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Wix vs WooCommerce: Which is Better for Ecommerce?

June 15, 2022

Wix vs WooCommerce: Which is Better for Ecommerce?

SINGAPORE – Starting a business from scratch can seem like a daunting task at first, but being your own boss has become easier than before thanks to the plethora of different tools at your disposal. Today, people around the world have the ability to create burgeoning enterprises from the comfort of their own home, selling products and offering services locally and globally with the help of social media and custom websites.

Utilising social media for business is easy enough—just about everyone has a social media account and thanks to widespread familiarity, setting up a business presence through Facebook and Instagram is relatively simple.

But how easy is it to build a website from scratch? With so many different website service providers available, it can be overwhelming for the average person to know where to look and what makes one provider better than the other.

Wix or WooCommerce: Choosing the right website builder for your business

Building a website today is a much more straightforward and streamlined process than it was in the past. In the early days of the internet, you had to have some decent knowledge of coding—from HTML to Javascript—and creating a page layout was a far more tedious and manual process which can be off-putting for the average internet user. Plus, figuring out where to even host your website or get your own customised domain was a challenge if you didn’t know where to look.

Today, numerous website builders and digital tools are available which make setting up a simple website a breeze. You can find a range of website building providers for different budgets and purposes, and you won’t even need to know how to code thanks to various templates and presets that let you create a page layout in just a few clicks.

But if you’re creating a website for your e-commerce business, you’ll need to ensure that the site has certain features and tools that make the customer purchasing experience smooth and enjoyable. Plus, having the right support in case of hiccups is essential so that you can spend less time on troubleshooting and more time on selling your products and services!

Of the many website builders available out there, two of the most popular ones are undoubtedly Wix and WooCommerce, especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and those looking to setup an e-commerce business.

Wix

wix ecommerce website builder platform

At its core, Wix is a website building platform designed for everyone from the average user creating their own blog to businesses that require advanced analytics capabilities.

Boasting around 15 years in operation, over 200 million users worldwide, and a wide array of website development features such as design elements, built-in security, and more, Wix is one of the leading website building platforms available today.

Plus, its Wix eCommerce solution makes setting up your very own webstore a fuss-free experience thanks to its suite of business tools like store templates, a logo maker, marketing integrations, and even payment gateway solutions.

WooCommerce

woocommerce wordpress ecommerce website builder

WooCommerce is no stranger to the website building world. The company entered the fray in 2008 as a website theme and plugin developer for WordPress but later introduced its WooCommerce plugin which gave users e-store capabilities on their WordPress website.

In 2017, the company fully transitioned to providing e-commerce solutions, and it has now become one of the most recognised WordPress-powered e-commerce solutions for businesses everywhere with its variety of e-commerce essentials like payment gateways, marketing tools, and more.

 

With two of these strong e-commerce website building solutions, which one should you choose if you’re running a small business and want the most hassle-free website creation experience? Here are the pros and cons of Wix and WooCommerce so you can determine which is the right fit for you.

Wix Pros: Pricing

For a small business looking to create its own webpage and online presence, finding the most cost-effective web hosting and development solution available while delivering a quality user experience is a top priority.

That’s what makes Wix one of the most attractive website building options any small business owner can choose. Its transparent and affordable pricing options make it highly appealing compared to some of the other providers who may either be too expensive or have hidden costs thrown in depending on the services and features you choose.

For example, a Business Basic e-commerce Wix account will cost USD17 (around SGD23) a month and grant the user perks like secure online payments, custom domain registration, unlimited bandwidth, and more. Upgrading to higher tier plans will grant the user access to even more advanced features and functions like automated sales tax calculations, multiple currencies, and implementing a loyalty programme.

Wix Pros: Built-in Marketing and Search Engine Optimisation Tools

When it comes to increasing awareness and conversions, a small business may not have the same financial capacity or access to advanced marketing tools that larger organisations do.

That won’t be a problem when they sign up with Wix. The website builder has built-in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) tools and marketing functionality that will enable you to gain the exposure that you desire.

Whether you want to advertise your products on social media, increase awareness of your services and Search Engine Results Page (SERP) ranking on Google through better SEO, or reach out to existing customers through email marketing, you’ll be able to do it all with Wix. This can not only help you reach more people but gain more potential sales.

Wix Pros: Simple Interface and Wide Variety of Templates

wix dashboard interface website

As a small business owner, you want to spend time focusing on the important things, like improving your products and services and generating more sales. So the last thing you need is to spend more time than necessary to struggle through the technical aspects of creating an attractive and user-friendly website.

Instead of spending time to design and create your webpage, you can rely on the preset templates provided by Wix so you can get started right away. In fact, it offers over 500 templates so that you can find the perfect website design for your business, no matter what you’re selling.

In addition, Wix has one of the most intuitive design interfaces around. Everything is drag-and-drop, making it easy to adjust, tweak, edit, and customise design elements to your liking. This makes it easy if you’re a beginner to website design.

If you’re a more advanced user, you also have the option to go in-depth and adjust things on a deeper level by changing the website code.

Best of all, everything you create can be completely compatible with mobile. Wix’s mobile interface editor lets you preview your site on all kinds of platforms and devices, allowing you to create the perfect that looks just right on any device. This means you can expect great looking websites that won’t look out of place or difficult to navigate whether your customer is using a laptop or a mobile device.

Wix Pros: Great Support and Troubleshooting

When creating something as complex as a website, having the right support can go a long way, especially if you’re running a business. After all, it would be a nightmare if your online store has bugs or glitches that affect the user experience or even your revenue.

Wix has a comprehensive database of frequently asked questions and solutions to just about every problem you encounter. This allows the user to quickly and easily get an answer to most common problems without needing to jump through hoops to get through to customer support.

In the event that you’re facing a more complicated issue that requires the Wix team to rectify, you’re in luck. Wix has its own support team that can directly address any problems you may encounter. Furthermore, it has created a separate site called Wix Answers to help customers in every way possible, from omnichannel support for enterprises to tech support for individuals. This shows Wix’s dedication to providing competent support to all its customers.

Wix Cons: One Plan Per Site

If you have some great ideas for several businesses and want to create more than one business page on Wix, you’ll have to cough up the money for more than one subscription plan.

Wix plans are only valid for a single website, meaning you can’t use one subscription for multiple sites or domains. That will require you to sign up for multiple plans.

Wix Cons: Templates Cannot Be Transferred

Wix has a great range of different templates for your site, but the main downside is that you can’t change or transfer a template once you’ve decided on one. If you want to choose a different template for a site that has already gone live, you’ll need to start from scratch. This makes redesigning things a hassle if you aren’t satisfied with your chosen template.

Wix Cons: Google Analytics Isn’t Free

For individuals who are just starting out and don’t intend to pay for a business plan just yet, you’ll be missing out on a key feature that is vital for any business—Google Analytics.

Google Analytics is unfortunately not included in free Wix accounts. This is because Google Analytics requires that you have your own URL (e.g. www.mywebsite.com). This service is only available to users who have upgraded their website to a Premium Plan that includes connecting a domain. So if you’re trying to keep costs to a bare minimum, this is one feature that will be sorely missed.

Wix Cons: Scalability is Limited

Using Wix may end up being challenging for your business if it grows too fast. While Wix is a great e-commerce solution for small businesses, you may find it tough to scale up if you’re beginning to handle more sales or require more powerful digital marketing tools to handle an increase in volume.


WooCommerce Pros: Free WordPress Plugin

woocommerce dashboard interface website

Powered by WordPress, WooCommerce is a free-to-use plugin that anyone can install and start using. This means any user or business owner can jump in right away as long as they’re using WordPress.

Once you’ve got your domain and platform setup, you can begin taking advantage of WooCommerce’s myriad features and tools to get your business up and running in no time.

WooCommerce Pros: Great Marketing Capabilities

Having the right digital marketing tools will give any business a boost. And thanks to WordPress integration, WooCommerce comes with a range of highly useful SEO tools that you can use to improve your organic reach.

This allows any business to gain insights into their SEO performance and how to improve it, such as changing meta tags and descriptions, using the right keywords, and more.

WooCommerce also allows users to target potential customers with a variety of different social media marketing tools like Facebook Ads, as well as email marketing for electronic direct mail marketing.

WooCommerce Pros: Built-in E-commerce Tools

Having e-commerce tools already included within your page makes selling your product or service much easier than having to set things up yourself manually.

WooCommerce has a convenient setup procedure which can guide the user to implementing payment solutions, configure shipping and delivery, and even calculate taxes.

Thanks to WooCommerce Payments, PayPal, and Stripe as included payment gateways, your online store can get up and running and process sales in no time.

WooCommerce Pros: Multi-country Compatibility

Being able to target a wide audience is highly beneficial for any business as you’ll be able to sell to as many people as possible. Thanks to WooCommerce, you’ll gain access to useful tools to reach people all across the globe.

You can look forward to MultilingualPress—a useful translation tool for your webpage so users can easily view it in their native language—along with WooCommerce Multi-currency—perfect for quick currency conversions within your e-commerce page.

WooCommerce Cons: Hidden Costs Quickly Add Up

While WooCommerce is technically free to install and use, many of the mentioned features require additional plugins and fees. When you account for all the essential and extra e-commerce, marketing, and business solutions, the costs can become much higher than you initially anticipated.

Plus, as WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin, it doesn’t actually provide you with a domain. You’ll have to source for a website host separately, meaning more additional costs.

WooCommerce Cons: Challenging to Use to Full Potential

While WooCommerce has a large selection of different tools, plugins, and e-commerce friendly solutions, it can be difficult to pick up and learn all at once.

Without much coding knowledge or experience with setting up a website, you may have some difficulty creating, configuring, testing, and setting up your e-commerce site.

WooCommerce Cons: Lack of Real Support and Troubleshooting

While WooCommerce has its own community support page, there isn’t any dedicated support team specifically for WooCommerce functionality.

This can be detrimental as a first-time business owner if you run into any problems while running your website as you may not be able to rectify your problems quickly enough if you can’t get the right support in time.

WooCommerce Cons: Scalability Options Not Great

WooCommerce works using WordPress which makes it really convenient and easy to pick up and use. However, the core functionality of WordPress isn’t actually being an e-commerce storefront. This can make it tricky to run if your business grows more quickly than you expected.

While it is possible to adjust and re-optimise your online store to adapt to larger scale operations, it can often require much more effort on the user’s end if you’re about to handle a greater number of sales or higher volume of traffic.

 


Wix vs WooCommerce: Pros and Cons At A Glance

Wix

WooCommerce

Pros

Cons

Pros

Cons

Transparent and affordable pricing. Only one website per business plan. Free to begin using. Costs aren’t clear and can become too expensive with add-ons.
Marketing and SEO tools included. Templates are fixed after your website has launched. Marketing and SEO tools included. Steep learning curve
Simple and intuitive interface. Google Analytics is not a free feature. Built-in e-commerce solutions. Support is limited
Great support and troubleshooting. Not easy to scale up if your business grows larger. Sell worldwide with multi-country compatibility tools. Not easy to scale up if your business grows larger.

 

Developing and launching your first business website can seem like an uphill task initially, but FirstCom Solutions is here to make that journey easier than before.

As an official Wix reseller, we provide website-building services that leverage Wix’s platform, allowing us to adopt a hybrid approach when it comes to developing yours. If you’re having a problem with your website after it has launched or want to update it with new content, you won’t have to worry — we’ll also provide you with technical and content support to ensure that it will be back running at optimal efficiency in no time.

Visit our ecommerce website design page to find out more about how we can help you build your website today!