Wix or Wordpress - see the comparison

Wix or Wordpress what to choose - system comparison

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When you create a site or outsource it to an agency / freelancer, you get bids to make a site with a CMS engine. Depending on what the agency works in, this is how the offer will be presented. It is worth checking which system is for you and what are its advantages and disadvantages.

One of the popular content management systems is WordPress. After installing and configuring it on your server, you can immediately start creating content, customizing the look and feel, and launching an online store, websites or blog. Just choose a free or paid theme and start entering content.

However, while WordPress offers a great deal of openness and full control over the code, styling of each element, there are other solutions that can be called "closed" platforms for web development. Examples of such platforms include Squarespace, Jimdo and today's topic: Wix.

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Table of Contents:

• What is the wordpress system
• What is the WIX system
• Differences between WIX and Wordpress
• WIX price list and packages
• Summary of systems
• Questions WIX or Wordpress

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What is the wordpress system

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Nowadays, you need control over the code and full flexibility in creating websites, it is the system and tools that is WordPress that gives you these possibilities. It's an open source content management system (CMS) that gives you flexibility.

With WordPress, even if you have no prior experience in programming or graphic design, you are able to create your own website. WordPress is written in PHP and uses a MySQL database. Its architecture is based on plugins and themes, which gives you the possibility of extensive modifications and customizations in both the functionality and appearance of the site.

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Advantages of Wordpress

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WordPress is a powerful content management system (CMS) that was developed for website development and blogging.

‍What makes Wordpress different ?

• Code that is available as open source, which means that you are able to customize it to your needs without any royalties,
• Large community and number of people creating sites based on this system - you are not alone with problems or in case of help you will quickly get help on forums, Facebook groups or among specialists creating just on Wordpress
• Rich number of extensions i.e.: plugins, modules, themes and options to customize them to your needs
• No fees for additional modules, SEO plugins or the ability to customize TITLE or DESCRIPTION headers,
• No space limits for photos, videos - you are only limited by the server,
• With its REST API, WordPress is a very good idea to use it as a backend for mobile or web applications.
• It supports multilingualism,
• Ideal under the technical optimization and requirements of Google and users in terms of loading time and speed in operation / which, of course, depends on the implementation technique and the builder used,

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Wordpress Disadvantages

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Unfortunately, like any system Wordpress is not without flaws, see the most important ones:

• responsibility for keeping Wordpress versions and plugins up to date - an outdated one is vulnerable to attacks and hacking
• in case of bad implementation or Elementor is hard to optimize,
• in case of a bad PHP version or an older one, you may find that the new templates will not start or, conversely, the purchased theme does not work with the latest PHP version on the server,
• No license for plug-ins in the purchased template - an additional purchase cost,

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See also :

• How to make a website on wordpress ?
• Table of contents on a blog in wordpress
• Best plugins for wordpress
• What is and how to implement an SSL certificate
• 5 fastest wordpress themes

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What is the WIX system

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The WIX system is a closed ecosystem, it's a web development tool, ideal for those who don't have advanced knowledge of HTML and PHP.

WIX makes it easy to handle modules and edit content, and the process of creating a page is mainly based on dragging and dropping various elements into the right places.

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Advantages of WIX

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• A friendly drag&drop interface for building a website,
• In the service package you get hosting,
• built-in support - WIX and community support,
• updates - are performed automatically
• large selection of themes to install
• you are not responsible for safety - WIX takes care of everything

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Disadvantages of WIX

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• WIx is a subscription to use the platform - you don't have full ownership or control over all content and data,
• If Wix disappears or ceases to exist your site will also,
• No code access,
• The inability to fully optimize technical and performance,
• Lack of advanced SEO solutions,
• It is not possible to export files / page / locally to disk and move it elsewhere
• Cheapest package includes advertising
• You have no influence on the configuration of the server

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WIX price list and packages

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Wix offers free plans with Wix ads or the opportunity to test the premium version free for 14 days.

Without ads, you have to spend more, see Business Elite, Business, Core and Light packages. With the Light option, you already have the option to plug in your own domain and no WIX branding on your site.

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A major difference between the plans is disk space.

2 GB in the cheapest package for 45zl, which is sufficient for most simple sites. However, if you are creating an elaborate online store, portal or advanced site you should consider a plan for 90zl or 135zl per month. The most expensive Premium plan also offers a professional logo on your website and social media management tools.

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Think about whether you need additional features, such as subscriptions, more products, reviews or support for different currencies, then you will have to spend from at least 135zl per month.

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Differences between WIX and Wordpress systems

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As we've demonstrated WIX is a closed ecosystem that you'll have a hard time leaving, moving your site or exporting content. Depending on your needs and functionality, it's worth checking in advance if WIX demos and themes are for you. Wordpress gives you the ability to create a simple site and expand it into a store or portal later on. You are not limited by the ecosystem, and you can export content or database at any time because you have it hosted on your server.

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Wix or Wordpress - a summary from practitioners

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In our opinion, if you are thinking of developing a website that will live and grow with your company the better choice is Wordpress. Due to the openness of the system and the high flexibility of not being locked into an exosystem and relying on the company that owns our content and materials, Wordpress wins.

However, Wordpress is a liability - is it a big one ? According to us, no, it's enough to update plugins and Wordpress once a month / and before that make a backup / or set backups and updates automatically. As we mentioned in Wordpress everything is flexible and configurable.

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Questions - which system WIX or Wordpress to choose ?

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Are both systems responsive ?

Yes as much as possible, however, in Wordpress you have more influence on the responsiveness of the site and its individual appearance. There are no rigid divisions in which you can set the appearance of the site, for example, in only 3 mobile / tablet, mobile and desktop views /.

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WIX or Wordpress which is better for site development and creation ?

Future-proof and expandable is Wordpress because of its open code and files on its own server. WIX, due to its closed CMS, does not offer such possibilities.

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Is it possible to move a site from WIX to Wordpress

Unfortunately, there is no such option to export data from WIX. By choosing WIX you are doomed to this ecosystem.

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What are the costs of maintaining WIX versus Wordpress ?

Wordpress maintenance costs

Wordpress is a free opensourrce system however it is not free of charge. The fees should include the price in the annual billing :

• For the server - depending on which server you choose it can be 100 - 500 zloty per year
• For the domain - depending on the ending e.g. pl, com or other dedicated e.g. tech, io etc the price can be 100 or 300 and more zł.
• For an SSL certificate - free or paid - here it is usually about 100-150 PLN per year
• A license for plugins or a paid theme
• Execution of the site by the agency

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Wix and price packages

Wix has various pricing packages and monthly/annual subscriptions.

The free wix plan is not a good idea due to the lack of domain hookup and the ads that appear. It looks unprofessional for a business.

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