Wix Vs locally hosted Wordpress - effect on SEO?

54and56

Hi,

I'm getting conflicting messages so hoping to get some informed and unbiased feedback here.

I have a small business offering 3 distinct niche services each with its own brand name and related .ie domain. I currently host professionally designed fairly simple brochure type Wordpress websites for each with a reputable Irish hosting service which I'm very happy with. Given the age of the websites and lack of updated content they perform ok in terms of Google ranking (more or less always on the first page for the main keywords) which I supplement with AdWord campaigns.

The sites are all 3-6 years old and in need of a good refresh to bring them up to date style and function wise with the goal of improving the % of traffic which results in an enquiry but the company who built them is long gone. I do have access to the Wordpress login and can edit some of the content etc but don't have the Wordpress skills to make major changes and I don't want to spend the time learning.

A good friend who is a regular user of Wix has offered to replicate and update the sites (with chat pop ups etc) on Wix and from the limited time I've spent on Wix myself I have to say it's very intuitive and something I'd be comfortable maintaining and updating myself once they were set up. He tells me that whether the sites are built and hosted on the Wix platform or built in Wordpress and hosted locally with the Irish hosting company doesn't matter in terms of organic SEO but I've often heard in the past that hosting location does in fact make a difference.

I'm keen to switch to Wix for it's simplicity, low cost (relative to getting the sites professionally re-built in Wordpress) and ability for me to maintain and update going forward but the organic SEO question is bugging me hence this post.

Can someone clarify for me or is the jury still out on whether Wix websites perform worse from an SEO perspective than a locally hosted Wordpress equivalent?

tricky D

Hosting location makes very little difference these days for SEO.

Wix is not good for SEO despite its attempts. It also does not support hosting of .ie email so you will still need email hosting. (last time I checked)

Wix is also constraining. Once you commit to one of its methods you risk ending up stuck for future flexibility.

Even wix's own site is awful with bloat.

I would avoid wix every day of the week. Wordpress is the way to go.

Edit:
here's some searches of previous threads on wix which are well worth reading.
https://www.boards.ie/search/submit/?subforums=1&forum=985&query=wix
https://www.boards.ie/search/submit/?subforums=1&forum=23&query=wix

54and56

Thanks Tricky D, appreciate the input.

tricky D wrote: »

Hosting location makes very little difference these days for SEO.

Off to a good start :P

tricky D wrote: »

Wix is not good for SEO despite its attempts. It also does not support hosting of .ie email so you will still need email hosting. (last time I checked)

I guess it's hard to actually measure how worse a Wix site would perform Vs an identical (or as close as you can get) site built in Wordpress but instinctively I can accept Wordpress would give more control over SEO optimisation than Wix, at least in theory.

.ie email hosting isn't an issue for me as I have that taken care of with MS 365.

tricky D wrote: »

Wix is also constraining. Once you commit to one of its methods you risk ending up stuck for future flexibility.

I get that alright so will give it some thought. Having said that, I'm fairly well constrained and stuck with the Wordpress site's I had built a few years ago. I guess If in a year or two I wanted to completely re-build the sites on Wix using different Wix methods it wouldn't be too tricky or expensive to do it.

tricky D wrote: »

Even wix's own site is awful with bloat.

I quite like it and don't see any bloat but that's just me

tricky D wrote: »

I would avoid wix every day of the week. Wordpress is the way to go.

Not an option for me I'm afraid, it's just too complex for me to try and learn to any level of competency and I don't want to be reliant on a 3rd party every time I want to make changes etc. I know it may be a compromise but I'm thinking the ease of use Wix offers may outweigh the marginal additional benefits Wordpress would deliver for me, particularly if I want to update and maintain the sites myself.

tricky D wrote: »

Edit:
here's some searches of previous threads on wix which are well worth reading.
https://www.boards.ie/search/submit/?subforums=1&forum=985&query=wix
https://www.boards.ie/search/submit/?subforums=1&forum=23&query=wix

Thanks, I'll definitely have a read, particularly the more recent ones.

SixtaWalthers

I think it is easy to perform on-page SEO on WordPress instead of Wix. Better to go with WordPress.

54and56

SixtaWalthers wrote: »

I think it is easy to perform on-page SEO on WordPress instead of Wix. Better to go with WordPress.

I totally get and accept that but just can't figure out exactly how much better Wordpress is.

If I want a car to travel around in I might buy a Skoda as it's within budget, it's comfortable and it's efficient so if someone says to me I'd be better off with a Porsche Panamera they would undoubtedly be correct as it's clearly a better car but both of them get me from A 2 B safely and in comfort whilst the Panamera can get me there a lot quicker!!

Do I need the additional benefits Wordpress offer relative to the effort and cost involved? That's the question I still can't really answer.

tricky D

That is a poor analogy.

Wix is a more closed system. You have to use what wix provide and have little choice in the matter. Wordpress has tonnes of options in an open system with good scrutiny, tutorials and support.

From your posts your main criteria seems to be ease of use by having to learn as little as possible with little effort. Business is rarely that easy and requires effort and overhead to execute competently. A lazy business is a bad business.

The answers you seek are all in the search results linked most of which are firmly not in wix's favour.

54and56

tricky D wrote: »

Wix is a more closed system. You have to use what wix provide and have little choice in the matter.

I do understand that but it does seem to have the (fairly basic) functionality I require.

tricky D wrote: »

Wordpress has tonnes of options in an open system with good scrutiny, tutorials and support.

I'm not that interested in tonnes of options I don't need and won't use. At the risk of using another analogy which may be deemed poor if I have a hankering for a good lunchtime burger I personally head to Bunsen Burgers. I know they have a very limited (closed) menu and I have little choice but they make a great burger, their menu is easy to choose from, their pricing and service are good and the overall experience is excellent value for money. Alternatively I could go to Marco Pierre Whites and have (the excellent) MPW Burger with a wide selection of side dishes, wines and desserts but whilst it's great to have those options they just make a simple lunch complicated and expensive and whilst the MPW burger may be prepared and cooked by a French trained chef but in a blind tasting I'd probably still go for the Bunsen burger as it's consistent every time and the experience is very straightforward.

tricky D wrote: »

From your posts your main criteria seems to be ease of use by having to learn as little as possible with little effort.

No, incorrect. I'm seeking the most appropriate and cost effective solution for my needs which gives me the flexibility I want to maintain myself going forward.

tricky D wrote: »

Business is rarely that easy and requires effort and overhead to execute competently. A lazy business is a bad business.

The same claim could be levelled at companies who buy off the shelf laptops instead of buying the components and building them to their exact needs as lets face it being able to tailor the specs from tens of thousands of components is way way better than being forced to pick between a small number of closed model options.

You've helped me think this through @tricky D, I appreciate it.

Wix here I come