Wix VS. WordPress | Determining the Right Website for Your Business

 In Wordpress

It appears like the debate about the better website-building platform between Wix and WordPress won’t be coming to an end anytime soon. On the one hand, Wix enthusiasts believe that the website builder is the best thing since sliced bread with its ease of use and excellent e-commerce features. On the other hand, WordPress lovers are adamant that there isn’t a better website-building tool out there. They are also quick to mention the platform’s impressive flexibility and wide range of themes as features that make WordPress the go-to platform.

So, where exactly does the truth lie? When designing a website for your small business, should you go with Wix or WordPress?

We’ve been designing websites for decades now, and without blinking an eye, the answer is WordPress. The following are five reasons why:

  • WordPress offers superior site-building tools

Let’s begin with the basic function of a site builder – site building. Here, Wix has done an okay job. Though not a developer’s dream tool, the platform gives first-time site owners the chance to quickly create their own sites without breaking a sweat. Among other things, you get a wide range of industry-specific themes, a fully fledged host and a drag-and-drop editor that makes website building fun. Alternatively, you can opt for blank templates, which allow you to build your site from scratch.

WordPress, however, is way better, especially when it comes to building a dynamic, multi-page site. For a web design company, in particular, you want a platform that gives you the tools to develop professional websites. The Wix drag-and-drop editor, though simple, doesn’t provide developers with the tools necessary to develop great sites. At the end of the day, a Wix website will look cheaper than a WordPress website, which can cost your site leads and conversions.

  • WordPress is better for e-commerce

This is usually a big one for small businesses, and again, WordPress stands out. Wix allows developers to quickly set up an e-commerce store on the platform and add a range of functionalities that make running an online store easy. For instance, store owners can set custom shipping and tax rules, choose from multiple payment options and offer discounts and coupons.

WordPress, however, has gone a step further to make online commerce easier and stress-free. First, you can build better and more professional-looking websites with WordPress, which would, in turn, allow you to get more traffic and generate more leads. Also, WordPress gives you access to hundreds of e-commerce-focused plug-ins. Often, all you have to do is install a plug-in, and you’re ready to start selling products online. Finally, WordPress supports a wide range of gateways that make accepting payments easy.

  • Better Search Engine Optimization

For all of its advantages, this is where Wix fails miserably. That doesn’t mean you have no chance on search engines if you choose to build your site with Wix. On the contrary, many Wix websites are doing tremendously well on Google. The platform even makes it possible to customize a few SEO elements, such as page title, alt attributes and headings.

It’s just that WordPress goes a lot further! In addition to coming with “cleaner” code out of the box that makes it easier for Google bots to crawl your site, WordPress also gives a web design company and its users in general total control over URL structure design, image attributes, CSS and HTML. Moreover, plug-in options, such as Yoast SEO, are available to further your SEO advantage. For a business site, these are advantages you can’t afford to overlook.

  • Running a blog on WordPress is easier

This is another area where WordPress wins without question. With Wix, the designers have made it very easy to start a blog on the platform. They allow you to pick a template that’s most suitable for your blog and even provide hundreds of themes that you can use to set up your blog quickly.

However, WordPress is by far the best blogging platform in the world, which explains why 25% of blogs globally run on the platform. The platform’s main navigation is set up in such a way that every blog posting function is right at your fingertips: add post, upload media item, adjust your blog’s appearance, etc. Additionally, since it has numerous plug-ins, one can add any functionality to a blog. There are social plug-ins, commenting systems, SEO packs, safety plug-ins and much more. Put together, these features make it a lot easier to run a blog on WordPress.

  • Designers enjoy greater flexibility

Wix offers reasonable freedom. You can pick from over 300 free modern templates, though the templates are not responsive, so you may have to re-arrange the elements to make them fit nicely on mobile screens. Additionally, Wix recently added Wix code, which developers can use to add JavaScript and APIs to websites for customized user interactions. The problem is that only an experienced web design company can fully utilize these features.

WordPress makes things a little easier. Being an open-source platform, their codes are open to everybody to use and modify. A web design company can use the platform to create their own themes or plug-ins for others to download for free or to purchase for a fee. As a result, you’ll find thousands of free and premium themes and plug-ins on the platform. Moreover, you can now even find responsive themes designed specifically for mobile devices.

  • You’re assured reliable support

Wix isn’t too bad in regard to support. The platform offers plenty of tutorials that beginners can use to learn about the platform. Also, Wix provides phone support so that if something is wrong, you can pick up the phone and call for help. The problem, however, is that a good number of those calls often go unanswered, which can be very frustrating.

WordPress doesn’t offer phone support, perhaps to its advantage. When you offer phone support and then fail to pick up calls, users can be furious. WordPress chose to void that altogether. Instead, they offer an extremely reliable support platform in the form of an extensive user community. The WordPress community is very dependable. You will always get an answer to any question. Additionally, WordPress is widely used, and one is able to find hundreds of blogs and YouTube channels dedicated to this CMS.

Overall: WordPress Is Just a Class Above Wix

This is not to take anything away from Wix, but WordPress is much more suited to website building and online presence in general.

Think about SEO and blogging in particular. Wix just isn’t good enough at either. Yet, SEO and blogging are the heartbeat of any web presence. Also, Wix isn’t as flexible as a web design company may want, often leading to so-so websites that may not command attention online. WordPress, meanwhile, excels at both SEO and blogging functionalities. The platform is also extremely flexible and can thus be used to develop high-level, professional websites.

Looking for a Web Design Company?

Simplemachine is a Bentonville, AR-based web design company with many years of experience and unmatched customer service. Contact us today for WordPress development and all your digital marketing needs.

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