Wix and WordPress are two of the most popular website solutions available. Wix is a website builder and hosted solution, whereas WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS) and not hosted.
When deciding upon which one to choose, you need to think about which one is better for SEO, and in this article, we will discuss the pros and cons of each.
Wix
Wix was the leader of the pack of this next generation of website builders. It started out as one of the easiest platforms to build a modern-looking website. However, some users tended to shy away from it because they wanted to maintain complete control over their site. Over the last few years, however, this really began to change. Wix has been adding an lots of increased functionality, and some of the most recent additions have been focused on SEO tools. Here are just a few examples of new Wix SEO capabilities: The ability to modify default URL structure, customize subdirectory names, edit, remove or add a prefix to URLs and even create a completely flat URL structure. Automatic sitemap updates via 301 redirects and by updating canonical and other relevant meta tags. Visualization of log files in the form of Bot Traffic Over Time, Bot Traffic by Page, and Response Status Over Time reports. However, there are some cons when using Wix in terms of SEO. Wix uses an uncommon link structure that most SEO professionals don’t like. In every URL, you will notice a #. This is served through JavaScript, which has a long history of being not ideal for search engine crawlability and indexation. Another negative is the inability of more advanced users to add custom code. While they offer an HTML code element, it’s quite restricted. WordPress WordPress was one of the first widely used website solutions that made it relatively easy to get a site up and running. It’s also an open-source program that relies on contributions from the internet community. Its basic functionality is free, but most modern site functions will require you to pay for plugins. These plugins provide the functionality needed to perform all types of tasks, and they are also how you gain access to SEO tools. WordPress has more users, which means more forums and more professionals out there to help should you need it. However, just like Wix, there are cons to using WordPress for SEO. Plugins are built by different companies or groups so they don’t all communicate with each other the same or work in similar ways. Some say that WordPress has grown out of touch with publisher needs, based on built-in code bloat that hinders sites’ abilities to optimize for Core Web Vitals. Even with that said, the sheer volume of WordPress plugins available has always been a strong selling point. New plugins are being added every day, and it’s entirely possible to create an SEO-optimized site within WordPress because of this. So, which to choose? Well, when you get into more advanced needs of SEO features the flexibility of WordPress tends to win out pretty handily. But for many small businesses that just need basic SEO functionality, either solution will suffice. In the end, if you asked most SEO professionals what their favourite platform is, they’ll probably tell you whatever one they’ve used the most. People prefer programs they have experience with and will find reasons to discredit other options. This is why you see so many varying opinions on what platform best sets you up for success. In the end, it all comes down to what you value. If your SEO requirements are minimal and you care about an easy-to-use website builder, then Wix may be your best choice. But, for more advanced users seeking the best of both worlds with scalability and customization, as well as those planning to use SEO as a long-term strategy, WordPress wins hands-down.