Wix vs WordPress: Which CMS is Better for SEO?

Between Wix and WordPress, WordPress used to be the better CMS for SEO because of its open-source nature, advanced customization options, plugins, etc. However, in recent times, Wix has added a lot more search engine optimization features. 

So, now in 2024, the question is, which CMS is better for SEO: Wix or WordPress? 

In this article, we will go in-depth about each of these CMS platforms’ SEO features.

Wix vs WordPress SEO Feature Comparison

Now, let’s talk more about why WordPress is a better CMS for SEO than Wix.

WordPress Sites Have Better Crawlability and Indexability Than Wix’s

The main difference between Wix and WordPress is that WordPress is open-source and Wix is proprietary. 

Being an open-source content management system (CMS), WordPress’s full source code is publicly available for review and contribution. Because of this transparency, WordPress has clean, more scrutinized code.

Also, WordPress has well-established coding standards and guidelines that contributors must follow. These standards help maintain consistency and cleanliness across the codebase.

On the other hand, Wix is a proprietary platform, meaning that their source code is not open to the public. However, it’s public knowledge that Wix relies more on JavaScript than other CMS platforms because of its user-friendly drag-and-drop features.

Now, the problem with JavaScript is that crawl bots find it hard to process. What we mean is that processing complex JavaScript codes takes more time and resources, taking up a chunk of the crawl budget. As a result, it takes a lot of time for crawl bots to crawl and index your site.

That’s why, WordPress sites tend to have better crawlability and indexability than Wix sites. 

Winner: WordPress

WordPress Websites are Faster Compared to Wix

As we have said in the previous section, Wix uses a lot of JavaScript in their coding for drag-and-drop functionality. 

Now, with this huge amount of JavaScript libraries that are injected into your site, not all of them are used all the time. Because of this, your site’s code gets bloated, meaning that these unused snippets of code make your site heavier, so it takes more time to load. 

Moreover, Wix is not open source, so you can’t optimize your site’s code even if you want to. On top of that, Wix is self-hosted, which means you don’t need a separate hosting for your site. This also restricts you from choosing a high-performance hosting solution for SEO. 

On the other hand, WordPress doesn’t have this kind of issue. 

WordPress doesn’t provide you with any design options by default, for that you need to install themes, page builders, and plugins. So, the performance of your website depends on the code of these tools you use.

So, you can simply choose an SEO-friendly theme for WordPress and you can eliminate most of the issues Wix has. Also, you have the option to choose any hosting option you want based on your needs.

Because of all these reasons, a WordPress website is usually faster than a Wix website.

Winner: WordPress

  Wix Has Built-in Security While WordPress Gives You More Control

Even though Wix wasn’t up to the mark in terms of speed and performance, it’s pretty solid when it comes to security. 

Since it’s a closed system, they handle all the security for you. This means you don’t need to worry about keeping software updated or dealing with complex security settings. Automatic security updates and patches are applied by Wix, which eliminates the worry of outdated software with vulnerabilities. 

To safeguard their users, Wix offers built-in threat prevention, real-time detection, and rapid response. Wix also complies with PCI DSS Level 1, SOC 2 Type 2, and various ISO certifications. 

On top of that, Wix follows privacy regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and LGPD. Every Wix site is equipped with an SSL certificate for encrypted communication between your site and visitors. 

To finish it off, Wix utilizes top-tier data centers with robust security measures to physically protect your information. 

Now, when it comes to WordPress, it doesn’t have any built-in security features. You have to install security plugins to make your site secure, which includes essential security features like SSL, malware scanner, firewall protection, etc.

The good thing is, that there are tons of security plugins for WordPress that will take care of everything for you. But it totally depends on you what type of security plugins you will use and for what reason.

Apart from plugins, you also get security features from your hosting provider. 

So, that means that while Wix offers built-in security, WordPress has more custom security options.

Winner: Tie

Wix Has Built-in Meta Tag Features While WordPress Don’t 

The best SEO feature Wix has is its SEO wizard, where you get a step-by-step SEO checklist. This SEO wizard gives you the option to optimize your site’s on-page SEO by letting you add meta titles, descriptions, and more.

Also, Wix lets you build your own custom SEO checklist.

Now, when it comes to WordPress, it doesn’t offer any built-in options like Wix does. However, with WordPress, you can go way beyond that with the help of SEO plugins.    

WordPress has hundreds of SEO plugins that can improve your website’s search engine optimization efforts by assisting in tasks such as keyword research, content optimization, internal linking, and more. 

So, even though WordPress doesn’t have built-in on-page SEO optimization features like Wix, with the help of plugins like Yoast SEO, RankMath, and AIOSEO, you get better and more in-depth SEO solutions.  

Winner: WordPress

WordPress Offers Advanced Schema Markups Compared to Wix

Like all the other essential SEO features, Wix also has built-in schema markup. Wix automatically adds preset structured data markups to several types of pages, including product pages, blogs, service pages, forums, and more. 

For more technical users, Wix also offers advanced schema markup options. You can add custom markup in JSON-LD format through the Wix Editor. This can be done for individual pages or multiple pages via the SEO Settings.

You can also use custom variables to create dynamic code that adjusts based on the content of each page and adds up to five different markups per page. 

Wix also offers a Schema Generator tool, which lets you generate and test schema markups.

Now, when it comes to schema, WordPress goes a lot further in terms of variety and customization. As usual, the WordPress repository has hundreds of plugins for schema markups that offer advanced schema features.

For example, Schema Pro, one of the most popular schema markup plugins offers 20+ different schema markups. 

What’s even better is that using these plugins is pretty straightforward and requires minimal manual actions. Meaning, you don’t need to add codes to your site’s files.

However, if you do want to customize, you can edit your theme’s “header.php” file to add custom schema markups.  

So, considering everything, WordPress offers more advanced schema markup features than Wix.

Winner: WordPress

WordPress Has Advanced SEO Tools While Wix Offers Only Basic Ones

When it comes to SEO, WordPress’s strongest suit is its plugins. According to a study about WordPress, the WordPress repository has more than 60,000 plugins and the most popular plugin among them is Yoast SEO, which is an SEO plugin.

Now, with such a huge library of plugins, you have the solution to every possible problem, be it SEO or something else. You can find a plugin for anything in WordPress for security, caching, speed, performance, and custom fields.

However, this is not the case with Wix, it only provides 500+ web apps for SEO and other purposes.  

So, in comparison, the number of plugins and extensions Wix provides is negligible to WordPress.

Winner: WordPress

Final Verdict: WordPress is Still Better Than Wix For SEO in 2024

After all this discussion, you can clearly see that WordPress is still a better CMS than Wix when it comes to SEO in 2024. 

Even though Wix has some decent SEO features like the SEO wizard, schema integration, and advanced built-in security option, WordPress just trumps everything with its superior plugin repository and theme customization.

However, if SEO is not your priority, Wix can be a wonderful CMS for you because of how easy it is to use to build attractive websites.

FAQs about Wix vs WordPress for SEO

Who is Wix best for?

Wix is best for individuals and small businesses looking to create professional websites quickly and without coding knowledge. It offers a user-friendly interface with a wide range of customizable templates and features. 

Who is WordPress best for?

WordPress is best for anyone who wants a user-friendly website with powerful SEO potential. It’s great for beginners due to its intuitive interface, but it also scales for complex needs thanks to its vast library of plugins and themes.

Is Wix more user-friendly than WordPress?

Yes, Wix is more user-friendly than WordPress, especially for beginners and those without technical expertise. Wix offers a drag-and-drop interface, pre-designed templates, and integrated hosting. Contrarily, WordPress requires more setup and often involves managing plugins and themes for customization.

Do Wix websites rank well on Google?

Yes, Wix websites can rank well on Google when properly optimized for SEO. While Wix provides tools for SEO optimization, content quality, backlinks, and user experience, are more important ranking factors.

Can Wix handle high traffic?

Yes, Wix can handle high traffic depending on the plan and optimization. Higher-tier plans offer more bandwidth and resources, which can better accommodate increased traffic. 

Wix or WordPress, You Still Need to Get the Basics Right

Even after choosing between Wix or WordPress, there is a lot of stuff to work on. While an SEO-friendly CMS platform can help you in more than one way, you still have to focus on your content, on-page, off-page, and technical SEO. 

In that case, you will need an SEO professional or an agency that is an expert in optimizing for different content management systems.