In the world of blogging, and do-it-yourself website building, WordPress and Wix are two websites that people turn to the most. What are these platforms about? What makes them good? What are the benefits of each of these platforms? Which one is right for you? The following guide answers these questions and more as we take a look at each.
WordPress
What is WordPress?
WordPress started out as a blogging platform, but is now a content management system. What makes WordPress special is its free, open-source software system that allows people to build their own sites.
WordPress makes it easy to create different kinds of websites. With their many different plugins available, you can create the perfect customized website for blogging, business, portfolio, or online store. If you are looking to create a unique website
WordPress Platform Pros:
- Free to install if you install yourself
- Easy to integrate with your social media accounts
- Superior security measures compared to others with security plugins
- No limit to customization; thousands of plugins to create exactly the site you want
- Perfect for professional sites, especially ecommerce
- More features available for blogging
- Advanced SEO features available with plugins and money
- Thousands of plugins to create exactly the kind of website that you want, many for free
WordPress Platform Cons:
- Free themes are basic, so most people opt for a paid theme, which range in price
- Can be overwhelming to learn how to edit and add content for a novice
- Requires a developer for customizations and installation
- Even though there are many free plugins, secure options are generally available at a cost, which is typically annually. If you don’t renew your subscriptions then you don’t get the security updates.
- Because WordPress is an open source platform, it requires regular updates to the WordPress platform, theme and plugins. Having these out-of-state makes your site vulnerable to hacking.
- There isn’t one central place for support, so if there is an issue with your theme you need to contact your theme creator; if it is an issue with a plugin you need to contact them directly. If there is a conflict, either creator won’t always offer support so you would need to find a developer to help.
Wix
What is Wix?
Wix is a popular website building platform. Wix is known for being easy to use and get started on. It offers a free plan and 7 premium packages with varying amounts of services included.
Wix has many options for customization. You can choose from hundreds of beautiful templates. The drag-and-drop editor makes it really easy to make changes to your site and make it look the way you want it to. Wix is perfect for beginners that may have no experience with website building.
Wix Platform Pros
- Hundreds of templates to choose from
- Very easy to use and friendly for beginners
- Drag and drop editing features
- Free plan lets you get started at no cost; paid plans offer premium services
- Basic SEO included, with advanced SEO features with premium packages
- Wix handles all updates and maintenance for you
- Has a great support team
Wix Platform Cons:
- Their mobile editor has very few options, making it difficult to make the site completely mobile friendly
- Very hard to work with for complicated or robust designs
- Doesn’t offer extensive customizations, such as ecommerce functionality.
- Not recommended for large or complex ecommerce systems.
WordPress vs Wix
The largest difference is that Wix is a website building platform, and WordPress is a content management system. Read the following section to learn more about the differences between the two.
Easy to Use
Both are pretty easy to use. Creating content, setting up ecommerce sites, etc. Wix is easier for beginners with little experience, and the free package comes with free hosting and a lot of features. However, the free option is limited and there are a lot of premium services that come with the paid packages.
WordPress is not as easy as Wix to use. You have to set up your own domain before using WordPress. You must install plugins to sell things, to have a feed, to have SEO, or to have advanced security, among other things. If you understand how to do this already, WordPress will be easy for you to use. If you don’t already have this knowledge, you may find WordPress to be a challenge.
Customizable
Wix has hundreds of templates to choose from, and you can use the editor feature to easily make changes to the pages and sections you want included on your site. However, the choices you have are limited to what Wix has to offer.
Since WordPress is open-sourced, there is no limit to the customization you can do. There are thousands of plugins, and if you are willing to pay for the advanced features and pay for plugins, you can build a website that does pretty much anything.
Advanced Features
WordPress has forums where users can support each other and offer advice. They don’t offer much in the way of customer support. Wix, on the other hand, has a customer support team that is just an email or a phone call away.
Price
Wix is cheaper overall, but the features offered are not as good as some of the ones you can get with WordPress. WordPress costs more, especially when you consider the cost of web hosting and your domain name. However, you will be getting more value for your money.
Which you choose will widely depend on what your budget is and what features you need for your website. For more information on Wix and WordPress, or for help building your website, contact us at Triad Marketing today.
