There are almost 2 billion websites online right now. If you’re a business owner, chances are, you either own one of those existing sites or are looking into building a website imminently.
Given that over 10% of all purchases that consumers make take place online, it’s a smart move to carve out your company’s web presence. If you’re a small business owner that doesn’t know the first thing about websites though, where do you start?
For most, the answer to that question will be to select a content management system (CMS) which will inevitably lead you to the age-old WordPress vs Wix question.
WordPress and Wix are two of the most popular content management systems on earth. Both come with pros and cons, which we’ll break down for you below in an effort to help you decide which is best for your business.
The Pros of Using WordPress
To start our WordPress vs Wix debate, we’ll explore the pros of WordPress. Here are three key advantages that you’ll enjoy when leveraging this CMS:
WordPress Is Free
You read that right. WordPress is not only the most popular CMS in the world but it’s also 100% free.
If your company is looking for a low-cost way to build out its web presence, there’s no platform that’s more affordable than WordPress.
You Own All of Your Content
Anything that’s built on the WordPress platform belongs to your company. This comes in stark contrast to other CMS platforms that claim ownership of all web projects that are constructed using their tools.
Freedom to Shop Around
Since you own the website that you build using WordPress, you can take your website to any web host on the internet. You can even self-host your website.
CMS providers that claim ownership over your website make you host your site with their services which are usually sub-par and expensive.
The Cons of Using WordPress
Despite WordPress’ low-price and flexibility, the CMS does have faults. Here are some snags that you’re’ likely to run into when using the tool.
A Semi-Steep Learning Curve
Building a website with WordPress is much simpler than hand-coding a site. As a matter of fact, you don’t need to know how to code at all to use WordPress.
Still, using WordPress will require knowledge of web hosts, managing databases and other elements that may intimidate non-computer-savvy people.
Option Overload
WordPress is powered by millions of temples and third-party integrations that allow you to do just about anything with your website. Given the volume of options that WordPress offers, it can be hard to discern what the best plugins and templates are which can lead to a lot of trial and error.
The Pros of Using Wix
Now that we’ve finished off the WordPress portion of our WordPress vs Wix debate, let’s move onto Wix. Wix boasts a number of great advantages, the top three of which are:
Ease of Use
Wix is one of the most powerful drag and drop website creation tools on the market. If you know absolutely nothing about building websites and don’t have the patience to learn the basics, you’ll have the easiest time adopting this program.
A Growing Number of Third-Party Integrations
While the number of templates and third-party integrations that Wix boasts pales in comparison to what WordPress offers, the tool is still impressive in its own right. Wix features thousands of templates and integrations that can help you get more out of your website. The fact that its volume of options are more culled than WordPress also makes it easier to pick tools that might best suit your needs.
Solid Pricing
Wix isn’t truly free like WordPress is but it does offer a number of subscription tiers that are geared towards just about any business owner’s needs. If you’re short on cash, Wix does offer a free tier (of sorts) but this tier prevents you from using your own domain and mandates Wix branding on your web page.
The Cons of Using Wix
Wix has several noted cons. Two of the largest ones that you’ll experience include:
You Don’t Own Your Website
Any website that’s built-in Wix belongs to Wix. That means that if you want to migrate your website elsewhere, you won’t be able to.
This lack of ownership can make it hard for you to scale your business around Wix.
Templates and Tools Are Limited
As we mentioned, Wix’s culled marketplace of templates and tools can be a positive for people that are looking for streamlined options. If you require niche SEO, marketing or other functionality for your website though, you may find that Wix’s limited selection leaves you without the features that you require.
Who Wins the WordPress Vs Wix Debate?
With all of the information that you have now, you hopefully have an idea of who wins the WordPress vs Wix debate in your eyes.
In our opinion, the best long-term option for building a website is WordPress, seeing as how it lets you own your work and it’s free to use. If you’re looking for a website builder that can get you online in seconds without any technical knowledge though, Wix is a viable option.
There’s a lot to know about building an online presence. Our team aims to make sorting through all of the information that’s out there easier.
If you have questions about SEO, websites, or anything in between, keep reading the newest content that we have posted right here on our site.