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Wix vs WordPress.
This is not really a comparison of two website builders. It is a comparison of two different amounts of your time, and that is the number to weigh.
Wix Better for finishing
Everything is in one place and nothing needs maintaining. You trade flexibility for the fact that it will actually be live by Friday.
WordPress Better for control
It will do anything, eventually, and you own the whole stack. You also own the updates, the security patches, the plugin conflicts and the hosting bill.
Side by side, honestly.
We include ourselves in the last column, and the last row is the one where we lose.
| Wix | WordPress | Avago | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Published entry price | From £9/mo | Hosting from £5/mo | Free to build, £34.99/mo to publish |
| You maintain it | No | Yes | No |
| Plugin ecosystem | Moderate | Enormous | Built-in integrations |
| Writes your copy for you | Partly | No | Yes |
| Imports from your socials | No | Via plugins | Yes |
| Realistic time to live | Hours | Days to weeks | About five minutes |
| Export your site elsewhere | No | No | No |
Competitor prices are the vendors' published UK list prices and change often. Check before you buy.
Where both of them lose.
This is the honest bit, and the last one applies to us too.
Neither starts from your business
Both begin with an empty template. Everything about your company still has to be typed in by you.
WordPress is a second job
Updates, backups, security and plugin conflicts are yours now. That is fine if you enjoy it and expensive if you do not.
Lock-in runs both ways
Wix will not let you export, and nor will we. WordPress genuinely will, which is its strongest argument.
So which one?
Questions.
Is WordPress really free?
The software is. Hosting, a domain, a theme, premium plugins and your own time are not. A realistic small business WordPress site costs £150 to £500 a year to run before anyone touches it.
Is WordPress better for SEO than Wix?
It has more levers, which helps if you know how to pull them and changes nothing if you do not. For a five-page small business site the platform is rarely the limiting factor.
Which is safer from being shut down?
Self-hosted WordPress, because you hold the files and the database. That is a genuine advantage over Wix, over Squarespace and over us.
Other comparisons.
Wix vs Squarespace →
A comparison from someone with no affiliate deal on either. Real pricing, where each one wins, and the thing both of them get wrong for small businesses.
Squarespace vs WordPress →
Squarespace looks right out of the box. WordPress does anything, eventually. A comparison for people who want a working site, not a new hobby.
Wix vs Shopify →
Shopify is a shop with a website attached. Wix is a website with a shop attached. Which way round you need, and what each costs once the fees land.