It’s really no secret that a website is essential for small businesses to establish their brand and connect with their customers. However, many small and medium-sized business owners aren’t skilled at things like web design or coding. That’s where Wix tends to come in. Wix is a content management system (CMS) that offers a basic platform for spinning up a good looking website quickly.
But, what happens when your business starts to grow? When you need to add versatility and features to your website? When you’re having to actively compete with other businesses online for search results? That’s where a platform like WordPress.
In this guide, we’ll show you the difference between the two and why you should migrate from Wix to WordPress.
Let’s start with defining both platforms and then discuss why, at the end of the day, you should shift from Wix to WordPress!
Wix is a website builder that provides all the tools for both beginner and pro web developers. It is currently used by a little over 3% of the websites on the internet.
Wix is the easiest platform to use because it doesn’t require coding. It offers drag-and-drop templates, which makes it an ideal web hosting service for entry level users.
Wix provides a 24-hour support team for its users and users don’t have to worry about hosting and technical maintenance.
WordPress is the most popular web-hosting service available. WordPress hosts over over 43% of all active websites ad 61% of websites that use a CMS.
WordPress functions on a more technical level, although it can easily span from novice to power user quickly. WordPress is open-source, which means anyone can modify or use the software however they want.
Some of the benefits of WordPress include advanced customization options, 13,000+ prebuilt templates, and 59,000+ plugins that offer a wide range of functional enhancements. Unlike Wix, WordPress offers complex website functions that can scale with your business.
What type of businesses opt for WordPress? What’s the big advantage of sticking with WordPress? There are three main benefits and it all begins with the breadth of options you get from WordPress compared to Wix.
WordPress offers many valuable web development tools. Anyone using WordPress has access to the code and has full freedom to customize their website.
WordPress has the ability to serve as your blog, your company website, or you can implement a plugin and launch an online store, an online course, or a SaaS business. The options are endless, because the code base is open and it is designed for augmentation and connecting to other services via the API.
Additionally, with Wix, you’re stuck with the same theme for the rest of your life. WordPress allows you to switch between themes without affecting the content you already have.
Wix and WordPress offer third-party extensions that can add extra functionality to a user’s website. Wix developers created hundreds of apps to help users manage their websites. But WordPress’s library is full of thousands and thousands of plugins.
Anyone in the WordPress community can create a plugin. And because WordPress has an API, you’re not limited to plugins. The API will let you connect to other services like email marketing, shipping tools, payroll, or even an ERP system.
Websites need SEO (search engine optimization) because it helps users boost their page to top rank and gain more website visitors.
Wix has expanded it’s SEO options in recent years and now allows users to modify URLs, create custom meta descriptions, add structured data, and create 301 redirects.
WordPress goes so much further with implementing SEO best practices. Adding robust plugins like Yoast SEO extended the core features to handle virtually all aspects of technical and on-page SEO efforts.
WordPress has more functionality, better SEO, and a lot more options for scalability. It’s not as simple or as easy to use as Wix, but in the long run, you’ll get a lot more bang for your buck.
Don’t panic if you’re already on Wix because the steps below will help you migrate over to WordPress.
Wix automatically provides you with web hosting, so if you want to migrate away from it, you’ll need new hosting to store your data. Web hosting stores your website’s files and data. WordPress is free software, which explains why you need to buy your web hosting and domain.
If you’ve been using Wix for a while, a managed WordPress hosting provider is ideal. A managed hosting provider is just that: hosting services that are optimized for WordPress where the hosting provider takes care of management and maintenance for you. They handle the server architecture, CDN, caching, updates, security, and more so you can focus on what you do best: running your business.
Most hosting providers do not sell domain names (also known as your website address). So, if you were using a free version of Wix and do not already own your domain name, you will need to buy one.
Your WordPress website’s will come with a default theme and a few alternate options. Most users will want to browse through WordPress’s extensive library for a theme that fits your specific. To find a new theme, navigate to the Theme Directory or via your WordPress admin panel under Appearance > Themes.
All of WordPress’s themes are customization friendly. Should you find yourself wanting to tinker with your theme, there are many options and tools available on the customization panel.
There are no direct ways of transferring Wix content because Wix is a closed platform. But worry not, you don’t have to recreate every post manually.
To transfer your content, you can import Wix’s RSS feed:
If doing it manually sounds a little daunting, don’t fret. There is another option available. You can always hire experts to conduct the transfer for you.
This is the recommended method instead of using a plugin for redirecting from Wix to WordPress. Some plugins don’t function at all and those that do either run into too many issues or require too much manual editing. You can try it if you’d like, but they often aren’t worth the hassle!
Yes, outsourcing can cost a bit but you get the guarantee that you won’t lose anything in the transition. This is not only safer but it also saves you resources in the long run. You won’t have to spend more to fix issues or recover lost files.
You’re almost done. There are simply a few more things to work on. The following steps will help you clean up your website before making it go live.
You’ll need to make a WordPress menu. Doing this will help visitors navigate your website easier:
Take your time to also ensure every page doesn’t lead to a 404 error. Run a plugin to search for dead pages or dead links and fix them as soon as you can.
Optimize all your media files as well, especially your images since they can slow down a poorly re-worked WordPress site.
Don’t forget to get the best hosting service too! Wix offers their own but once you transfer to WordPress, you may need to upgrade to plans with better WordPress hosting features.
Yes, Wix may be easier to use than WordPress, but if you spend enough time learning basic website management, you’ll find that WordPress is the best platform to host your website.
This guide walked you through the basics. However, if you have questions about switching to WordPress or need help choosing the best WordPress hosting, feel free to contact us and let us help you get it done right and in time!
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