Which one is right for me?
Howdy! So you need a website and are not sure where to start… Mapped Web is here to help. In this web guide we will lay out the differences between the Wix and WordPress platforms to help you make an informed decision. If you still have questions after reading feel free to check out our basic website consulting option.
When choosing a website platform it is important to keep in mind that there are some common necessities regardless if you choose Wix or WordPress. Both sites will need domain names (your URL… the www.something…com) and both will need to be hosted on servers somewhere on the network landscape. Beyond that however is where Wix and WordPress start to differ.
Wix
The wix platform has gained significant popularity over the last few years due to its easy to use and simple user interface.
Wix is a great platform for portfolio type websites that customers want to manage and update after the initial development. Wix websites are built and reside on the Wix proprietary platform which means that hosting is built into your monthly fees and they offer free domain names for the first year.
Initial development on the Wix platform is fairly straight forward and leverages a drag, drop and configure user interface. Wix offers a number of various configuration items for image galleries, text boxes, buttons and blocks for your site. Additionally, there are always options to upgrade to paid templates but most of the time customers can achieve the style and look through modifications to free templates.
The Wix community has been growing over the last few years but is still fairly small. The platform offers a number of different “apps” to add functionality to your site but be careful because most of them come with fees or subscriptions. The platform recently released Corvid which allows developers to write some custom code however Corvid support is fairly limited. If you are looking for custom functionality Wix is probably not a great option for you.
A final note about Wix…
Because Wix is a proprietary platform that marries hosting and development platform together most of the security updates are handled by Wix on the backend. This means that site owners can rest easy because Wix will be testing and updating security certificates in the background.
Wordpress
WordPress is an open source platform that gives site owners easy to scale, highly customizable websites.
WordPress is a great option for those who need higher page counts and third party integrations. WordPress is an open source development platform which gives developers full control over the site and the ability to develop plugins for a wide range of functionality.
WordPress uses themes, a collection of template and stylesheets, to give websites a consistent appearance and display. A benefit to WordPress themes is that many of them are coded to be responsive and automatically adjust to the type of device the accessing the site.
Finally, the WordPress platform gives site owners the option to build any kind of website–from business websites and blogs to online stores or marketplaces. The addition of a few simple plugins can add tremendous functionality or provide site owners with important integrations to third party systems. For example, the WooCommerce and UPS Shipping plugins can be used to provide customers accurate shipping costs and auto generate shipping labels for businesses.
Pros & Cons
WIX
Wordpress
So which one is right for you? The bottom line is that it all depends on what your goals are for your website. If you are looking for a simple website with a couple of pages to get your name online Wix is an excellent choice. If you plan on building out an eCommerce store or have a lot of content then WordPress may be the better choice. Core to the mission of Mapped Web is to empower customers to make intelligent digital decisions which is why we want to share our knowledge, experience and passion for website development with you. Our goal is to help you make the most informed decision possible.
We invite you to check out our website consulting options so that you can make the most of your digital investment.
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