WordPress vs. Wix vs. Weebly…The Great Debate
Choosing between the different website builders is never an easy task. There are many different options to choose from that it can cause you to get analysis-paralysis. The key to getting over indecision is knowing all of the facts. That way, you will be able to make a better-informed decision with regards to the choice you are making. Below, we will be discussing some of the differences that you will find in the most popular web builders and why WordPress is the optimal choice for just about anyone.
Finding The Best Website Builder:
1. Pricing Structure.
The overall cost to build out your website is likely an important factor that you will be considering. When it comes to building out a website, WordPress is going to give you the most value for your money. This is primarily because it is a free software that you can use alongside any web hosting provider. Because of this, it is the cheapest and most affordable solution that you can opt for with full custom features that give you the option to change anything you want.
Winner: WordPress.
2. Features and Functionality.
Another big aspect of choosing the right website builder will come down to features and functionality. Features and functionality typically come in the form of plugins and apps specifically made and usable with various builders.
Wix
Wix has a good amount of apps that you can simply add to your website which comes with a lot of functionality that you are likely looking for. You can do many things including adding a display gallery, contact forms, a lead generation form, along with a variety of other things.
Weebly
Weebly comes with a good amount of different tools that are seamlessly already built into the platform. Typically, you will be able to find any major features already built into the platform which helps you avoid having to go third-party to find an extension for the functionality that you might want or need. With that being said, if you are not able to find something available that you want or need, you are not going to be able to simply outsource development to a developer to create it for you.
WordPress
However, WordPress simply cannot be beaten when it comes to the availability of applications and plugins. WordPress is completely open sourced and free. Likely because of this, along with its tremendous market share create the ‘perfect storm’ of app development and plugin support. You can pretty much find anything that you could possibly want or need available on the WordPress directory. You will not only be able to take advantage of a tremendous amount of free plugins and apps, but you can even opt to pay for some of the more premium apps or plugins with even more added features implemented.
Winner: WordPress.
3. Ease Of Use.
This is where openly sourced builders like WordPress typically fall short.
Wix And Weebly
Weebly and Wix have completely streamlined designs and layouts. They have tailored their product offerings to those that might be less experienced at building websites. Therefore, the design and layout are as simple as can be. In fact, Weebly has an extremely easy to use ‘drag and drop’ page builder that will allow you to take advantage of all of the customization tools that they offer.
When you utilize a builder like WordPress, you can expect much more troubleshooting and potentially more hassle when getting started. While it doesn’t directly come with a drag and drop web builder, you can find third-party options that can implement the functionality for you. Along with this, you can install drag and drop compatible themes which can make it easier to create your website as well. This also comes with the fact that if you build the website yourself, it can take 20+ hours to build it properly and everything ready. Most business owners simply do not have the time to do this.
However, because the functionality is not built-in, Weebly and Wix are the winners in this category.
Winners: Wix and Weebly.
4. SEO and Marketing.
When it comes to SEO with website builders, you want to find the builder that is going to offer you the best plugins for on-site optimization. Additionally, FULL functionality. Wix and Weebly are very poor in this area. There are many things you cannot do with these free website builders. This is an easy one because WordPress features the top SEO plugins that you will find anywhere which makes it much more SEO friendly than Weebly or Wix. Also it comes with FULL functionality that makes it very easy to fully tailor your SEO strategy to focus on the right keywords/search terms.
Winner: WordPress.
5. Selling The Website.
If you are looking for the best option to build out and be able to sell to a willing buyer, WordPress would be the ideal solution. WordPress websites are going to fetch more on the open market because they offer much more versatility, flexibility, and growth potential. Someone that is looking to purchase a website is going to be more willing and able to spend more on a website that is not as tightly ingrained in a specific website building platform. Along with this, the pricing policy associated with Wix and Weebly would simply weigh down the valuation of the website in total. With WordPress, you would be able to switch to and/or choose whichever hosting provider you want. Whereas, Wix and Weebly would be trapped on the specific platform.
Winner: WordPress.
Overall, if you are going to be building out a website anytime soon and you are debating between WordPress, Wix, and Weebly, the choice is simple. WordPress is the ultimate web building tool. While it might have a slightly higher learning curve, it is going to be the ideal option for anyone that is looking to build out a professional website. Not only does it offer much more functionality, but it offers extreme flexibility which is something that you will want as your website grows. Along with this, you will find the greatest level of plugin and app support due to it being an open sourced platform with a lot of developers consistently adding new and creative functionality that you can leverage for your own site.