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Why I Prefer Wix over WordPress for SEO, Maintenance, and Design

  • Writer: Deah Curry PhD
    Deah Curry PhD
  • Jan 15, 2017
  • 4 min read

The two website platforms most used around the world today are indisputably WordPress and Wix. Having used both, and being in touch with website developers who also have extensive professional experience with both, here's the real, up to date scoop on which is better for most psychologists, counselors, clinical social workers, healers, and intuitives.

For SEO -- Wix Performs as Well as WordPress

The top myth about WordPress is that it is better for search engine optimization. While that may have been true years ago, it is no longer the case.

Every page and blog on Wix can be individually optimized with title and description tags, alt tags on images, and H1 and H2 tags on page headlines. And there is no difference in link building for users who know how to do this. When done properly, Wix pages show up on Google's first page just like WordPress.

Bottom line: SEO is no longer a valid reason to avoid Wix. Anyone who tells you otherwise likely is selling WordPress site development.

Check out these articles for more info:

Security -- WordPress Sites are Frequently Hacked

The top misconception about WordPress is that it must be a secure platform because it's so popular. The truth is that WordPress sites are a constant target for hackers. When hacked, you are either on your own to find and remove hacking code, or at the mercy of your site developer's pricing and time availability to get your site fixed. Either way, it's a laborious and expensive process.

One way hacks get in on WordPress sites is with all the constant updating of your theme and the plugins you've added. Sometimes things just stop working because the plugins aren't compatible with each other, which you'd rarely know about in advance. On my site, this caused my PayPal and Aweber newsletter sign up forms to stop working all the time -- the two functions I really needed to work right!

Bascially with WordPress you might as well hold your breath that all will go well, because it's just a plethora of unrelated WordPress theme designers and app coders who aren't working together for the end user / YOU!

In Wix, because there is a solid company of developers and testers behind the platform, the apps are well tested before they are available to the general public. And Wix tests every update and change to their very advanced editing software. I know because I've been on one of the testing teams.

Bottom line: With Wix, you have a readily accessible company behind you with hundreds of professionals working everyday to ensure that your site is secure. And on at least two of the Facebook groups for Wix designers, nearly immediate help is available if you prefer that to researching solutions at Wix's help center, submitting a ticket, or calling Wix support.

For Maintenance -- Wix is a Breeze

A wonderful advantage with Wix is that routine maintenance is rarely needed, but when it is, it's very easy. Occasionally I've found a couple of minor glitches occur when Wix makes a major update to their editing software. Usually that has been a simple change in text alignment on pages that took literally less than 30 seconds to fix.

When Wix simplified the url structure, users were notified and all they needed to do was click one button to apply the change to their site.

With WordPress, although I am an experienced designer myself, maintenance of my WordPress site was a nightmare. Things I can take care of on Wix in minutes, took hours on WordPress, or I had to hire a coder to do it form me. Every little design change in WordPress requires re-coding the theme. I bet that's not how you want to be spending your time or money.

Bottom line: With Wix there is less maintenance to do on your website, and it's tons easier and quicker to accomplish.

For Design -- Wix is the Creativity Winner

Design is unlimited in Wix. Even if you don't build your Wix site from scratch --- which is totally possible even without knowing ANY computer coding --- everything on the many templates available can be changed. Because the editing tools are drag and drop, you can put images and text anywhere you want. AND, you automatically get a mobile site with any desktop version -- at no extra cost! The mobile site has its own editing tools to make it perfect for cell phone viewing.

In WordPress, the design themes are fixed. There is little flexibility for moving elements around on a page, without knowing how to code. You get a cookie cutter website that doesn't really reflect your private practice or your personality.

Bottom line: Wix provides infinitely more options for creativity than WordPress does.

What WordPress is Still Better For

If you plan to sell t-shirts in many colors and sizes, at the time of this writing I have to admit that a WordPress site might be better for that. Big store sites with many different options need more powerful ecommerce capability than Wix currently offers. But if you are a therapist with a couple of ebooks and a meditation audio to sell, you'll be fine with Wix.

If you plan to run a membership program where each member has their own account pages on your website, that will require WordPress or some other custom coding platform, for now.

What Wix is the Absolute Best At

Wix actively seeks out the opinions and needs of its users. Independent professionals who build Wix sites for others are continually asked what we need for our clients, and what we'd like to have to make our work easier.

There are video trainings that are free for anyone to take, and live streaming chats to preview what the company has been developing. There is a Facebook group to announce new features that anyone with a Wix site can join. And there are two additional Facebook groups for designers where we have frequent interaction with Wix employees and problem-solvers.

Wix is even developing local groups in major cities that meet in person. Wix users for the most part don't talk over your head with geek-speak.

Bottom line: if you don't want to spend a lot of time or money on keeping your website secure, easy and attractive to your own clients, Wix is the most effective and inexpensive choice.

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​I ​​do two basic things when I work with people:

I bring 40 years of experience and training​ to bear on the projects or situations at hand, and

I strive to problem solve with the best of my expertise in order to satisfy the client's needs.

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