Pick Wix if you want a simple site you can edit yourself this week and you are happy to stay on Wix's platform. Pick WordPress if you want to own the site outright, grow past a handful of pages or sell seriously online. Both can rank on Google. The difference is control, and how much of the work you want to do yourself.
We build on both, so this is not a sales pitch for one. Here is how they compare for a Canadian small business.
The short comparison
| Wix | WordPress | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Hosted website builder | Open-source software you host |
| Who hosts it | Wix | A hosting company you choose |
| Ownership | You own your content, but the site only runs on Wix | You own the site files and can move hosts |
| Editing | Drag and drop, very easy | Block editor, easy once set up |
| Monthly cost | One Wix plan covers hosting | Hosting, plus any paid plugins |
| SEO control | Good basics built in | Full control over every setting |
| Ecommerce | Fine for a small store | WooCommerce scales to large catalogues |
| Moving away later | Hard, the design does not export | Straightforward |
| Share of all websites | 4.3% (W3Techs, July 2026) | 41.5% (W3Techs, July 2026) |
When Wix is the right choice
- You want to make your own changes without calling anyone.
- The site is mostly information: services, hours, a contact form, a gallery.
- You do not want to think about hosting, updates or security.
- You expect the site to stay under about 20 pages.
Wix has improved a lot. It handles mobile layouts, SSL and basic SEO settings out of the box, and Wix Studio gives designers more control. If you go this way, our Wix SEO setup guide covers the settings worth changing.
When WordPress is the right choice
- You want to own the site and be free to change hosting or developers.
- You plan to publish regularly, add service and location pages, or run a real blog.
- You need features a builder does not offer: custom booking, member areas, integrations with your other software.
- You want to sell online with a larger catalogue (WooCommerce).
The trade-off is upkeep. WordPress needs core, theme and plugin updates and backups. If nobody does that, the site slows down and becomes a security risk. That is the job our maintenance plans cover.
Cost in Canada
On Wix you pay one plan that includes hosting. On WordPress you pay a hosting company, plus any premium plugins. In both cases you also pay for a domain, and in both cases a professional design is a separate, one-time cost.
The build itself costs about the same either way. Our packages start at $299 for a site of up to 3 pages and $449 for a WordPress site you can edit yourself, plus HST. See all packages.
SEO: can a Wix site rank?
Yes. Google does not rank platforms, it ranks pages. Wix gives you editable titles, descriptions, headings and a sitemap. WordPress gives you all of that plus finer control over technical details such as page speed, schema markup and redirects. For a small local business the difference rarely decides rankings. For a site with hundreds of pages, it starts to matter.
Ecommerce
Wix Stores works for a small shop with a few dozen products. For a larger catalogue, custom shipping rules or wholesale pricing, WooCommerce on WordPress gives you more room. If you are weighing a dedicated store platform instead, our Shopify website design page explains when Shopify is the better fit.
Moving from Wix to WordPress
It is a rebuild, not an export. The pages, text and images move across; the Wix design does not. The important part is setting up redirects from every old Wix URL to its new address so you keep the Google rankings you already have. We do this as part of a Wix to WordPress move, and our Wix alternative page covers what changes for you day to day.
Our recommendation
- Under 10 pages, you want to edit it yourself, no plans to grow: Wix.
- You want to own it, grow it or sell seriously: WordPress.
- Not sure: start with what you will actually update. A site nobody updates does not rank on either platform.
Comparing other builders too? Read Squarespace vs WordPress. If you want a second opinion on your situation, ask us. We build both, so we will tell you which one fits.
