you liked this video hit the like button, and remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel
for more videos related to blogging, digital marketing, and how to run a successful website.
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latest happenings, sign up for our newsletter at OHKLYN o-h-k-l-y-n.com, and until next
time, happy building.