When you are building your site, you have to choose a platform to house your site that is most aligned with your business needs. Both Wordpress and Wix are great options for service based businesses like healers, therapists, and coaches. To find out which is best for your unique needs, take in the details in this post to make an informed decision.
Let's talk about both Wordpress and Wix individually then have a short comparsion at the end.
Wordpress
Wordpress is an open-source content-management system. Over 43.3% of websites on the internet are made on Wordpress. It has almost unlimited functionality and features, as there are thousands of plugins that can support you with whatever features you need on your site. You can basically build any kind of website you want with Wordpress including: blog, e-commerce, business, membership, forum, event, e-learning websites, and more.
Pros of Wordpress
Fully customizable
Great functionality: can integrate plugins for features you need (learning platforms, e-commerce, SEO plugins, etc)
Great for sites that will be expanding (and may need more features) in the future
Good for e-commerce
Great for blogging
Cons of Wordpress
Steep learning curve
Less secure: more vulnerable to hacks, need to maintain sites by staying current on updates, housekeeping/maintenance is up to you (or you can hire someone to do this)
Difficult to contact support, as you may need to call your host, plugin developers, or theme developers.
Price of plugins & maintenance can add up.
Wix
Wix is a user friendly, drag and drop website builder that has over 200 million users. It has an extensive app market, allowing you to add features and functionality as needed. It is better for smaller sites that won’t need much customization, and for people that want to be able to just leave their site as is (without needing to maintain it).
Pros of Wix
Very secure: less vulnerable to hacks, don’t need to update plugins and themes like you do with Wordpress.
No need for site maintenance
Ease of use: easy to edit and update - better for people who want to DIY their sites
Has many apps to integrate with your site for functionality, but less than Wordpress
Easy to contact support for help since it’s all hosted by Wix
Cons of Wix
Less customizable, less features
Stuck in the Wix ecosystem: sites aren’t transferable to other platforms
Plan cost and app features can really add up
Not as good for large sites, or sites that will be growing and expanding exponentially in the future
Not as great for larger e-commerce stores
So, what should you choose?
Both platforms are great for building websites. Look over this quick chart to help you gain more clarity on what will work best for you.
What do I need? | Recommended Platform: |
|---|---|
I need a large site with many features | Wordpress |
I don't want to have to maintain my site or hire someone to maintain it. | Wix |
I want to be able to easily transfer my site if needed. | Wordpress |
I want an easy to learn platform to DIY my site. | Wix |
I want to be able to call on support for assistance with my site. | Wix |
I want to have unlimited customization options. | Wordpress |
I want a large e-commerce store | Wordpress or Shopify (great for shops!) |
It is important to me that I have unlimited blogging options. | Wordpress |
Case Study Examples:
I have some clients that don't want to have to maintain their sites, and they don't want to hire someone to do that task for them. In these cases, I recommend Wix, because there is no need to check-in for maintenance. With Wordpress sites, you must stay on top of site updates, as it is a target for hacks and other security issues.
Some clients want to have many different features integrated with their sites. They want a store, integration with an e-learning platform, a blog, and a podcast feed, etc. In these cases, Wordpress is the best choice.
If a client wants an integrated booking feature, I recommend Wordpress as there are more types of booking plugins we can choose from. Wix only has Wix Bookings, which works, but there are no other options.
If a client need a large e-commerce store on their site, I would either recommend Wordpress or Shopify (which is excellent for shops!).
If you need help deciding which is best for you, and you'd like to work with me, feel free to reach out and can go over the options in your free initial consultation.
