WordPress Vs Wix | Wix Vs WordPress Comparison [2018]

In this Video, we’ll compare WordPress Vs Wix to help you make an informed decision on which is the best platform for you. Specifically, we’ll evaluate how they compare in terms of getting started, pricing, design and customization, and features. As well as consider where you’re at, what your objectives are, and what you want to get out of creating a new website or blog. We’ll then wrap it up with a summary, and explain when Wix is a
better option than WordPress and vice-versa – so stay tuned. If you’d like to follow along, we’ve created a blog post that goes into a little more detail, that you can access on the OHKLYN blog, at OHKLYN o-h-k-l-y-n.com/blog (we’ll add a direct link to the post in the description below). We’ll also include a link to each platform, so you can learn more about each Content Management System, or CMS. So, without further ado, let’s compare
WordPress vs Wix, to reveal which is the best option for you. Let’s start with Wix. What is Wix? Wix is a commercial Content Management System. It is a service offered by an organization with the goal of making web creation available to everyone. While it might have some negative connotations, specifically in regards to its current commercial application, Wix is solid platform and continues to evolve. Wix has been around since 2006, and isn’t
showing any signs of slowing down. Wix is built around the idea of its users needing zero coding experience to easily build and launch their own attractive website or blog. All the fringe requirements are taken care of by them, and all you need to do is signup, add your content, and launch your site. There is a free versions which comes with a number of restrictions, or you can subscribe to various premium packages that we will discuss later on.
To learn more about Wix and view some of their designs, follow the link in the description below. So, What is WordPress? WordPress is open-source software, meaning that the technology is not owned by anyone, and is free to use by the general population. You can use, extend, and improve WordPress for both personal and commercial purposes. WordPress has been around since 2003, and was born from the desire for an elegant, well-architectured personal
publishing tool. In other words, it originally started as a highly customizable blogging platform, and has grown into the most popular Content Management System online. Powering over 25% of the web, WordPress has evolveed from being the choice of personal bloggers, to the choice for some of the largest and most prestigious companies in the world like Walt Disney Corporation, Mercedez Benz, and Vogue, just to name a few. There are two ways that
you can make use of WordPress, a WordPress hosted option (wordpress.com), or a self-hosted option (wordpress.org). The hosted version of WordPress is more limited, and for the purpose of this article we’ll explore the self-hosted option of WordPress. You can download the WordPress software from WordPress.org, and install it on your domain via your hosting provider. Many quality hosting providers feature a one-click WordPress installation tool
that takes care of this for you. To learn how to do this, check out one of our free tutorials. The first part of our WordPress Vs Wix comparison will look at process of getting started with each platform. Let’s take a look at getting started with Wix There is not much to say here. Getting started with Wix is really, really easy. All you need to do is follow the link to wix below or on the OHKLYN blog post, and create a new account. You can also
use your Facebook or Google account to speed up the process. You then choose the kind of website you want from some preset categories like business, Blog, or Portfolio & CV. You can then choose to either manually design and create the website through their easy drag-and-drop user interface, or let their Wix ADI (an Artificial Intelligence website designer) do it for you, by asking you some simple questions. You then simply choose your theme,
and start editing! Although you may feel a little overwhelmed by the range of customization options at first, you will soon get used to it, and become grateful for all the control as you get more confident. Alternatively, let’s take a look at getting started with WordPress Setting up WordPress is relatively straight forward, however it’s not as easy as Wix. There are a few extra steps you need to go through, however we have created a number
of step by step tutorials to help you through this. These are designed for beginners, and feature either one of our preferred hosting providers that leverage a one-click WordPress install feature, or managed hosting through WP Engine who take care of installing WordPress for you. To learn more check out one of our free tutorials like: How to setup a WordPress blog WordPress tutorial for beginners, or our How to make a WordPress website tutorial
for some help walking you through it. If you’re a little more technically savvy, you can opt to install WordPress manually via your hosting solution or on your local environment. To do this, follow the link in the description below to WordPress.org, and download the latest version of WordPress. Then, follow the “famous 5-minute” installation process which can be found in index.html file, once you unpack the WordPress download. So, the
verdict? This round undoubtedly goes to Wix. WordPress will take some elbow grease to get going, while Wix requires little more than a sign-up process. That being said, our step by step tutorials make it really easy to get up and running with WordPress. Next, we’ll review WordPress Vs Wix in terms of pricing Let’s review the Wix pricing structure first As you can see Wix’s pricing structure is pretty straightforward. You can use Wix for
free (the caveat is that, your site will be a subdomain like: username.wixsite.com/mysite). To use your domain on the Wix platform, you will need to display Wix branded ads on all your pages, which won’t work if you’re trying to build a brand or business, or concerned about the user experience. However, from the $8 plan onwards, you are completely free from these ads and can register a new top-level domain with Wix. In our opinion (and by
popularity), the Unlimited plan is the best value for money at $12.50 per month. It comes with your own domain, unlimited bandwidth, and the form builder. If you need a store you will need to upgrade to the eCommerce plan for $16.50 per month. Let’s take a look at the WordPress pricing structure With WordPress, it’s not as straightforward as that. You will need to find your own hosting, and domain providers. If you plan on taking credit card
payments on your site (and not via a third-party provider like PayPal, etc), you will also need to purchase an SSL certificate. There are many sites online that provide these services (including your hosting provider), so that’s not overly difficult. We are putting together a number of free WordPress eCommerce tutorials as we speak, so subscribe to our YouTube channel and newsletter to stay in the loop. Another consideration is if you want to
get a premium WordPress theme, plugins, or widgets. If you plan on taking your website or blog seriously, and want to create an amazing site, they are worth the investment. Premium themes can cost between $50-$200 depending on the theme. Check out our WordPress theme review articles for inspo, and to find the right look for your site. The average cost for WordPress should amount to around $12 per month, with some being yearly installments. A
quality theme should remain current for at least 2 years, and most theme providers provide regular updates. So, unlike Wix your only ongoing cost is hosting, which is typically $5 – 10 per month with a shared hosting provider like Bluehost, and around $20 – 30 per month if you want lightning fast hosting through a provider like WP Engine. Discount links to both providers are in the description below, and on the OHKLYN blog. If you want a
full-blown layout of the costs, read our How much does it cost to make a website with WordPress? article. The verdict? Wix only comes out slightly on top. It comes down to what you prefer. WordPress might come with a higher upfront payment to get the best quality themes and plugins, but you can technically pay less per month. On the other hand, Wix has no upfront lump sum, and all your payments are made with one vendor. Next we’ll evaluate
WordPress Vs Wix from a design and customization perspective Let’s explore the design and customization options available with Wix When you create a site with Wix you have to select a template. You should take your time, and select one carefully because you can’t change it afterwards. Wix comes with over 500 templates that cover a range of categories, such as Design, Business, eCommerce, Blog, Portfolio & CV, and much more. Designing and
customizing a theme through Wix is very easy. They make full use of an intuitive drag and drop interface. You can move elements around, change the typography, swap colors, and pretty much anything else. There is absolutely no web design or development experience necessary. The only thing you need is a good eye and some free time. Let’s see how that compares with the WordPress design and customization options The amount of freedom available to
you when you want to design and customize your WordPress site is endless. There are over a 1,000 free themes available on the WordPress repository alone, and a countless number of premium themes available via WordPress theme providers and marketplaces, which is what we would recommend. We’ve put together a post and video on the top providers. Premium themes usually range from $50-$200 which may seem pricey. However, when you take all the
benefits into account, such as premium level support, enhanced security and SEO, widgets and extra functionality, it seems much more worthwhile. Unfortunately, WordPress, at the time of this recording, doesn’t come with an out of the box drag and drop designer. Although, you can find plugins or themes that give you this capability. Some page builders, like Visual composer, the Divi page builder, etc, allow you to build amazing websites with
intense features quickly and easily, without needing to know any code The verdict? It’s a knockout win for WordPress in this round. With such a small pool of choices, you can bet a lot of others have already scooped up the best designs on Wix, which means you won’t have a unique-looking blog or website. That being said, Wix have some nice designs. However, WordPress has an unbeatable range of choices, and is just too much to contend with.
Lastly, we’ll analyze WordPress Vs Wix in terms of features As a service, Wix comes with some pretty good features. Most of which provide even more ways for you to have a high-quality site without any technical know-how such as: Wix Arena – Which is a place where you can find Wix experts to help you improve your website or blog. SEO Wiz – Which is a tool that is tailored towards your specific site to improve its search rankings Share It –
Makes better social media sharing and integration possible. Wix FAQ & support – Allows you to find the information or help you need on any Wix related obstacle. Wix Bookings – Is an easy and powerful way to manage client information and handle bookings. Wix Chat – It’s become a trend for sites to run chat popups for their clients to reach out, now you can have it too. Wix drag and drop editor – Which is a powerful, user-friendly,
drag-and-drop interface to design and customize your page. Art store – Made to showcase your creative endeavours. Wix ADI – Which is an AI made to optimally design your page after asking you questions related to your site. Lightbox – Which is a popup with enhanced features. It can be used as an image gallery or as a welcome message. And Wix Video – Which is their very own video player. So, as you can see – Wix comes with some pretty rad
features. Let’s explore some of the features available for WordPress. To a large extent WordPress features and functionality depend on the theme and plugins you choose. As WordPress is an open-source development tool, you can literally do anything if you have the development skills, or can find the plugin to do what you want to do. Different themes come with different widgets and design elements that can add an extra dimension to your site or
blog. Where WordPress is unique to Wix, is that their is a massive community of contributors who are always creating features, and solutions to solve almost anything you could image. Check out the OHKLYN blog post for the full list of ‘out of the box’ features available. There is also the WordPress plugin repository, with well over 50,000+ available plugins covering everything from contact forms, to social media integration, chat and
messaging, eCommerce, and much more. The verdict? A narrow win for WordPress. Let’s not forget many different people have been working on this open-source software for years. That means a lot of innovation. Yet, if you just want the basic tools at your fingertips, with as little work as possible, then Wix will get you going. Ok, so let’s start to bring this all together – here’s our WordPress Vs Wix Summary By now you should’ve noticed
how different these two options are. Saying that one is better than the other, would be narrow-minded at best, and reckless at worst. Both have their own merits depending on your needs, finances, and skills. Overall, we have to say that WordPress is the better solution in the long run. You will need to broaden your knowledge and responsibilities, but the control and options it gives is far superior. This doesn’t mean that Wix isn’t a solid
option, and for many who are just getting started, or tinkering with an idea, it may even be the better option. However, if you’re building a business, brand, or a community, and see yourself in it for the long run, then go with WordPress. In closing, When is Wix a better option than WordPress? You either don’t have any development experience, or don’t want to develop a site by yourself. You just want to be responsible for, and work on the
design and content of your site and not much else. You want great, dedicated support. Conversely, when is WordPress a better option than Wix? Well, You aren’t frightened by the idea of installing different frameworks and the WordPress platform (or you’re happy to follow a step by step tutorial) You have small budget (about $100-150) to use upfront to purchase premium themes and plugins, and setup your hosting. You want a comprehensive
solution that can be expanded and enhanced over time at your own pace. And that’s our WordPress Vs Wix review. Hopefully you have more clarity on the differences between the two, and ultimately which CMS is the best option for you. If you liked this video hit the like button, and remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more videos related to blogging, digital marketing, and how to run a successful website. To get access to exclusive
discounts, free tutorials, and to stay in the loop on the latest happenings, sign up for our newsletter at OHKLYN o-h-k-l-y-n.com, and until next time, happy building.