With No-Code website building frameworks, building your own website is no longer as complex and expensive as it once was. Three famous names in this category are WordPress, Weebly, and Wix, competing well against each other.
WordPress has revolutionized website building with the ease of customization and cost-effectiveness. This open-source content management system is still a go-to option. But Wix and Weebly get an edge over WP because they’re more specific, easier to use for beginners, and more suitable for regular blogging and eCommerce websites.
Particularly, Wix is creating a solid buzz and is all set to rule the website-building industry. However, the trio here has advantages and disadvantages that need an elaborate discussion. Continue reading the article to know every detail of the Wix Vs Weebly Vs WordPress comparison.
Wix Vs Weebly Vs WordPress: Evaluation Factors
Wix, Weebly, or WordPress are primarily used to create professional websites with minimum complications. You may expect many things from a website builder but not know how to get going quickly with a blogging or eCommerce site. We can help you evaluate the trio to find out which one excels.
So here’s a chart that mentions the factors we’ll evaluate Wix, Weebly, and WordPress with.
| Evaluation Topic | Factors |
| Design | Template and theme collectionsCustomization option for templates and themes |
| Ease of Use | Drag and Drop optionDesign AssistantMobile Editor |
| Functional Features | App MarketSEOBloggingEcommerce Tools |
| Other Features | Free HostingSSL CertificateWebsite Export optionFree Custom DomainEmail IntegrationWebsite RestorationMembership Option |
| Support | Community ForumEmailPhoneLive ChatSupport Ticket |
| Pricing | Free PlanEntry PricePlansFlexibility in Plans |
| Speed | TTFB SpeedWebsite Building Speed |
Wix Vs Weebly Vs WordPress Comparison
You’ve seen the evaluation factors above; now time to evaluate the trio here.
- Design
| Topic | Wix | Weebly | WordPress |
| Template and themes | 500+ | 100 | 31000+ |
| Customization for templates and themes | N/A | N/A | Yes |
Professional-looking templates and themes are a significant reason why people use website builders. Wix, Weebly, and WP; all have a great collection of these ready-made design frameworks, but who’s the winner? Let’s find out.
- Templates and Themes Collection
Wix surpasses its competitor by a significant margin. With more than 500 design templates, you’ll have many comprehensive themes to choose from. WordPress has a rich collection, but Weebly falls short here, with around 100 general and business-specific templates.
- Customization Option for Templates
Regarding customization of the design framework, WordPress allows you to modify the theme in real-time with the WP Customizer.
Weebly supports applying different themes to your website anytime you want. Besides, it also offers theme customization, but it’s not as easy as WP. You need to know how HTML/CSS works to edit the theme.
On the other hand, there’s little you can do with template customization in Wix except for replacing images, editing content, changing names, or making changes in the layout. Also, you can’t apply a different theme or interchange once it’s created in Wix.
- Ease of Use
| Topic | Wix | Weebly | WordPress |
| Drag and Drop option | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Design Assistant | Yes | N/A | N/A |
| Mobile Editor | Yes | N/A, | Yes |
Regarding the ease of use, we probably have a clear winner here, and that’s Wix. Although Wix, Weebly, or WP doesn’t need coding knowledge to create a website, the features like drag-and-drop capability, intuitive interface, artificial intelligence-based design assistant, and mobile editor options give Wix the edge over its competitors.
- Drag-and-drop
Wix and Weebly both have a drag-and-drop editor, while WordPress has none. But Wix’s one outclasses Weebly’s. The drag-and-drop blocks in Weebly feel sticky and hard to move around, whereas, in Wix, they’re far smoother.
- Design Assistant
Wix’s intuitive interface is another significant advantage over its competitors. Besides, it has a design assistant or ADI based on artificial intelligence that can generate a design based on your instructions. On the other hand, Weebly and WordPress fall far behind in this case. WordPress comes with a blank canvas, leaving a lot for you to figure out while building a website. Weebly’s builder isn’t also interactive and feels outdated and a bit clunky.
- Mobile Editor
Mobile view or responsiveness has become essential for websites today. You can build mobile responsive websites with all these tools. Unfortunately, Weebly doesn’t have a mobile editor. On the other hand, Wix and WP have mobile editors that allow you to add different elements to the mobile view. The Wix mobile editor is more versatile and easier to use than WP’s, adding to the overall convenience factor.
- Functional Features
| Topic | Wix | Weebly | WordPress |
| App or Plugin Market | 300+ | 350+ | 54M+ |
| SEO Tools | Basic features available | Basic features available | Third-party |
| Blogging | Good | Excellent | Excellent |
| Ecommerce Tools | Good | Good | Average |
Since functional features or advanced capabilities require complex coding, users want a website builder already integrated with these features, providing ease of use. Let’s explore how well these website builders integrate tools, such as SEO, blogging, eCommerce, or other plugins/tools, into their platforms.
- App Market
It’s an essential differentiator in this comparison as it determines the versatility or expansion of your website’s capabilities. All the website builders here have rich external app markets to let you add extra features to the website. It’s hard to say which market is the best.
WordPress and Weebly have massive apps in their bags, while the app market for Wix is more comprehensive. Some of these are developed by Wix themselves, like Wix Chat, Wix Bookings, Wix Hit Counter, Wix Stores, or Wix Hotels. It reduces the need to go for third-party apps.
- SEO Tools
Wix, Weebly, and WordPress have basic SEO options. Like changing title, meta description, URL name, setting up redirects, etc. But since you need a third-party app for advanced SEO features, WordPress makes the best choice for its wide variety of SEO plugins. Weebly and Wix also have proper SEO tools, which are mostly paid.
The free SEO plugins of WordPress, such as Yoast, Rank Math, and All-in-one SEO provides excellent performance. Wix also has a decent free SEO tool called SEO Wiz.
- Blogging Tools
If you want a powerful blogging site and more built-in features, Wix is your go-to. It’s straightforward, but you’ll still get various designs and templates to work with.
WordPress is your bet on continuously improving your blogging site and making it more creative and content-heavy. In WP, it may take time, but you can deliver content the way you want since you’ll have better control over the blog’s design.
On the other hand, Weebly offers a basic blogging layout with less customization scope. But since it’s easy to get started, many opt for it.
- eCommerce Tools
For eCommerce tools, there’s no clear winner among all three website builders. All have their advantages, depending on the eCommerce site you’re planning to create. If it’s about a small business that isn’t growth-oriented, Weebly can make a good option as a simplistic and easy-to-use eCommerce platform powered by Square’s Prowess. It’ll allow you to maintain a small or medium-scale online store, but you can’t expect any higher-end features.
In the case of a large-scale eCommerce site that has higher technical demands and scope for scalability, you better go with WordPress. But that’s only when you’re okay to pay for additional costs with WordPress’s wide range of eCommerce plugins.
So, where Wix stands? Wix is far superior to the other two regarding built-in eCommerce functions that can suffice the need for most small to medium online stores and multi-channel integration. It has Wix Ascend, an all-in-one eCommerce solution.
- Other Features
| Topic | Wix | Weebly | WordPress |
| Free Hosting | Yes | Yes | No (available in Wodpress.Com) |
| SSL Certificate | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Website Export option | N/A | Yes | Yes |
| Free Custom Domain | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Email Integration | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Website Restoration | Yes | No | Yes |
| Membership Option | Yes | Yes | Yes |
You’d want to know about the regular features each of these platforms offer for a more comprehensive comparison. For the security of your site, you’ll get SSL certificates in all of these tools. They also provide free custom domains, email integration, and membership creation features.
Wix and Weebly offer free hosting, but WordPress doesn’t have this feature on its CMS. But you can host your website on WordPress.com with free and paid plans. You can export websites in Weebly and WordPress to keep backups outside the platform. However, exporting websites externally in Wix is impossible as they think it could be a safety hazard. But a site history option in Wix records all the revisions made to the site.
Now coming to website restoration or autosave feature, you can click the autosave mode in both Wix and WordPress for automatic website restoration. But for Weebly, you’ve to manually save it by clicking the save button, which increases the chance of data getting lost on this platform.
- Support
| Topic | Wix | Weebly | WordPress |
| Community Forum | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| N/A | Yes | N/A | |
| Phone | N/A | Yes | N/A |
| Live Chat | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Support Ticket | Yes | Yes | Yes |
If you’re new to website creation and using website-building tools, you must be worried about the support factor as you’re more likely to get stuck. So who leads here?
Weebly has excellent support, and they’re probably the easiest to reach. You can reach Weebly customer service by sending them emails, calling directly to their phone, contacting them through live chat support, leaving a message on their social media platforms, or using their self-service support using the knowledge base of the FAQ section.
On the other hand, Wix doesn’t have a dedicated email to leave a message; you can either contact their chatbot or leave a support ticket from the contact page. They don’t provide phone support. Similarly, WordPress also doesn’t offer official support over the phone. You can submit a support ticket, and they’ll respond with an email. In the case of a third-party hosting service, their customer service can solve many of your WP issues.
But talking about support, one thing in common between all these platforms is that they’ve got a robust community forum where you can find the answer you need. But sometimes, they get hit and miss and buried under tons of comments.
- Pricing
| Topic | Wix | Weebly | WordPress |
| Free Plan | $0/month with basic features | $0/month with basic features | $0/month with basic features |
| Paid Package 1 | Website Plans Connect Domain – Most Basic – $4.50/monthCombo- For Personal Use – $8.50/monthUnlimited – For Entrepreneurs & Freelancers – $12.50/monthVIP – First Priority Support – $24.50/month | Personal: $9/month, or $6/month billed annually. Offers: Custom domain | Personal: $7/month, or $4/month billed annually. Offers: Custom domain |
| Paid Package 2 | Business and eCommerce Plans (with online payment option) Business Basic – Accept Online Payments – $17/monthBusiness Unlimited – Grow Your Business – $25/monthBusiness VIP – Get the Full Suite – $35/month | Professional: $16/month, or $12/month billed annually. Offers: More professional features to create a branded website for the business | Premium: $14/month, or $8/month billed annually. Offers: Premium features to create a branded website |
| Paid Package 3 | Enterprise Plans Tailored to customer needs | Performance: $29/month or $26/month billed annually. Offers: Integrated eCommerce tools to help businesses manage and grow | Business: $33/month, or $25/month billed annually. Offers: Premium plugins, themes, advanced SEO toolseCommerce: $59/month, or $45/month billed annually. Offers: Premium business designs, accept payments from 60+ countries, and includes all premium features |
| Custom Plan | Available | N/A | N/A |
Since the competition is stiff, pricing becomes a crucial differentiator in this comparison. We’ll see who has the better pricing compared to what it offers. Click the links to compare Wix, Weebly, and WordPress plans.
- Free Plan
The trio offers a free plan for its users with basic features. Most users, especially beginners or those with little experience, find the free designs, blogging tools, and other features of Wix to be the best. Weebly is also a popular option for creating free blogs, but its features are pretty basic. For advanced users, WordPress free plan is still the champion.
- Entry Plan
Although WordPress has a slightly cheaper entry plan, Weebly is the winner here because of its low cost, decent features, flexibility, and ease of use. Generally, Wix is more expensive than others, but you can get the entry plan for as little as $4.50 in Wix. But for the business package, the entry plan is still expensive.
- Professional/Premium Plan
Wix’s professional/premium plan costs more than the respective plans of its competitors. However, many find Wix plans are well justified, which is why it’s the top website builder. Weebly and WordPress have cheaper premium or professional plans, and they also provide excellent value for money. So it’s entirely up to the users to decide which website builder plan he thinks is the most suitable one.
- Business Plan
Here, Wix is again the more expensive one, but WordPress isn’t far behind. WordPress has expensive business and eCommerce plans but is widely sold for different businesses worldwide. Weebly is also well in the competition with slightly lower prices and its eCommerce tools powered by Square. So it’s a head-to-head competition among the trio regarding their business or eCommerce plans.
- Speed
| Topic | Wix | Weebly | WordPress |
| TTFB Speed | Above Average | Above Average | Above Average |
| Website Building Speed | Very Fast | Very Fast | Average |
Now, we’ll consider the speed factor for these website builders.
- Time To First Byte (TTFB)
It refers to how fast the websites made on these platforms start loading the first byte of data from the website server. In this case, all three platforms have identical performance, and it’s above average.
- Website Building Speed
Wix and Weebly score the same regarding website building speed. Since they’re easy to use, they tend to be faster than WordPress. On the other hand, WordPress has an average website building speed as it includes slightly more complications than the other two.
Pros, Cons, and Customer Rating Comparison
| Topic | Wix | Weebly | WordPress |
| Pros | Easy to use with Drag-and-Drop, Wix ADI – Artificial Intelligence, and More built-in featuresModern, Sleek, and Intuitive InterfaceMore than 500 attractive templatesWell-researched Pricing PlansRich App Market with Variety of Free Widgets & AppsDedicated eCommerce Solutions | 99,98% UptimeEase of Use with Drag-and-Drop Design and Built-in FeaturesRich App Market with More than 350 AppsCheaper PricingModern Templates | Universally accepted and a pioneer in the website building framework industry.Super Flexible in terms of customizationRich Plugin or App Market to Solve All Kinds of ProblemsGreat for Advanced FunctionalitiesCheaper pricing |
| Cons | Can’t Export or Transfer SiteCan’t Interchange TemplatesLacks Free Tracking, Analytics, and SEO | No mobile editorLack of customization optionSite transfer is possible but complicated | Difficult to Use without Coding Knowledge and Has No Drag-and-DropClunky Interface with Slow SpeedNeeds Excessive Reliance on Third-Part Apps |
| Customer Satisfaction Rating (according to TrustPilot) | 4.3 out of 5 | 1.9 out of 5 | 3.8 out of 5 |
| Value for Money | Excellent | Decent | Decent |
You’ve seen the pros and cons; now check out our take on all these platforms below.
- Our Take on Wix
Wix offers the best value for money ratio, surpassing its competitors by a good margin for ease of use, modern and intuitive editor, attractive and rich template collection, built-in eCommerce features, customized plans, and overall best value for money ratio.
However, Wix has a scope to improve on factors like site transfer, template interchangeability, and template customization. But they’re minor. All in all, Wix is highly versatile and suitable for most professional websites.
- Our Take Weebly
Weebly is probably the most simplistic website builder and is suitable for small businesses that don’t plan to grow exponentially. The template collections are limited, but they’re modern and attractive. The pre-formatted layout is decent, but unfortunately, there’s less chance for customization.
Its editor is easy to use but looks clunky and could be improved. The eCommerce solutions are impressive after Square acquired them. The price is also a plus for Weebly and is highly competitive.
It has to improve on factors like making the editor more intuitive, adding a mobile editor, and providing user-friendly customization.
- Our Take on WordPress
Unlike the other two, WordPress is a Content Management System or an eco-system where customization and third-party involvement are essential. And that’s why it’s a universally accepted website building platform and still rules the market with a 43% market share. It has a vast plugin market where you’ll get a plugin for every issue you encounter.
But the problem with WP is it’s more generic, and customers today want more specific application-oriented solutions. It’s harder to use, has a slow speed, and users must figure out many things independently. However, WordPress is still the best option for advanced users for any kind of website.
Final Verdict
After considering the aspects like ease of use, features, value for money, user-friendly editor, mobile editing option, template collection, eCommerce solution, and app market, the winner of the Wix Vs Weebly Vs WordPress web war is — Wix.
Our verdict is based on overall aspects, but if you’re an advanced or a more basic user, WordPress or Weebly can be a better option, based on your requirements. If you’ve gone through our evaluation above, you’d probably agree with our verdict regarding this web war, where Wix comes on top with higher evaluation points.