There are a dizzying array of online platforms when it comes to launching your online business, so how do you know which one is best? WordPress vs Weebly vs Wix—each platform has its own set of strengths. You need to assess your requirements carefully before you make a decision on which one best suits the needs of a sleek, modern website.
Despite all of these platforms starting with a “w” there’s not much else they have in common, and in this article, we’re going to examine those differences to help you make a more informed choice for your business. Are you ready to declare a winner in the WordPress vs Weebly vs Wix prize match? Game on!
WordPress: It’s Awesome
And we’re not just saying that because it bought us dinner first. When it first launched in 2003, WordPress was just a humble little blog. Today, however, it’s grown into an all-singing, all-dancing content management system (CMS) with tons of plugins and themes to choose from.
Talk about a Cinderella story. In fact, WordPress is even more popular than Cinderella, accounting for a whopping 43% of all sites on the net. Part of its popularity is because its CMS is open-sourced, allowing users to customize their websites in ways other platforms can’t. WordPress provides the tools and freedom for anyone to create something unique without knowing how to code.
Speaking of tech smarts, if you’re short on them, WordPress has got you covered. Despite being a powerful tool, the platform doesn’t take long to master – it’s easy and intuitive enough for any new user. Plus, you can make it your own with its highly customizable features, like over 10,000 templates and thousands of plug-ins to choose from!
For those new to the world of plug-ins, they’re add-ons used to extend the functionality of a WordPress website. They provide custom features and enhancements that can be easily installed and managed from within the WordPress dashboard.
WordPress comes packing many e-commerce options, including WooCommerce, the perfect shopping cart for your online store. With WooCommerce, you can easily create a beautiful and powerful store with all the features you need to put your products in front of customers worldwide.
From simple one-click payment processing to complex shipping calculations, WordPress has everything you need. The best part about this platform? It starts with a free option where all you pay is the hosting fee. Plans increase from there, so you can easily find one for your e-commerce needs.
Weebly: A Solid Choice
This Weebly may wobble, but it certainly won’t fall down! Weebly is an incredibly user-friendly online platform for creating websites, e-commerce stores, and blogs. It’s perfect for those without coding or HTML knowledge, as it features a super simple drag-and-drop system.
With a few clicks of your mouse, you can drag and drop photos, text boxes, and other objects to create a customized page. Plus, Weebly is one of the few e-commerce store businesses that can be used for free, making it a great and budget-friendly option for small sites. It also includes web hosting, making it a one-stop shop for all your website needs.
We can’t forget to mention Weebly’s partnership with Square Online, which allows you to accept and manage orders from multiple channels, both online and offline, and across social and mobile. Whether running a showroom or a stockroom, Weebly has covered you for today and tomorrow, as it smoothly connects with any Square POS. Best of all, Weebly is great for blogging and SEO purposes, so you can rest assured your content will be seen.
Wix: A Strong Candidate
Our next contender, Wix, has many similar features to Weebly, boasting a website builder and more drag-and-drop options. For those who are less than tech-savvy, Wix is a no-brainer. From blogs to portfolios to e-commerce stores, Wix places over 800+ templates at your fingertips, not to mention their monthly fee includes web hosting and the site itself.
With branding tools and scheduling software, Wix makes it easy to get organized right out of the gate, saving you time later. This is not to say there haven’t been bumps in the road.Wix has struggled to keep up with the ever-evolving SEO landscape. The URL structure was a nightmare, with strange characters wreaking havoc with your search engine rankings.
In addition, you couldn’t add alt attributes or optimize the title tag, URL, or meta description of your blog posts. To make matters worse, Wix was built on Flash technology, which is a major no-no regarding SEO. If you were looking to get your website ranked, Wix was not the way to go.
To their credit, the Wix team worked hard to solve these issues, so much so they actually made waves in 2019 when they unveiled advanced SEO capabilities like canonical URLs and rich results, leading the pack of website builder SEO innovations. With its recent upgrades and ease of use, Wix is clearly a contender in the WordPress vs Weebly vs Wix rumble.
The Winner: WordPress
Although both Weebly and Wix battled hard in the final round, the winner is WordPress by a knockout. WordPress is the undisputed champion when it comes to website-building tools. It’s user friendly, fully customizable, and loaded with options. Plus, you can get started for free! All in all, it’s the perfect tool for creating the website of your dreams.
If you’re set to improve the website building process, get in touch with the experts at Buddy Website Design & Development. Our goal is to work with you to create a remarkable brand and memorable online experience for your target audience. Why not let us take the stress out of website development? Let’s work together to deliver results we can all be proud of!
