HomeWix vs WordPress

Updated February 2026

Wix vs WordPressPros, Cons & SEO Compared

A no-nonsense breakdown from an SEO specialist who has worked across both platforms. Everything you need to make the right decision for your business in 2025 — covering SEO, speed, security, cost, and long-term growth.

Quick Answer (TL;DR)

For most small to medium UK businesses: Wix wins. It is faster to launch, easier to manage, more secure, and now has comparable SEO capabilities to WordPress. Choose WordPress only if you need complex custom development, have technical resources, or are running a large-scale content publication.

The Honest Wix vs WordPress Debate

The "Wix vs WordPress" question comes up constantly in SEO and web design circles. The problem is most comparisons are either written by WordPress advocates who haven't used Wix properly since 2018, or by Wix marketing materials.

This guide is written from 14+ years of hands-on experience working with both platforms across 700+ projects. The honest truth: the right answer depends entirely on your specific business situation.

Below you will find a comprehensive breakdown of every factor that matters — SEO, speed, security, cost, ease of use, and long-term scalability — with a clear verdict at the end.

Pros & Cons at a Glance

Wix

Managed, beginner-friendly platform

Pros

No hosting, SSL, or server setup required
Automatic security updates and backups
Excellent Core Web Vitals performance out of the box
Beginner-friendly drag-and-drop editor
All-inclusive monthly pricing (no surprise costs)
Strong SEO tools built into the platform
24/7 customer support included
No plugin compatibility issues or update conflicts

Cons

Less customisation flexibility than open-source WordPress
Cannot self-host or move to another platform easily
Fewer third-party integrations than WordPress ecosystem
Advanced technical server configurations not possible
Subscription dependency — ongoing monthly cost

WordPress

Open-source, self-hosted platform

Pros

Full open-source control and customisation
Massive plugin ecosystem (60,000+ plugins)
Self-hosted — own your site completely
Best for complex, large-scale content publishing
WooCommerce for powerful e-commerce
Developer-friendly with direct code access
No monthly platform subscription

Cons

Requires hosting, domain, and technical setup
#1 target for hackers — 90%+ of CMS hacks are WordPress
Manual updates for core, themes, and plugins required
Page speed needs significant optimisation work
Costs escalate with premium themes, plugins, and developers
Steep learning curve for non-technical users
Plugin conflicts are common and hard to diagnose

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Category	Wix	WordPress
Ease of Use	WinnerExcellent — no technical skills needed	Moderate — requires technical knowledge
SEO Capabilities	Strong — all core SEO features included	Strong — with plugins like Yoast or RankMath
Page Speed	WinnerFast out of the box, optimised CDN	Requires caching plugins and optimisation
Security	WinnerManaged automatically by Wix	User's responsibility — high plugin risk
Cost	Predictable monthly subscription	Variable — can be lower or much higher
Customisation	Limited to platform capabilities	WinnerUnlimited with code/plugins
Maintenance	WinnerZero — fully managed platform	Regular updates required
E-commerce	Good for small-medium stores	WinnerBest for large/complex stores
Scalability	Good for most businesses	WinnerBetter for very large sites
Support	Winner24/7 included support	Community forums and paid support

Wix vs WordPress SEO: The Real Story

The old narrative that "Wix is bad for SEO" is outdated. Wix made substantial platform improvements from 2020 onwards and now supports all the SEO fundamentals that matter to Google:

Custom meta titles and descriptions per page
Structured data / JSON-LD schema markup
XML sitemap auto-generation
Canonical tags to prevent duplicate content
Hreflang for international SEO
301 redirects management
robots.txt customisation
Core Web Vitals optimised CDN
Open Graph and Twitter Card support
Google Search Console integration

WordPress with Yoast or RankMath offers slightly more granular control over technical SEO settings. However, this advantage is largely irrelevant for small to medium business websites where content quality, backlinks, and user experience drive rankings — not plugin configuration options.

The real SEO risk with WordPress is performance. A poorly optimised WordPress site with too many plugins, a heavy theme, and no caching will have poor Core Web Vitals — and that directly affects rankings. Wix handles this automatically.

Speed & Performance

Wix advantage: Wix uses a globally distributed CDN, automatic image compression, and optimised JavaScript delivery. Most Wix sites achieve good Core Web Vitals with zero extra work.

WordPress reality: Out of the box, WordPress is slow. Achieving good Core Web Vitals typically requires: a caching plugin (WP Rocket, LiteSpeed), a CDN (Cloudflare), image optimisation plugin, database optimisation, and a fast hosting provider.

A fully optimised WordPress site can match or beat Wix in speed — but it requires significant technical work and ongoing maintenance.

Security

Wix advantage: Security is fully managed by Wix. SSL certificates, DDoS protection, automatic backups, and software updates all happen without any user intervention.

WordPress reality: WordPress accounts for the vast majority of hacked CMS websites globally. The root cause is almost always outdated plugins or themes. Proper WordPress security requires a security plugin, regular update discipline, and ideally a web application firewall.

For business owners without technical support, Wix's managed security model dramatically reduces risk.

Real Cost Comparison

Wix Annual Costs

Business Plan (most popular)£192/year
Domain name (included in some plans)£0–£15/year
SSL certificateIncluded
HostingIncluded
BackupsIncluded
Security updatesIncluded
Typical total~£192–£250/year

WordPress Annual Costs

WordPress softwareFree
Domain name£10–£15/year
Managed hosting (SiteGround/Kinsta)£100–£400/year
Premium theme£50–£100 one-off
Essential plugins (Yoast, WP Rocket, etc.)£100–£300/year
Security plugin / WAF£50–£200/year
Typical total~£300–£1,000+/year

* WordPress costs vary significantly. A basic blog can be cheaper; a professional business site with quality plugins and hosting is typically more expensive than Wix.

The Verdict: Which Should You Choose?

Choose Wix if...

You're a small to medium business owner
You want a professional site without technical headaches
Security and maintenance are not your area of expertise
You need fast results with minimal ongoing cost
You want predictable monthly pricing
Your business is local, service-based, or portfolio-driven

Choose WordPress if...

You have developer resources or technical expertise
You need complex custom functionality
You're running a large-scale content/media publication
You require specific plugins not available on Wix
You want complete server-level control
You're building a large enterprise e-commerce store

"In my 14 years of SEO, I have worked on hundreds of Wix and WordPress sites. The biggest mistake I see is businesses migrating from a working Wix site to WordPress chasing better SEO — only to tank their existing rankings during migration and spend months recovering. If your Wix site has SEO problems, fix the SEO. Platform migration is almost never the answer."

Michael Andrews

Wix SEO Expert | 14 Years Experience | 700+ Projects

Frequently Asked Questions

QIs Wix better than WordPress for SEO?

Wix has closed the SEO gap with WordPress significantly since 2020. Wix now supports structured data, XML sitemaps, canonical tags, hreflang, and has excellent Core Web Vitals performance out of the box. For small to medium businesses, Wix is often the better choice because it requires no plugin management, has no security vulnerabilities from third-party plugins, and loads faster by default. WordPress remains ahead for large-scale content sites and custom technical integrations.

QCan Wix rank on Google as well as WordPress?

Yes. Wix websites rank in Google's top results every day, including competitive niches. Google does not penalise websites for being built on Wix. Ranking success depends on content quality, technical SEO, backlinks, and user experience — not the platform. With proper optimisation, a Wix site can outrank WordPress competitors.

QWhat are the main disadvantages of Wix compared to WordPress?

The main Wix disadvantages include: limited customisation compared to WordPress open-source, inability to migrate your site easily to another platform, monthly subscription costs (no self-hosting), fewer third-party integrations, and less control over server-level configurations. For developers who want full code control, WordPress is more flexible.

QWhat are the main disadvantages of WordPress compared to Wix?

WordPress disadvantages include: requires hosting, domain, SSL setup, and ongoing maintenance. Security vulnerabilities from plugins are a constant concern. Page speed requires significant optimisation work. The learning curve is steeper for non-technical users. Costs can escalate with premium themes, plugins, and developer fees. You are responsible for backups, updates, and security patches.

QWhich is cheaper, Wix or WordPress?

It depends on your needs. Wix plans start from around £13/month (all-inclusive with hosting and SSL). WordPress itself is free but requires: hosting (£3–£30/month), domain (£10–£15/year), premium theme (£40–£100 one-off), essential plugins (£100–£500/year for paid plugins). For most small businesses, total cost of ownership is similar, but WordPress can be cheaper for basic sites or significantly more expensive for complex ones.

QShould I move from Wix to WordPress for better SEO?

In most cases, no. Migrating from Wix to WordPress introduces significant risks: URL structure changes can destroy existing rankings, migration errors can cause indexation issues, and you trade a working site for months of recovery time. If your current Wix site has SEO problems, the solution is proper Wix SEO optimisation — not a platform migration. Only consider moving to WordPress if you need specific technical capabilities Wix cannot provide.

QIs WordPress more secure than Wix?

Wix is generally more secure for non-technical users. Wix manages all security updates, SSL certificates, and server infrastructure automatically. WordPress requires manual plugin updates, theme updates, and core updates — and vulnerabilities in plugins are the leading cause of WordPress site hacks. Studies show that 90%+ of hacked CMS websites are WordPress, largely due to outdated plugins.

QWhich platform is better for e-commerce, Wix or WordPress?

Both platforms support e-commerce effectively. Wix eCommerce is simpler to set up and manage. WooCommerce (WordPress) is more powerful and flexible for large catalogues, but requires more technical management. For most small to medium online stores, Wix eCommerce is the faster, lower-maintenance choice. For enterprise-level stores needing complex custom functionality, WooCommerce or dedicated platforms like Shopify are better suited.

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