WordPress vs Wix: Which one you should choose 2024?

In 2023, WordPress vs Wix are the popular concern when choosing a powerful website builders that allow anyone, regardless of technical expertise, to create their own sites. Despite their similarities, however, WordPress vs Wix take very different approaches.

So, which is best for you? In this WordPress vs. Wix comparison guide, we pit two of the most popular site-building platforms against one another and examine how they compare in terms of usability, customization, pricing, and other factors so you can decide which is best for you.

What is the distinction between WordPress vs Wix?

Wix is a simple site builder with flexible designs that is ideal for portfolio websites. Building a 

large site is not recommended because the editor becomes slow when there are too many pages. 

WordPress enables the creation of much larger websites, but it requires more technical knowledge.

The main distinction between Wix and WordPress is their technical approach.: Meanwhile all Wix packages include hosting and technical support, WordPress is an open-source platform that requires you to handle this yourself. You must first locate a web host (consider cheap web hosting options) and install it on your own webspace. You are also accountable for any technical issues.

Recently.Wix appears to be attempting to move more into WordPress’ territory and establish itself as a performance-focused website builder. Wix has added CMS-like dynamic pages, as well as advanced development tools such asWix Editor X and Wix Velo, to . 

However, WordPress remains by far the more powerful platform of the two, and this is unlikely to change anytime soon.

WordPress vs Wix: Which one you should choose 2023?

Choosing the right web builder between WordPress and Wix  requires you to consider many factors. Below, we will compare WordPress vs Wix in many categories to find out the pros and cons of them.

WordPress vs. Wix: Which one is more easy to use?

To be clear, when compared to code-based alternatives, both WordPress and Wix make it simple to create a website. However, by all accounts, Wix is simpler to use than WordPress.

WordPress

WordPress requires more work as a CMS, including a steeper learning curve. Users select a WordPress Theme, similar to a template, and then customize that theme with their preferred images, text, colors, and so on. 

Themes provide the user with solid layouts to choose from, as well as stylistic options such as fonts and button shapes (although these can often be changed later).

The real benefit of WordPress, however, is its plugins. WordPress has a large plugin library that allows you to add extra features to your site. These could be small feature, like a menu for social media sharing, or complicated one, like the WooCommerce plugin, which enables ecommerce and financial transactions.

Wix

Wix, on the other hand, takes a more straightforward approach with its WYSIWYG editor (What You See Is What You Get). Users of Wix simply drag and drop the elements they want into the positions they want, with options for customizing the size, shape, color, typography, and so on. Wix templates can still be used, but they are more flexible than WordPress themes.

The disadvantage of Wix’s straightforward approach is that there are fewer “extra” features. Wix has its own App Market, but it pales in comparison to WordPress’s library of 59,538 plugins (as of this writing). Still, what Wix provides by default is more than enough to create a standard, if not impressive, website.

Overall, WordPress usability allows you to do a little more if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, and there are plenty of WordPress tutorials to help you learn the ropes. If you value convenience and ease of use, you won’t mind giving up a few extra features to save time with Wix.

WordPress vs. Wix: Pricing

WordPress

WordPress pricing becomes more complicated. Technically, WordPress is free, but in practice, the costs are comparable to or even higher than other site builders due to hosting, plugins, and themes.

However, in order to use WordPress, you must purchase your own hosting from a third-party provider such as BlueHost or SiteGround.

WordPress hosting typically costs between $2-6 per month (more if you want additional benefits), and it is not a decision to be taken lightly. Your hosting determines how quickly your site loads and how many requests it can handle, as well as how well it protects against online attacks or outages. Some even provide perks such as customer service or free domain names.

Furthermore, WordPress plugins and themes are usually expensive. While you can build a website using only free plugins and themes, it will look minimal and bare-bones, and you will be ignoring one of WordPress’s most significant advantages.

Aside from the free ones, WordPress plugins can range in price from a few dollars to several hundred dollars, and they can be one-time charges or monthly subscription payments. To be certain, we recommend planning out which plugins you want to purchase ahead of time and creating an estimated budget.

Overall, the price of WordPress is scalable depending on how advanced you want your website to be, but you can expect a $200 starting cost with around $20 monthly payments on average. That makes it more expensive than Wix, so consider how much you need those plugins.

Wix

The pricing plans offered by Wix are straightforward. As shown below, for a monthly fee (paid annually), you receive a predetermined set of features, allowing you to select the plan that best meets your needs. Wix also has a free plan, but it is quite limited and includes Wix ads, making it unsuitable for professional websites.

The Unlimited plan includes everything you require for a standard professional website. If you’re creating a small site or a standalone landing page, the even cheaper Combo plan may be appropriate. It’s important to note that if you want to sell anything on your website, you’ll need one of the three “Business” plans, which allow for online transactions.

Design and Layout

The design and layout of your website are critical to its success. Every website owner requires a web design that is not only visually appealing but also user-friendly and helps their brand stand out.

WordPress:

WordPress has thousands of free and paid themes available. Although free themes have limited support, they are subject to a rigorous review process. Paid themes typically have more features and premium support options.

WordPress themes range from personal blogs to full-fledged eCommerce stores. Most themes include their own built-in customization options. To further style or customize your WordPress themes, you can use one of the many styling plugins available.

You can also hire a developer or learn to create a completely custom theme for your business.

There are also plugins available, such as SeedProd, a landing page builder plugin that allows you to quickly deploy a website, a sales page, a product page, or even a coming soon page regardless of the theme you are using.

More importantly, you can switch to a different WordPress theme whenever you want. This allows your website design to grow and evolve alongside your company.

WordPress has a far greater selection of themes and design layouts than Wix. WordPress users can also easily switch themes and customize them to their hearts’ content.

Wix

Wix includes over 900 pre-made templates to choose from. Wix designs are all fully responsive and coded in HTML5. You can further customize your site’s design, change the layout, and rearrange items using the built-in tools.

There are designs for every type of website. Templates are classified into categories such as business, eCommerce, hobbies, arts & crafts, personal, and so on.

One significant disadvantage is that once you’ve chosen a template, you can’t change it. You can change and customize it as much as you want with the built-in tools, but you can’t switch to another template.

Plugins and Apps

Plugins and apps are third-party extensions that you can use to extend the functionality of your platform.

Wix refers to them as apps, while WordPress refers to them as plugins.

Let’s look at the apps and plugins available on both platforms and what they can do.

WordPress:

At the time of writing, there were over 59,000+ free plugins available in the WordPress.org plugin directory. Not to mention the availability of premium plugins on other marketplaces.

If you can think of a feature, there’s probably a WordPress plugin that can make it happen.

There is a plugin for everything, whether you want to create a contact form, install Google Analytics, build a membership website, or sell online courses.

WordPress allows you to do almost anything you want. There are numerous free and paid plugins available to help you build the website of your dreams.

WordPress easily outperforms Wix in this category as well. Even though Wix’s app library is expanding, it still pales in comparison to the vast selection available to WordPress users.

Wix:

Wix includes nearly 200 apps that you can use to customize your site. These apps include a variety of features such as contact forms, galleries, comments, social media buttons, email marketing, and so on.

Many of the apps are either free or have a limited version. Other apps require monthly payments and are priced differently. Despite the limited number of apps available, they cover the most frequently requested features by site owners.

Ecommerce Comparison: Wix vs. WordPress

Another important feature that most newcomers look for is the ability to sell items online. Let’s see how WordPress vs Wix stack up in terms of eCommerce.

WordPress:

WordPress makes it incredibly simple to set up your online store with WooCommerce, the world’s most popular eCommerce platform.

There are numerous other WordPress eCommerce plugins available that can be used to sell physical or digital goods, services, events, subscriptions, and more.

Using MemberPress, WordPress is also the best platform for selling digital subscriptions. It gives you the ability to sell online courses, pay-per-view content, and membership plans for your online community.

To sell digital downloads such as eBooks, music, software licenses, and more, you can use the WordPress plugin Easy Digital Downloads.

Most WordPress eCommerce plugins even have their own dedicated themes and add-on plugins. Excellent examples can be found in our list of the best WooCommerce themes.

Wix:

Wix’s paid plans include eCommerce. This means that users on the free plan will be unable to run their eCommerce store on Wix unless they upgrade to a paid plan.

With Wix Stores, you can accept payments through their own native payment system or through third-party apps that connect to various payment gateways such as PayPal, Authorize.net, and others.

If you use Wix Payments, you will be charged 2.9 percent of the transaction amount plus 0.30 USD for the US region. This processing fee adds up quickly as you sell more products.

You can use a few third-party apps to help promote your store and sell items online. The eCommerce platform’s overall features are also limited.

Which is better for blogging: Wix or WordPress?

Many users are looking for a simpler platform to begin blogging on. Both WordPress vs Wix can be used to build blogs. Let’s see which one does it better.

Using WordPress to Blog

WordPress began as a blogging platform and has since evolved into a full-fledged website builder. It now powers more than 43% of all websites.

It has all of the blogging features you’ll need, such as a native commenting system, as well as all of the advanced features that Wix lacks.

It includes the powerful Gutenberg block editor, which allows you to create beautiful blog post layouts.

Most importantly, you can use plugins to extend your blog and add any feature you can think of.

As a blogging platform, WordPress far outperforms Wix. Wix blogs are overly simplistic and lack several key features. If you’re thinking about starting a blog, Wix falls far short of WordPress.

Blogging with Wix

Wix blogging allows you to easily add a blog section to your website. It includes all of the essential blogging features you’ll need. For instance, categories and tags, photos and videos, archives, and so on.

Wix blog comments are slow and difficult to manage compared to WordPress. Many users end up installing third-party commenting systems such as Facebook or Disqus, both of which require users to sign up for accounts.

It also lacks several features, such as the ability to backdate posts, create private posts, and so on.

The blog post writing interface is not the same as the Wix website builder. Instead, it employs a plain text editor with very limited formatting options.

Wix vs. WordPress Data Portability Options

Data portability allows you to move your content whenever you need it. Let’s look at how Wix and WordPress can help you move and reuse your content.

WordPress

Because it is a self-hosted platform, you can also create full WordPress backups, download your media files, and export your WordPress database manually.

If you are dissatisfied with your current WordPress hosting company, you can easily migrate your WordPress site to a new host.

When it comes to downloading and moving data, WordPress is far superior. Wix, on the other hand, makes it difficult to migrate your content.

Wix

Wix provides very few options for migrating your content to another platform. Your blog posts can only be exported in XML format. You’ll have to download your pages, images, videos, and other content by hand.

Wix documentation states that all of your content is hosted solely on Wix’s servers and cannot be exported elsewhere.

This makes it more difficult to transfer your content to another platform if necessary. You can, however, still transfer a Wix site. See our guide on how to migrate from Wix to WordPress.

WordPress vs. Wix: Final decision

Which is better, WordPress vsWix? It all comes down to how complicated you want your site to be and how much work you want to put into it.

Of course, more complex sites necessitate more resources, including time, money, and labor. That’s what you can expect from WordPress: an elaborate site built to your exact specifications, but one that takes more time and effort (and most likely money if you plan to use a lot of plugins).

As a web publishing platform for any type of website, WordPress far outperforms Wix. While Wix provides an easy-to-use website builder, WordPress can accomplish far more in the long run.

For step-by-step instructions, see our guide on how to make a website with WordPress.

Conclusion

We hope this article helped you compare WordPress vs Wix and understand the strengths and weaknesses of each. You can learn more about WordPress by reading Arestós’ article.

Arestós provides WordPress services to businesses in various sectors.

Contact us for a free consultation. Find out how we can create the perfect website together