So you’re thinking about building a website. You have a look around and see a bunch of providers jump out of you, with two of the main contenders being Wix and WordPress. Depending on your technical ability and the type of website you want to create, one may be more suited to your needs than the other. Another option is to hire a local website designer who will have the experience to help you choose the right platform based on your business needs.

But for now, let’s delve into this topic further, by asking: Wix Vs WordPress - which one is right for you?

Wix

Wix works on the premise of picking a theme that allows you to edit it by visually dragging, dropping and moving elements around on the page. It’s incredibly easy to use but does come with the drawback that you can’t change the theme once you’ve selected it. However, if you aren’t a pro website designer and you don’t know how to code, it couldn’t be simpler to add elements such as a video gallery or a blog onto your site.

If you are looking to create something basic and functional, then Wix is more accessible. The basic version of Wix is free, though for increased features and to connect your domain name you’ll need to upgrade to one of their packages. The handiest feature is the sidebar which allows you to customise and change elements as you work so that you can see how it looks in real-time.

Wix Pros

• Drag and drop style editor gives you more free reign to move elements around
• A generous choice of add-ons that cover practically all website types
• The basic website builder can be accessed for free

Wix Cons

• You cannot change the template of your site after you’ve created it, so the only other option would be to create a new site from scratch
• Users need to manually drag everything around on the site editor which is time consuming
• Less features available in the blog section making it harder customise or implement SEO

WordPress

Did you know that over 50% of the internet is powered by WordPress? As WordPress is so widely used, it’s easier for onboarding new team members to work onto your site. Whether it’s developers, designers or blog contributors, most people know how to use WordPress. Typically, bloggers use WordPress though with the likes of WooCommerce, it’s excellent for those with eCommerce websites too.

When it comes to building your WordPress site, there are thousands of themes to choose from, and you can even have a developer custom build you a theme too. If you suddenly want to switch your themes, it can be implemented immediately without having to start from scratch. Though as the only drag and drop feature is in Gutenberg (a blog text editor), you will need to have some technical knowledge, or hiring someone who does for certain features.

WordPress Pros

• The most popular CMS on the internet with thousands of themes available and regular updates
• Powerful blog tool that gives users more options on how to display their content
• Access to tools such as Yoast SEO and Google Analytics which Wix doesn’t have

WordPress Cons

• If you use the free version (WordPress.org) you’ll need to buy hosting
• Premium themes can be expensive
• You’ll require some technical knowledge to manage plugins
• Customer support is not as easy to access

The Bottom Line

The above is just a snapshot of the differences between Wix and WordPress. Essentially, Wix allows you to hit the ground running by using a visual editing style. You can drag, move or delete elements without needing to know a single line of code.

However, you need to be pretty sure you like the template you chose as you can’t change it down the line. If you also decide to move providers, you may also have to rebuild your website from Scratch. Though for anyone who lacks technical knowledge, Wix is by far the easier platform to use.

WordPress is pretty much the go-to for bloggers and business owners alike. Its huge market share means you’ll find way more plugins and features than any other provider, though these often come at a cost. With WordPress, you have the option of picking any theme and changing this whenever you feel like it. This matters because your theme may not be very well designed or you may outgrow it in the future.

A web designer can change or custom build you an entirely new theme on WordPress. While WordPress isn’t as easy to use, it does offer business owners a lot more freedom not to mention flexibility in the long run. It has way more tools for SEO and bloggers too.