Updated on August 15th, 2022

Wix vs WordPress, which platform suits you? Having originally started with Wix, I was thinking today about how someone starting out would decide between a great website builder like Wix vs WordPress (the self-hosted CMS)? They’ve both got unbeatable features that the other doesn’t have. Accordingly, we answer the question: Which is better: Wix vs WordPress?
The main advantage of Wix is found in its simplicity. It allows you to start a website without any training whatsoever. Having said this, Wix has limitations in regard to its flexibility – you can’t easily change your theme or migrate to another platform without a lot of effort. On the other side, WordPress as a fully fledged CMS has more of a learning curve. It does however offer incredible flexibility in terms of design, SEO and scalability.
The choice isn’t an easy decision when you’re starting out given that Wix is just so easy to pick up and get started.
Alternatively, many people will tell you that WordPress is a better way to go. WordPress is a powerful CMS which is used by some of the world’s biggest websites and blogs. Some initial training is required with WordPress so we need to ask ourselves if this extra familiarisation is worth the effort.
So let’s dive into a comparison of Wix vs WordPress and work out what’s right for you.
Ease of use – Wix vs WordPress
As a website builder platform, Wix has come a long way over the years and is extremely intuitive. As a new user you can choose between ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) or edit a design template in the editor.
If you choose ADI, Wix asks you a series of questions and then prompts you with a website design based on your questions.

If you prefer a more hands-on approach or have experience with building websites you’ll likely prefer modifying a template with the editor. This gives you total control over how everything looks on your site and suits someone with some web design experience. You can choose a theme which suits you. We personally prefer the editor.

You can then go into the editor and modify the template however you want. Menus, logos and content locations can be moved around easily with drag and drop functionality.

Wix’s menus are very intuitive. For example if you hover over the header area you’ll see a contextual menu that allows you to edit that area only.

All of this means that anyone can jump onto Wix without any prior training. You can then start designing and have your site up and running within an hour or two.
In comparison, WordPress requires some familiarisation before you get started. As a fully fledged CMS, WordPress is inherently more powerful. It’s designed for a diverse multi-user operating environment.

Once you’ve got the hang of the basics of WordPress, it’s pretty straightforward. If you’re desiring a similar page builder experience to Wix, install the Elementor plugin.
It’s a beautifully designed app which makes the task of creating any web page or post a breeze.
Speed of page load and Menus
Wix has been shown through various tests to have an average page load speed rating of over 90% in Gtmetrix testing.
This is a good result, but. If you’re looking to improve it further, there’s not many ways to do this with Wix. One way might be to reduce and compress images. You could also use image thumbnails for video embeds.
In terms of menu operation, the speed of navigating around your sites menus is in many ways comparable to using WordPress with a shared hosting provider.
Website Responsiveness
All of Wix’s templates are rated as being fully responsive. However our testing has sometimes shown that some sites get slightly truncated on various smaller screens. This is something that you might want to check for your website.
With WordPress, the responsiveness of your site depends upon your hosting provider. You’ll need to fully review which ever hosting plan you’re interested in regarding responsiveness and read their reviews.
Search Engine Optimisation – Wix vs WordPress
Wix has its own easy- to-use built-in SEO functionality.
Alternatively with WordPress you can install the SEO plugin of your choice. Two of the most popular plugins are Yoast and Rankmath.
Having said this, much of your on-page SEO depends upon other factors not controlled by plugins such as page speed, time-on-page and bounce rate.
Reliability and Uptime
Wix has an average uptime service rate of 99.9%. This is obviously an excellent service record compared to many WordPress posting providers.
With regards to WordPress, reliability depends solely on your choice of hosting provider. For example if you look at Bluehost their average up time is 99.98%
Reliability is almost a given these days so it doesn’t come into many comparisons. But it’s obviously a very important factor to consider.
Flexibility – Wix vs WordPress
One of the main benefits of WordPress is it’s phenomenal flexibility. If you want to change to a new theme, it’s no problem. Changing to another hosting provider? It’s super simple.
With Wix, it’s a bit more difficult. Changing to another template theme isn’t possible once you’ve chosen one. This can really be a problem as most people want to change or upgrade their theme as time passes.
Customer Support
We found Wix customer service to be truly impressive. Our calls and emails were answered properly and professionally.

Alternatively with WordPress your customer service is provided by your hosting company. Of the entry-level hosting providers, Bluehost and Siteground both have excellent phone and web support for novice and intermediate users. Siteground is slightly more focussed towards intermediate users.
Pricing – Wix vs WordPress
Wix pricing starts with a free option. However with the free option you won’t be able to use your own domain name. This will mean that your domain name will have the extension .wixsite.com.
Wix premium plans start from $200 per annum and include a free domain name for the first year.
With WordPress the CMS software is free from wordpress.org. Having said this you’ll need to pay for web hosting. You can get good quality hosting from Bluehost starting from $2.95 per month.
If you’re going with WordPress you’ll also need your own domain name. You can buy a good domain name from Namecheap starting from $10 per annum.

Summary Wix vs WordPress
If you’re trying to make a decision between Wix and WordPress, it needs to be said that both are great options for beginners.
Wix is suitable for complete website beginners. There is no training to do at all. You really can just pick it up and start running with it.
In terms of pricing, Wix tends to be more expensive than WordPress hosted on Bluehost. Having said this, Wix gives you a total package fee so there are no other charges to worry about.
Frequently Asked Questions – Wix vs WordPress
Is self-hosted WordPress less expensive than Wix?
Yes, if you go with a low-cost shared hosting provider such as Bluehost and an inexpensive domain name, then self-hosted WordPress will usually cost less than Wix.
Should I start with Wix then move to WordPress as my site grows?
You can but there’s no easy way to migrate the site to WordPress. You’ll need to effectively recreate every post in WordPress.
Furthermore, Moving your site without affecting your page rankings can be difficult. All in all it’s generally better to start with WordPress if you are planning on moving your site there in the future.
Is Wix good for SEO?
Yes, Wix has a module called Wix SEO Wiz which can help you to attain page rankings in Google.
What are the main advantages of Wix over WordPress?
The main advantage of Wix is that you don’t need any training to get started. You can even start a website just by answering a series of questions using their ADI (artificial design intelligence). Wix also has a free website option which WordPress doesn’t have.
What are the main advantages of WordPress over Wix?
With WordPress you can increase the speed of your website by changing hosting or by moving to a new theme provider. WordPress gives you an almost unlimited number of ways in which it can be used. It has inherent scalability and flexibility.
Is Wix good for a high traffic blog?
Yes as Wix has plans offering unlimited bandwidth starting from US $14 per month.
What’s the difference between a WordPress theme and a Wix template?
WordPress themes tend to be quite structured compared to Wix templates. Apart from some different types of styling selections, a WordPress theme will normally look pretty much the same. You can adjust some of the styling through the use of CSS which is a companion code to HTML.
In comparison, a Wix template should be seen more as a design concept which you can modify to suit your needs. This is where Wix is especially powerful as it makes the website styling process so easy.
If I move from Wix to WordPress will I lose my search engine rankings?
You won’t lose your search engine rankings if the migration is done properly. Accordingly, make sure that you keep all the URLs exactly the same and do not change any content during the migration. You might still expect some temporary dip in rankings though.
Can I get a free website with Wix?
Yes it’s possible to get a free site with Wix. However, you won’t be able to use your own domain name. Instead,your domain will have the domain extension of .wixsite.com
Can I get a free website when using self-hosted WordPress?
No, currently it’s not possible to get a free self-hosted WordPress website as there are no financial incentives for companies to offer this service.
What are the differences between a Wix template and a WordPress theme?
A Wix template is like a design inspiration for a website. It’s been designed by a qualified designer. It’s only a starting point. You can move anything around with your website once you’ve chosen a template. In comparison, a WordPress theme is a more rigid design framework for your website. You can still move elements around but the ability to do this is more limited.
The disadvantage of Wix templates is that you can’t change the template for a website once you’ve chosen it.
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash