Wix vs WooCommerce Comparison 2022: [In-depth Review]

There has never been an abundance of ecommerce tools like we have right now. The sheer volume of services makes it challenging to pick the right choice. 

The eCommerce landscape is ever-evolving, and the price of lagging in the latest advancements is too high. But, this is not your case. You’re reading this because you want to stay ahead of the eCommerce curve. 

Wix and WooCommerce are two dynamic eCommerce software making waves in recent times. Choosing the best option between the two isn’t an easy task. But, by the end of this article, we’re confident you’ll make an informed decision whether to stick to WordPress, the household platform, or Wix, the newcomer. 

We will help you make the best pick to kickstart your online business with a bang and stay ahead of the competition.

WooCommerce vs. Wix: What’s the Difference?

Wix is a complete website builder perfect for DIY entrepreneurs, whereas WooCommerce is a WordPress plug-in for developing complex e-stores. 

What we mean is, WooCommerce is fully integrated with all the tools necessary to build an e-store from scratch and manage content. But, as for Wix, all the tools are built-in ready for you to create your online store.

WooCommerce vs. Wix: Short intro

We’ll face WooCommerce against Wix in this detailed comparison to find out which option is the best ecommerce service. If you want to ditch your outdated ecommerce platform and take charge of your ecommerce future, then this article is for you. Stick around as we evaluate each vendor. But, first, let’s understand the dynamics of each platform.

What is Wix?

Wix is a simple multi-faceted drag-and-drop website builder. The platform allows users to create ecommerce stores, HTLM5 websites, and mobile sites using online tools. No coding expertise is required. 

The platform boasts a customer base of 200 million users from 190 different countries, and it hosts 160 million websites. Through it, you gain access to more than 800 free templates with free and paid in-house website hosting and domain names.

Working with Wix is seamless. It’s the best eCommerce platform if you’re not confident in your coding skills or you’re setting up your first store. The all-in-one online platform helps you build your online store from scratch within minutes. Once you provide your email address, you can host your website on the Wix platform.

The pre-designed templates with visually stunning layouts help you quickly build a professional Wix website that can be customized using one of the numerous apps available in the Wix App Market. The newest addition, Editor X, is intuitive, elegant, and powerful.

How much does Wix cost?

We like that the Wix website builder offers a clear and flexible pricing plan to be paid monthly, yearly, or bi-yearly. If you’re running a non-Commerce project, you can take advantage of the two cheapest plans, which are ad-free and use a custom domain.

• Free:  No charges to create a website. Only a Wix banner is displayed on the site.
• Connect Domain: Pay $4.50 every month to connect your domain to your website. The Wix banner will still show.
• Combo Plan: For $8.50 per month, you get plenty of storage space and no Wix banner. A good option for small websites.
• Unlimited plan: $12.50 per month suited for users who need a lot of web space –up to $10 GB.
• VIP Plan: You receive personalized support and a whopping 35 GB of storage space when you pay $24.50 per month

When you sign up for a 12-month subscription plan, you’ll save anywhere from 14% to 25% per annum. We recommend you take up this option once you’ve tried out the platform. Even better, Wix offers first-timers a 14-day money-back guarantee in case there’s an issue or you’re not 100% satisfied. 

What is WooCommerce?

WooCommerce is a renowned WordPress plug-in for ecommerce solutions like web publishing and content management. One-third of all websites run on WordPress. The site builder is exceptionally well supported by add-ons, plug-ins, developers, and more.

It has more sophisticated features than Wix but requires technical expertise to maneuver. With WordPress, you can bring to life your eCommerce vision, build a sophisticated online store, and enjoy flexible customization.

However, you’ll need some technical expertise to set up your website. Furthermore, you’ll need to manage updates and carry out periodic site maintenance.

What’s the Cost of WooCommerce?

Woo commerce plug-in is free. But, there’s a catch. You’ll have to pay for the extra extensions, plug-ins, and services.

• WordPress – free
• WooCommerce plug-in – free
• Webhost – Starts at $3 per month. You can choose from a variety of companies offering hosting packages such as Blue Host ($2.95-$5.45/month), GoDaddy ($99-$950/month), Sitegroud ($3.95-$11.95/month), and CloudWays ($10-$80/month). You’ll need to pay the exact charges depending on the hosting plan you choose, whether Basic, Standard, or Premium.
• WooCommerce theme – costs anywhere from free to $200. Keep in mind; this is a one-time fee.
• Domain – This should cost you at most $10 per year.
• Plug-ins and extensions – it’s only applicable to niche sites. It can cost you about $10 per month.
• Web design services – We can’t put an exact figure on this because it varies and can cost you thousands of dollars. We advise you to handle most of the design work yourself then create a spending budget of about $500 for quality freelance work.

If you want to enhance the outlook of your store, you should invest in a paid WooCommerce theme ($10-$150). You can explore various stunning themes at Themify, Themeforest.com, or use the free WooCommerce storefront theme.

WooCommerce Pros and Cons

What do we like about WooCommerce?

• Tight-knit community: WooCommerce has no direct user support service. Not to worry, if you’re new to eCommerce, there’s a dedicated WordPress forum where you can get help. The platform gives you access to one of the largest communities of active contributors, including developers. You’ll also find plenty of information guides and tutorials by experts on using the platform and seeking support.
• Focus on blogging: In this new age internet space, you need a professionally designed blog with meaningful content and a proper commenting section to engage with your audience. WordPress started as a blogging platform, but WooCommerce has evolved beyond blogging even though it is the core of the software.
• Excellent SEO opportunities: WordPress’s initial focus was on SEO. Therefore, apart from helping you build a website, WooCommerce is your one-stop solution for all your SEO optimization needs, from meta tags to descriptions. WooCommerce will also show you how to integrate all the SEO elements to attract shoppers to your store and boost sales.
• Stylish themes and uncountable design opportunities:  Several WooCommerce themes are available from different theme developers such as Themify, Templatemonster.com, etc. These themes are open source. You can customize them to suit your e-store vision. Also, Premium WooCommerce themes prices range from $25 to $229. They are sleek and bug-protected.

What we dislike about WooCommerce

• Hosting comes with extra payments: You’ll need to consult a third-party company to host your website, which comes with additional costs. Besides, you’ll need WordPress to use WooCommerce. So you’ll need a plug-in to build your site.
• Steep learning curve: As much as WooCommerce is flexible and user-friendly, one needs programming skills to create and tweak a website. Newbies are sure to have a difficult time navigating the site and might need the help of a software developer.
• No technical assistance is available: WooCommerce has no direct support for its users. In case of an issue, the solutions provider doesn’t take responsibility for the cost of damage or downtime. However, WooCommerce will help troubleshoot defects with the platform and help you get past any system issues before scheduling an update.
• Hidden charges: With no fixed monthly fees, you’ll need to sketch out a backbone budget. Remember you’re responsible for the website design, theme, regular maintenance, technical support, hosting services costs, SSL certificates, and domain name. The decision of how much to invest lies with you. If you choose to hire a professional developer, you’ll have to pay more.
• No preview: WooCommerce doesn’t allow you to see how your website will look once you launch it on online search platforms. This is not an issue, but you’ll need to keep clicking back and forth between the demo and edit modes to create the ideal outlook.

Wix Pros and Cons

What we like about Wix:

• Over 500 templates: Wix offers users more than 500 impressive and pre-designed templates. You can use these to build a functional and elegant website. Wix is, therefore, the ultimate solution if you’re building a site from scratch with no prior knowledge. The templates feature responsive designs that are optimized for mobile, and you have a visual representation of the final look of your website.
• Drag-and-drop user interface: The Wix platform is intuitive. You select what you need (text, slideshow, image) and place it where you want with no restrictions. No doubt you can edit your work to perfection using Wix. The learning curve is also gentle and impressively user-friendly.
• A free website builder: Even if you have no skills in building a website, this platform is easy to use and allows you to test it out and get acquainted with the operations. With the free plan, you can launch a functional website, but if you need advanced services, you need to upgrade to a premium plan.
• App Market – Wix offers its users more than 300 apps to integrate into your website. Some apps are part of Wix stores, while others are outsourced from third parties. You can use these apps to access extra features such as popups, online chats, ratings, reviews, calendars, emails, and social media integrations. When choosing an app, keep in mind that Wix doesn’t provide customer support for all the third-party apps.
• Future-ready marketing tools: In a bid to help store owners market their site and improve their visibility online, Wix is equipped with in-built email management tools, Google AdWords coupons, and SEO management. You can tweak titles and meta descriptions to improve your online ranking.

What we dislike about Wix

• Flash-based templates: Unfortunately, most templates are not optimized for mobile use and SEO. Also, some browsers do not support Flash (such as iOS and Safari). But, Wix has an HTML builder which comes in handy to improve your SEO results if you’re using HTML-based templates. 
• Limited free plan: Nothing is free in the ecommerce space. That means, there’s a catch if you decide to stick with the free plan. When you host your website on Wix for free, they’ll need to showcase the Wix branding at the top right corner. For more advanced features, you can subscribe to one of the premium plans.
• Premium plans limited to a single site: If you pay for a single pricing plan, you cannot use it for all your websites. The extra features are not extendable or transferable. But if you’re only running one site, there’s no need for alarm.
• Templates are not interchangeable: If you often change your mind, you’ll find Wix to be quite rigid. You have no choice other than to work within the confines of your chosen theme. Also, It isn’t easy to evaluate the outlook of your site against various backgrounds. To avoid disappointment, be sure when selecting a theme. If you change your mind, you’ll need to transfer all your content from the original template manually.

WooCommerce vs. Wix FAQs

Which is better, Wix or WooCommerce?

WooCommerce is more sophisticated than Wix and requires some coding skills to get started. On the other hand, Wix is easy, flexible and provides you with in-built security, pre-designed templates, and an array of in-house features.

Is it possible to use WooCommerce on Wix?

WooCommerce is a WordPress plug-in, while Wix is a website-building tool. Both tools can be used for sale but cannot be interlinked. To migrate from Wix to WooCommerce, you’ll need to use an automation migration tool to transfer the data.

How do I Shift from WooCommerce to Wix?

You can shift from WooCommerce to Wix in a simple 4-step process. It involves migrating your ecommerce data like categories, customer orders, and products from WooCommerce to Wix in a secure way.

Here’s how to go about it:

1. Enter your WooCommerce credentials and upload your connection bridge to your WordPress root directory.
2. Provide the URL and API credentials of your new Wix store.
3. Select the data to transfer to Wix from WooCommerce
4. Proceed to launch your successful migration and enjoy your new e-store in no time.

Wix vs. WooCommerce: Wrapping up

If you’re clueless about building a website or you have no coding skills, then you should consider investing in Wix – more so if you’re creating your first store. It is the ideal platform to create a ready-to-go site. 

Wix is also perfect for smaller websites with no more than 30 pages. Anything more, and the navigation menu hits a dead end.

No more limited features and customization; elevate your site using WooCommerce. The good thing is that one can adopt, customize, or extend the website. Even better, you get to create a stunning site without spending a dime. The intuitive and neat interfaces, striking themes, and dynamic sections will help you manifest your ecommerce vision.