I compare cost, designer, optimisation and more
If there’s one thing I get asked by my SEO students at least once a week, it’s ‘Are Wix websites any good for SEO?’
And I get it. Wix is an easy to use platform that allows even the least technical beast to build a site quickly and easily.
I know that you want it to be great for SEO – because then life would be so much easier. But is it?
In this episode I’m going to compare both platforms and give you my honest opinion about whether Wix is really SEO-friendly, and how it compares to my favourite platform: WordPress.
Tune in to learn:
- My previous experience with Wix.
- How Wix stacks up against WordPress in terms of:
- Cost
- Usability
- Optimisation
- Design
- Plugins and apps
- Shops
- Support
- Maintenance
PRICE:
Wix
- The basic Wix website builder is free but comes with branded advertisements on your site.
- You cannot have a custom domain name for your site with the free version, so your site will be username.wix.com/sitename
- The basic plan also doesn’t have any additional features.
- The premium plan is around US $12.50 a month at time of recording and gives you a free domain, the ability to remove ads, a favicon, and a couple of apps, form builder and site booster.
- You’ll need to upgrade for an eCommerce store.
Wordpress
- WordPress software is free, but you’ll need to buy a domain name and hosting for your site.
- Cheap hosting on Siteground is around $5 a month.
- You get free designs, but most likely you’ll want to buy a sexier theme.
- I’m a big fan of Divi, which comes in at around $80 or more for lifetime access.
The winner:
I’d say it’s pretty equal from a start out point of view, obviously the more complex your site the more it will cost.
USABILITY
Wix
Wix is super easy to use: you can simply drag and drop elements onto your page, and then interact with those elements to change the colour or the font or whatever.
Wordpress
- WordPress has a visual editor, but it’s a bit harder to get your head around.
- Content formatting is pretty easy, with a menu similar of that in Microsoft Word.
- But if you want the drag and drop, you have to get a page-builder theme. Again, I recommend Divi.
- Divi allows you to add modules to build out your page, or grab free layouts already set up to create cool looking sales pages and contact forms.
The winner:
Wix wins here: it’s MUCH easier to use – you don’t need to worry about hosting or backups or security or plugins and themes.
OPTIMISATION
From a site optimisation point of view, there’s lots we need to consider, so I’ve made a big list.
THE BIG STUFF
| WORDPRESS | WIX | |
| Online stores | YES | YES |
| Responsive layouts | YES | YES |
| SSL Certificates | YES | YES |
| Ability to add Google Analytics code | YES | YES |
| Ability to verify with GSC | YES | YES |
| Speedy load times | YES – with some additional work | YES ish |
ON-PAGE SEO
| WORDPRESS | WIX | |
| H1 tag | YES | You have to use the HTML element to add heading, which is a bit of a pain |
| Sub header editing | YES | YES |
| Unique page titles | YES | YES |
| Unique meta descriptions | YES | YES |
| Image alt text | YES | YES |
| SEO-friendly URLs | YES | YES |
| Ability to edit URLs | YES | YES |
| Custom domain | YES | Only with paid version |
| Optimisation scoring | NO | NO |
| Focus keyword | NO | NO |
LINKS
| WORDPRESS | WIX | |
| Canonical URLs | YES | NO* |
| No index. No follow URLs | YES | YES |
| 301 redirects | YES | YES |
* This is important from a duplicate content point of view, and if that doesn’t make sense to you. head back to Episode 19.
SOCIAL MEDIA AND BLOGGING
| WORDPRESS | WIX | |
| Featured image for social* | YES – with plugin | NO |
| Social sharing buttons | YES – with plugin | YES |
| Facebook open graph* | YES – with plugin | NO |
| Twitter open graph | YES – with plugin | YES |
| Integrated blog | YES | YES |
| Blog categories | YES | YES |
| Blog tags | YES | YES |
* Open Graph allows integration between Facebook and its user data and a website. By integrating Open Graph tags into your page’s content, you can identify which elements of your page you want to show when someone share’s your page.
GEEKY STUFF
| WORDPRESS | WIX | |
| Robots.txt | YES | NO |
| Sitemap | YES | WIX generates an automatic sitemap for you but you can’t access it or customise it |
| Schema and structured data* | YES | NO |
| AMP support** | YES | YES |
| CDN option ** | YES | YES |
* Listen to episode 5 with Tony Mcreath.
** Listen to episode 6 with Dawn Anderson
*** Listen to episode 17 with Vahe Arabain.
The winner:
WordPress. Nuff said.
DESIGN
Wix
- Wix has 500+ pre-made templates to choose from.
- All responsive and written in HTML5 – that’s a good thing!
- You can customise your design and change the layout.
WordPress
- Thousands of free and paid themes – it’s all about choosing a theme with good support.
The winner:
WordPress – the sheer volume of choice makes it the hands down winner.
PLUGINS AND APPS
Wix
- 200+ apps you can add to your site – adding galleries, forms, comments and mailing lists.
- Most are free, others have monthly payments.
WordPress
- Around 40k of free plugins – pretty much everything as well as some complex plugins.
The winner:
WordPress – again sheer volume of choice makes it the hands down winner.
SHOPS
Wix
- Offers ecommerce paid plan.
- You can accept payments with Paypal.
WordPress
- You can add a store using Woocommerce or other plugins.
- Lots of payment gateways.
- Expensive but great support.
- Integrates with heaps of platforms.
The winner:
Yes, you need a plugin, but that still makes WordPress the winner.
SUPPORT
Wix
Have a support team to troubleshoot issues, and a forum – lots of resources in the Help Centre.
WordPress
- Lots of forums, lots of FB groups, most common WP problems can be answered there.
- Individual plugins for support.
The winner:
Equal – WordPress requires a little more effort, but there are many more people to help.
MAINTENANCE
Wix
- The Wix team manages everything: all the updates and back-up, so you don’t have to do anything.
- You’re paying for peace of mind.
WordPress
- Does require quite a fair bit of maintenance to keep up to date.
- Not updating themes and plugins could cause issues.
The winner:
Wix – it’s maintenance free – at a small monthly price.
*UPDATED
Early from Technobird pointed out that you can add a social image on Wix for Facebook but not other platforms. Thanks for the correction Karly.
Summary
I guess it comes down to horses for courses.
Wordpress is powerful and flexible – you can literally build anything you want and can be in complete control – but it can be hard to learn – unless you take my awesome course, and even as a DIYer, you may need the help of a developer to do the more complex things.
Wix is less stressful and easier for non-techies, but you’ll be forever at the mercy of the Wix platform – you won’t be free!
After all my research and time, I’m still a true blue WordPress girl. Yes Wix has definitely improved, but it’s still not a patch on WP.
Sorry Wixers!
Links
Listen to the podcast
Or listen on iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher.
Share the meme
Take the next step
Ready to get started with SEO? Here are a few things you can try…
- Sign up to my newsletter for a free SEO checklist.
- Join my SEO support group on Facebook
- Start the 10-Day SEO Challenge
Share the love
If you like what you’re hearing on The Recipe for SEO Success Show, support the show by taking a few seconds to leave a rating and/or comment on iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher. Thanks!
And big thanks to Amy Wyhoon for her lovely review.
