These days, website builders have welcomed a new era of web design which allows business owners to create professional websites without even basic coding knowledge. The market is now overflowing with website building tools and platforms that help businesses with varying levels of budgets, technical knowledge, and purposes.
If you've heard about Wix, it is probably through their massive marketing campaigns which involve movie stars and million-dollar budgets. Through marketing, you have an idea of the platform as being fast, fun, easy to use, and flashy. This "Apple" of website builders promises an easy and affordable experience for all its subscribers.
However, despite all this effort, Wix's ranking among SEO gurus is not that good. Many professionals believe that WordPress is still the better option. In fact, most believe that Wix is inferior to many other CMS in the industry.
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To debunk these myths, Ahrefs, carried out a research where they studied 3.2 million Wix websites and 3.2 million WordPress websites. And here were the findings.
Ahrefs' SEO Study
From the 6.4 million domains tested, Ahrefs segmented the data into two pools. One for sites with some organic traffic, and the other for sites with 100+ monthly organic visits. From this data, they discovered that 46.1% of WordPress websites had monthly search traffic while Wix sites were represented by 1.4%.
From the second pool, Ahrefs noted that 8.26% of WordPress samples received more than 100 visits per month compared to Wix's sample which was at 0.06%. So according to the data, it would seem that WordPress websites received more organic traffic. However, they also concluded that data alone was not enough to prove that one platform was better than the other.
Why?
Because there are a lot of factors going into organic traffic, and many have nothing to do with the CMS.
Wix Versus WordPress
By far, the biggest difference between these two platforms is that WordPress is a standalone software which you have to install on a web server first. After installation, you get to use it as the system runs on your site.
On the other hand, Wix is a tool where once you sign up, you can manage or build your website all within Wix.com. The company takes care of all the hosting and all the technical heavy lifting.
With WordPress, you need a bit of coding knowledge to set up, but with Wix, all you have to do is drag and drop.
The problem is that, even with all these statistics and figures, it is still not enough to say that one CMS is better than the other. For this reason, we compiled a list of pros and cons to help you decide better.
Pros of using Wix
1. Good Site Speed
When looking to build a website the first thing you need to consider is speed. According to a study done by Google, 53% of mobile users will leave a site that takes over 3 seconds to load. Luckily, Wix appears to be fast and incredibly so. You can check the speed of any Wix website using this online resource.
Ever tested the speed of your website before? This is the place to do it and it's totally free.
2. Massive Template Collection
Most web design companies have building resources that have some form of templates that are ready for use. This helps business owners who don't want to build a website from scratch. However, it can also serve up as inspiration for those who want to.
With Wix, you have access to over 500 templates, and that is a large number by any standard. They have a wide selection of categories too, all you need is to search for your business and select from the examples.
3. An Easy Drag and Drop Interface
Wix keeps things easy for beginners and yet has enough options to change your website into a powerhouse with additional features. The best part of using Wix compared to other CMS is that it gives you a mobile editor which lets you edit what visitors will see on mobile devices.
This feature can be managed separately from the main editor, which enables you to customize the mobile experience instead of relying on responsive templates.
Cons of Using Wix
1. When You Out Grow Wix You Have Nowhere to Go
The reason why Wix is so simple and cheap to use is because you don't own anything for yourself. When you sign up for Wix, the domain, template, and even the content all belong to them. If your website grows and you need features not supported by Wix, or you need a major overhaul of the service, it might be very difficult to move your website away from Wix.
A WordPress based website, on the other hand, allows you to keep all your content and even apply a better theme. You have more flexibility with WordPress. You can tweak the appearance, manage blog posts, and even change the style of your category pages.
Another blog here to help you understand how WordPress is a top choice.
2. Wix is not Good for Branding
For business owners who choose Wix and stick to the free plan, there is a catch. Free sites hosted force Wix branding on your website which can be very annoying. It's not too intrusive but it is just obvious since it appears above the header. You also can't add Google Analytics, tracking, a very important feature until you join the premium offering.
Besides, people might not feel like you are an actual business if your website reads xxx.Wix.com.
Although Wix makes it easy to build an internet page and post it, you should sit down and think about what you desire for your online presence in terms of branding.
3. Users Online Might Not Find You
The beautiful layout you see is not necessarily what Google sees when ranking pages. Although user experience is a factor in SERP rankings, Google mainly cares about how your page titles are structured and the information they give about the page. However, very few Wix websites pay attention to these details. They are more focused on the aesthetic part of website design.
Now You Decide
So, now we are down to the big question. Is Wix worth using as a professional website?
Well, it depends. If you favor a website that is easy to make and simple to publish, Wix may be the appropriate platform for you. If you're looking for a website to perform for your business to increase your company's bottom line or online sales, it's best to look elsewhere.
On the other hand, web design platforms like WordPress are great online tools if you plan to do much more with your website. For example, e-commerce, blogs, or if you just want to stand out from the crowd.
So, is designing a website on Wix worth the struggle? The answer depends on you and your business. Before selecting the way to go, make sure you understand what you need from a website and outline the plans you have for the same.
Did we leave out any additional information in the article above? Let us know in the comment section.
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