WordPress vs. Wix in 2025: Which platform is good for you?

WordPress vs. Wix are two giants in the world of website-building platforms, each with their own niche and user base. Wix has gained widespread popularity by offering a free, easy-to-use website-building tool ideal for beginners with no technical experience. Over time, Wix has significantly expanded its market position by providing the latest features and performance. WordPress, meanwhile, with a market share of 63.1% in 2023, continues to dominate the web as the open-source platform behind more than a third of the world’s websites. WordPress updates aim to make it easier and more accessible for beginners. When evaluating WordPress and Wix, it’s essential to compare their features and benefits and effortlessly choose the platform that best suits your website-building needs.

WordPress appeals to a wide range of users, from beginners to professional developers, as a one-stop shop for website development. This strategy has been very successful and has taken the market by storm as the most popular content management system. Starting as a blogging platform, WordPress has evolved into a flexible CMS that allows users from all disciplines to manage their websites effectively. 810 million websites use WordPress, which is 43% of all the websites. Creating pages and posts has become a simple and enjoyable process thanks to a choice of themes and the intuitive Gutenberg editor. Meanwhile, for web developers, WordPress offers a wide range of customization options, allowing them to develop themes and plugins that meet the specific needs of their projects.

Wix is the ideal tool for anyone who wants to shape, design, manage, and expand their online space according to their preferences. This integrated website development platform offers users a user-friendly website builder based on ready-made templates, allowing them to launch a professional website without extra effort. While this approach may seem limiting for web development experts looking for deep customization, for beginners with no technical experience, Wix opens up a world where aesthetically pleasing websites can be created easily and quickly. 2.5% of all websites are built on Wix, which has the third largest market share (3.7%) among content management systems. Although this is much smaller than WordPress, it is still the third most popular website builder.

WordPress

WordPress is a versatile platform, but its complex setup process and interface make it challenging to use and seem complicated for beginners. So, what makes WordPress an attractive option? For web developers and business owners, identifying your unique needs and goals is crucial, and choosing WordPress means that it caters to their adaptability, while aspects such as ease of management and customization should also be considered.

To start with WordPress, you must purchase web hosting and a domain name. Some hosting providers simplify the process for beginners by offering easy-to-install WordPress installers. However, this first stage requires more technical interaction than accessing it directly through Wix.

Understanding coding is not essential, but having this knowledge will significantly expand your customization possibilities with WordPress. It is also vital to understand the functionality of web hosting to choose the right service provider before starting to work with this platform. In this case, the services of a company specializing in WordPress development can help.

Once WordPress is installed, you will be greeted by a block editor (Gutenberg) designed to simplify the process of editing and adding content. Although it takes some getting used to, this editor gives you more freedom in creating and editing your content – one of the main advantages of WordPress is the ability to develop complex and deeply customized sites.

Wix

Wix is easy to use for non-technical, inexperienced users and is unique because it makes it easy to create professional-looking websites. The platform offers free domain names and hosting for the first year.

Joining the platform is easy and not difficult even for web design beginners: from the moment you create a Wix account, the system guides you through an interactive setup wizard where you can define the type of website you are interested in and choose the design you want.

At the center of the website creation process in Wix is the editor. An editor is a tool that allows users to put together the visual components of a site quickly. With a convenient drag-and-drop function, text, photos, videos, and other objects can be easily added to pages. This intuitive editor interface allows users to make changes directly and see the results immediately, eliminating the need for coding.

Choosing a website-building tool is an important decision that significantly impacts the project development process, design, functionality, and overall site management. In this regard, WordPress and Wix are two popular platforms, each offering unique tools and features for building websites that can meet the wide-ranging needs of different users. It is important to remember that the choice of these platforms affects the design experience and the efficiency of project development on the Internet.

WordPress

WordPress brings an innovative approach to website development with the Gutenberg editor that revolutionizes content editing. The editor brings the concept of blocks to each content element, allowing users to easily manipulate text, media files, and other components through an easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface. This feature makes Gutenberg an ideal tool for beginners and professionals alike, providing ample opportunity to customize content and adapt it to individual needs.

Gutenberg opens new horizons for creativity and website design by allowing you to add blocks of various text, graphics, video, and interactive elements. The flexible structure allows for easy modification of each block and detailed customization of the visual presentation. In addition, a set of Gutenberg-compatible plugins extends the editor’s functionality. It dramatically expands the opportunities to integrate essential aspects of modern web development, such as e-commerce and search engine optimization.

Wix

Wix is recognized as an easy-to-use website builder that allows users to create online projects on a single integrated platform. Drag-and-drop web elements can be easily edited and customized, making website creation intuitive even for beginners. What makes Wix stand out is its WYSIWYG visual editor. In this editor, all design changes are displayed instantly, and users can see the final result in real-time. This feature makes Wix an ideal choice for those who value the ability to visually model their website design and quickly adapt it to their needs.

Key differences between platforms

• User adaptability. The Wix platform is easy to use and intuitive to set up, even for first-time users. This is ideal for those who want to quickly launch a website and prioritize speed of implementation over customization complexity.
• Design flexibility. At the same time, with its block-based content management system, WordPress offers users the flexibility to customize their websites. Therefore, experienced webmasters and developers can realize unique projects tailored to their requirements.
• Extended functionality. The WordPress ecosystem includes many themes and plugins that offer great possibilities to extend and customize your website’s functionality. This creates countless ways to optimize and customize your website to suit your needs.
• Integrated solutions. Conversely, Wix offers users a closed, integrated system that combines everything needed to create and manage a website. This approach minimizes the need for external tools and simplifies the website management process, making it ideal for users who value convenience and efficiency.

When comparing the speed and performance of WordPress and Wix, it is essential to consider the factors affecting a website’s loading efficiency and performance. Both platforms have strengths and weaknesses, and their impact on speed and performance will vary greatly depending on how each site is built and managed.

WordPress

WordPress stands out for its unparalleled customizability, with a wide range of themes and plugins that can be tweaked for improved speed and performance. Users can choose from numerous WordPress-specific hosting providers, many offering server setups optimized for faster load times. In addition, WordPress facilitates integration with various content delivery networks (CDNs), enabling faster global content delivery. However, there are challenges, such as the potential for website slowdown due to excessive or poorly coded plugins; optimizing WordPress for peak performance requires a firm grasp of technical details such as caching, image optimization, and database management. You must know technical information such as caching, image optimization, database management, etc. Also, some WordPress themes are overloaded with features that can negatively impact site speed if not correctly optimized.

Wix

With optimized performance from the start, thanks to a managed hosting environment, Wix offers an attractive package for users who prioritize ease of use and speed. The user-friendly drag-and-drop interface eliminates the need for additional plugins to access core functionality, reducing the likelihood of a slow site. In addition, Wix increases site speed by automatically optimizing images for uploaded content. However, this convenience has limitations: Wix’s closed ecosystem limits control over hosting options, which can limit site speed optimization Wix allows third-party application integration but offers more than WordPress in scope and can limit performance optimization efforts. Page speeds can also vary, especially for mobile and media-heavy pages, highlighting the balance between simplicity and depth of customization in Wix.

WordPress Plugins

• Comprehensive library: With over 58,000 plugins available for WordPress (as of the last update), users can extend their website’s functionality in virtually any direction, from SEO tools and social media integration to security enhancements and e-commerce features.
• Customization and flexibility: The wealth of plugins available for WordPress allows users to greatly customize their site to fit their specific needs and preferences. This level of customization is especially beneficial for users who need a unique or evolving website.
• Community and developer support: A large and active community ensures that WordPress plugins are constantly developed and updated. The extensive support of this community can be a huge advantage in finding solutions to specific problems or discovering new ways to improve your site.
• Potential for complexity: While the wealth of plugins offers excellent flexibility, it can also lead to complexity, especially for beginners. Managing, updating, and keeping plugins compliant requires specific technical proficiency.

Wix apps

• Premium App Marketplace: Wix offers a more premium experience with the App Marketplace, which provides more than 300 apps designed to integrate seamlessly with the Wix website. These apps cover various functionality, including e-commerce, analytics, marketing, and social media.
• Ease of use: The Wix platform focuses on simplicity and ease of use, and this extends to the App Market. Users can easily add and manage apps without technical knowledge, making it easy for even novices to develop their sites.
• Integration and reliability: Apps in the Wix ecosystem are vetted for compatibility and performance to ensure a smoother and more reliable user experience. This controlled environment reduces potential conflicts and issues with third-party plugins on other platforms.
• Fewer options than WordPress: While the Wix app market is growing, it doesn’t offer as wide a selection as the WordPress plugin repository. This limitation can disadvantage users looking for very specific features and customization options.

So, the choice between WordPress and Wix in terms of plugins and applications largely depends on the user’s priorities; WordPress offers unparalleled customization and flexibility thanks to its extensive plugin library and provides a wide range of plugins that require specific features and manage complexity. It caters to users who need specific functionality and are willing to manage the complexity of it. On the other hand, Wix offers a more user-friendly approach with its curated app marketplace, ideal for users who prefer simplicity and ease of use over deep customization.

WordPress

WordPress opens the door to the world of e-commerce with plugins like WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads. This method may require more setup and tweaking than the integrated Wix solution, but it offers much more room for customization.

WordPress applications like WooCommerce are highly customizable, allowing users to change their online store’s design, functionality, and payment methods to suit their specific needs. This adaptability makes WordPress ideal for businesses with particular e-commerce requirements or expanding their online presence beyond a simple product catalog.

Wix

Wix provides an easy way to implement e-commerce. With Wix, integrating e-commerce capabilities into your website requires a few simple steps during setup. Setting up product pages, adding photos, and setting up prices is easy and hassle-free. Of particular note is Wix’s integrated inventory management system, which makes it easy to monitor product availability and sales.

The ease of use and intuitive simplicity of Wix e-commerce make it ideal for small businesses and entrepreneurs looking to launch online sales quickly.

Whether WordPress or Wix is better depends on the user’s or business’s specific needs, skills, and goals. Here’s a breakdown of key considerations to help determine which platform might be more suitable:

WordPress

• Customization and Flexibility: WordPress offers unparalleled customization options through thousands of themes and plugins. It’s ideal for those who need a highly tailored website.
• Scalability: With WordPress, your site can grow indefinitely in content, functionality, and traffic. It’s well-suited for both small blogs and large, complex websites.
• Control and Ownership: You have complete control over your website’s files, data, and hosting environment, which is crucial for businesses with specific compliance or privacy requirements.
• Community and Support: A vast community of developers, designers, and users ensures you can find help resources or hire experts for your WordPress site.
• Learning Curve: It requires more technical knowledge, especially for customization and maintenance. Users often need to understand hosting, plugins, themes, and potentially some coding.

Wix

• Ease of Use: Wix’s drag-and-drop interface makes it incredibly user-friendly for beginners without any technical skills.
• Quick Setup: It offers a streamlined process to design and launch a website, making it attractive for small businesses or individuals looking to get online quickly.
• All-in-One Platform: Wix includes hosting, security, and updates in its package, simplifying website management.
• Design and Templates: It provides a wide array of visually appealing templates optimized for mobile devices.
• Limitations on Scalability: While Wix can support various website types, its scalability is more limited than WordPress, especially for high-traffic sites or complex functionalities.
• Customization Limits: While improving, Wix still doesn’t offer the same deep customization or flexibility as WordPress, especially for advanced users or specific business needs.

For beginners, small businesses, or those needing a website quickly without much technical involvement, Wix is often the better choice. WordPress is the superior platform for users requiring extensive customization, scalability, or control over their website. Ultimately, the decision between WordPress and Wix should be based on the specific requirements of your project, including your technical expertise, budget, and long-term goals for your website.