Is Wix good enough for a small business?

Wix works for very simple brochure sites, but it has real limitations with SEO, speed, and ownership. Most UK businesses outgrow it within 12–18 months and face the cost of rebuilding on a proper platform.

Can I switch from Wix to WordPress later?

Yes, but it's not straightforward — you can't directly migrate content. You'd essentially need to rebuild your site from scratch, which is why getting it right first time saves money long-term.

Which is cheaper, Wix or WordPress?

Wix appears cheaper upfront at £15–£35/month, but that cost runs forever. A professionally built WordPress or custom website is a monthly investment that pays for itself, typically within the first year of new business it generates.

Is WordPress better for SEO than Wix?

Yes, significantly. WordPress with plugins like Yoast or Rank Math gives you far more control over technical SEO, schema markup, page speed optimisation, and structured data — all factors Google uses to rank pages.

Does Wix work for ecommerce?

Wix has a basic shop feature that works for very small stores. But if you're serious about ecommerce, WooCommerce on WordPress — or a custom-built store — will give you far more control, better checkout conversion, and lower transaction fees.

Who owns my Wix website?

Wix does. If you stop paying your subscription, your site goes offline. With a WordPress or custom website, you own the files, the domain, and the content outright — forever.

Is there a free version of Wix?

Yes, but it forces a Wix-branded subdomain (yourbusiness.wixsite.com) and Wix ads on every page — which looks unprofessional and harms trust. For any real business, you need at least a paid plan.

How long does it take to build a Wix website vs a professional site?

You can build a basic Wix site in a day using their templates. A professional custom website typically takes 1–2 weeks — but the quality, SEO performance, and conversion rate are incomparably better.

WIX VS WORDPRESS // COMPARISON GUIDE // 2025

Wix vs WordPress:
Which Is Better for Your Business?

Two of the most popular website platforms — but they serve very different types of business. Here's the honest, no-spin comparison every UK business owner needs before choosing.

We've helped hundreds of UK businesses build their online presence. Here's what we've learned about when each platform works — and when it doesn't.

CHOOSE WIX IF…

You need something live today with zero technical knowledge
It's a very temporary, experimental project
SEO and long-term growth aren't priorities

CHOOSE WORDPRESS (OR CUSTOM) IF…

You want to rank on Google and grow organically
You want to actually own your website
You're serious about your business long-term

Full Feature Comparison

Feature	Wix	WordPress
Ease of use	✅ Drag & drop	⚠️ Steeper learning curve
Design flexibility	⚠️ Limited templates	✅ Unlimited customisation
SEO capability	⚠️ Basic SEO tools only	✅ Advanced SEO plugins (Yoast etc.)
Ecommerce power	⚠️ Basic shop	✅ WooCommerce — full control
Long-term cost	❌ Monthly forever (£180–£420/yr)	✅ monthly or low ongoing cost
Site ownership	❌ Wix owns your site	✅ You own everything
Page speed	⚠️ Often slow on mobile	✅ Fast with good hosting
Scalability	❌ Very hard to scale	✅ Scales with your business
Plugin ecosystem	⚠️ Limited Wix App Market	✅ 60,000+ plugins
Data portability	❌ Locked to Wix	✅ Export/move anytime
Local SEO	⚠️ Limited schema control	✅ Full local schema & GMB integration
Blog / content hub	⚠️ Basic blog	✅ Powerful content management

Cost: The Real Numbers

Wix's Business plan costs £16–£35/month. That's £192–£420 per year — forever. Over 5 years you'll spend £1,000–£2,100 with nothing to show for it, and no ability to take your site elsewhere.

A professionally built custom website from OWD starts at £299 monthly. In year two, you're paying nothing (or minimal hosting costs). By year three, you're thousands of pounds ahead — and you own an asset that works for you.

WordPress hosting typically costs £5–£15/month from reputable UK providers — nothing like the Wix tax.

SEO: Why It Matters More Than You Think

This is where Wix genuinely falls short. Google ranks pages based on hundreds of signals — page speed, structured data (schema), Core Web Vitals, technical SEO headers, internal linking, and more. Wix gives you very limited control over all of these.

WordPress with Yoast or Rank Math lets you set exact meta titles, descriptions, canonical URLs, schema markup, Open Graph tags, and XML sitemaps for every single page. That granularity is what separates businesses that rank on page 1 from those that don't.

For local businesses especially — tradespeople, solicitors, dentists, accountants — the ability to target local keywords precisely is the difference between £0 from organic search and £10,000+ in new business per year.

Ownership: The Inconvenient Truth About Wix

When you build on Wix, you're building on their platform, their servers, their rules. The moment you stop paying, your website goes offline. If Wix changes its pricing, terms, or shuts down a feature you rely on — you have no choice but to comply.

You also can't export your Wix site design to another platform. The HTML, CSS, and template design is locked in. Moving away means starting from scratch — with all the cost that entails.

A custom-built website means you own the code, the files, the content, the domain. It can be hosted anywhere, moved at any time, and passed to any developer in the future.

The Third Option: A Custom-Built Website

Both Wix and WordPress are platforms with constraints. A custom-built website — built from scratch by a developer — is faster, more unique, and engineered precisely for your conversion goals.

OWD builds custom websites from £299 monthly. They load in under 2 seconds, rank well in Google, look completely unique, and have no monthly platform fee. That's why hundreds of UK businesses choose us over Wix or a WordPress template.

£299

Starting price, monthly

< 2s

Page load speed

Five-star reviews

Skip the Builders. Get a Proper Website.

OWD builds professional, custom websites from £50/month — monthly subscription from £50/month, AI-powered, and you own it outright. Better SEO, faster load times, and better results than any page builder.

Get a Free Quote View Packages

Related Comparisons

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Full comparison

Shopify vs Wix →

For ecommerce stores

Wix vs Professional →

Custom-built site guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything UK business owners ask us about Wix vs WordPress.

Wix vs WordPress:Which Is Better for Your Business?