Tag: Digital Presence

WordPress vs Wix

Everyday there are increasingly simpler and faster ways to establish digital presence and provide online commerce, but which solutions are best suited for a business? In this article WordPress vs Wix we compare the self-hosted WordPress with the hosted Wix in order to identify the differences, the pros and the cons of each type of solution.

These solutions were chosen based on their popularity within each type of hosted and self-hosted solutions, as they have the largest number of sites available in their respective categories, however for each type there’s other options available.

Self-hosted solutions like WordPress.org, Drupal or Joomla are free and open source full featured CMS solutions. They don’t provide hosting or domain so it’s necessary to obtain them to publish the site, entailing costs but allowing additional freedom in the configuration, customization and retention of solutions. Additionally, because they require some degree of technical knowledge, these should be configured and managed by an experienced implementer.

Hosted solutions, as Wix, Shopify or wordpress.com include hosting and domain, but are based on a periodic subscription business model. Although they’re easier and more intuitive to use, they’re not free and more limited on configuration and customization capabilities, since there’s no access to the source code and the interface does not allow all options in order to guarantee that same simplicity and usability.

Note: WordPress.org is a free and open-source CMS solution that shouldn’t be confused with wordpress.com, which is a website created by one of the founders of WordPress offering a pre-configured solution with hosting, domain and some included extensions. Under the hood the solution is the same, however wordpress.com is more limited and uses a subscription model similar to Wix.

So what costs they have?

The main issue to clarify is that, a professional website to promote a company, brand or product, or to provide e-commerce, none of the options will be free. In self-hosted solutions such as WordPress, the base product is free but requires domain, hosting and technical expertise to install and configure the site. In the case of hosted solutions like Wix, the base product is presented as free, however without purchasing a paid plan, the site won’t appear on search engines, all pages of the site will contain advertising, the base address will be a subdomain, such as “user.wixsite.com/mysite” and will have other limitations on functionality and bandwidth.

In financial terms, the distinction between the two solutions is on the timing and durability of the investment. Wix presents a subscription model whose effort is diluted over time through smoother but constant monthly fees over the entire lifetime of the site, while WordPress has a greater initial effort, but after the starting phase has basically no costs derived from its open-source base and update mechanisms.

However in order to properly address both solutions, we’ll go into more detail about the strengths and limitations of each.

WordPress vs Wix

The global statistics of both CMS solutions allow, above all, to assess the level of popularity and adherence:

40% of all internet sites
28% in e-commerce sites
64% market share on CMS solutions
38% of the 10 000 more visited sites on all the web
Sources: https://wordpress.org/about/ https://kinsta.com/wordpress-market-share/

WordPress is a free and open-source CMS solution available to download from wordpress.org. As the solution is licensed under GPLv2, its use and modification is free, so the effort to create a WordPress site is related to the acquisition of a domain and hosting together with the technical, graphic and security configuration in order to ensure the correct functioning and performance of the site.

6.17% market share on e-commerce
2,5% market share on CMS solutions
0,89% of the 100 000 more visited sites on all the web
3.3 million sites
Sources: https://websitesetup.org https://w3techs.com

Wix is a website creation platform where it’s ease and usability will appeal to any user through an extremely intuitive and simple interface. With different monthly subscription options including hosting and domain, it allows to create modern and compatible websites in a quick and accessible way, with added features adjusted to the financial effort intended.

Looking at the different aspects of these platforms we can identify the strengths and weaknesses of each solution.

Functionality

In terms of functionality, WordPress has a wide advantage. Through a large amount of graphic templates for all tastes, an extensive support community and a base of more than 50,000 plugins, there’s no limitations on what to do, ensuring functionality via themes, plugins or customization’s.

Wix in it’s paid plans has the essential options however it doesn’t have customization capabilities and the plugins and themes cannot reach the level of existing options in wordpress.

SEO

A key element of the website to ensure search engine presence. Both solutions have the functionality to optimize the website’s SEO through base components and plugins, however the on-page and off-page SEO in WordPress is more complete. Wix also offers plugins for this purpose, however these are more limited.

Analytics

The ability to identify among website visitors, what content is relevant, what generates more attention, what needs to be improved. The analytics components are another fundamental part of a modern website, where wordpress offers a more complete set of capabilities. Both have integration with Google Analytics, however, the ability to customize wordpress and the extensive base of plugins allows you to do more in this area.

Scalability and performance

In terms of performance, for small and medium-sized sites there’s no major differences between the two solutions. When scaled up to a reasonable number of pages and complexity, Wix is simply not a viable option. WordPress ensures scalability much better due to its greater robustness and full configuration access to all application layers.

Visual quality and compatibility

In terms of aesthetics and compatibility both solutions can produce exceptionally looking sites, fully compatible with browsers and devices, however Wix has an advantage in the visual area due to the quality of its templates and the ease of the site creation process. WordPress allows you to create websites with the same visual quality, however good graphic templates are not as accessible.

Usability

This is the main added value of Wix and what makes it so appealing especially for users without computer or web design knowledge, due to the whole process simplicity and the excellent quality of their editing tools. Only remarks are on the mobile device editor which is separate, and the small but relevant limitations found when you want to personalize with greater level of detail.

On WordPress, despite being relatively simple to perform the basic tasks of creating pages, articles or menus, the site configuration in general has a steeper learning curve, due to all the technical aspects affecting the site performance, security and integrity.

To meet these needs, we suggest a technological partner such as Sollogica, that offers implementation services at competitive costs, ensuring the site features, compatibility, performance and security.

Security

In terms of security both solutions are effective, however in WordPress this subject is much more important since the site is managed by the customer or it’s chosen partner.

This is one of the reasons why WordPress should be implemented by resources with a solid level of technical knowledge. WordPress is a very secure solution, however the universe of plugins and templates is so vast and the customization capabilities so extensive, that the primary sources of security issues come from misconfigurations or installation of third party components without being able to assess quality and security.

Continuity and portability

This is the great limitation of Wix as a web solution, given that the site and all its content is hosted on Wix servers and cannot be exported or moved in any way. In other words, if you ever want to restructure the site, or simply change providers, you have to start from scratch, since there’s no access to the site files or database.

In terms of maintenance is possible as long as there’s no major changes, because once the base layout is chosen it cannot be changed. Corrective maintenance is automatic.

As for WordPress, portability is ensured through export and import tools, allowing you to migrate all content to another platform if you wish so. In terms of maintenance there’s no limitations, being possible to completely restructure the site or add additional components or functionalities, without affecting the existing content.
Corrective maintenance in WordPress is performed automatically and large feature updates can be easily validated before deployment.

Ownership

WordPress once installed and configured is yours to use and modify as you wish.

When you create a website on Wix, according to the terms and conditions, the design and features are not yours but part of a subscribed service. Only the content you place on the site is yours, however since there’s no way to export or move it, you have no options than continuing to subscribe or start from scratch on a new provider. Here is where the business model fully reveals itself, and despite it will surely has it’s follower base, I consider it overly restrictive.

Conclusion

In this WordPress vs Wix comparison, we choose WordPress for its robustness, functionality, extensibility and open-source base, as it’s superior to Wix in almost all aspects, being only surpassed in the quality and accessibility of Wix graphic templates and it’s ease of use.

However, it’s important to note that easy does not mean good, at least on a corporate or e-commerce site.

The democratization of technology is a reality and represents a very important step towards increasing competitiveness, where companies and individuals no longer require large investments in order to have a good and efficient digital presence. The web technology through solutions like the ones mentioned here have facilitated this process, however the technologies inherent to a website, such as performance, scalability, search engine optimization or site analytics, are complex and constantly evolving themes, where excessive simplification for commercial purposes will only cause issues on the long run.

A lot of online information presents Wix as a more effective solution in financial terms, however taking into account the practiced consultancy rates and the effort of setting up a standard site in WordPress, it’s easy to verify that in a space of two years or less, Wix subscription costs will exceed the initial WordPress investment.

Taking into account the implicit costs of having a website whose search engine presence is inferior, that cannot be changed or moved, that cannot be restructured and that is dependent on the destination and decisions of the company where it’s hosted, are too many limiting factors that should be weighted when a user accesses the site, chooses a couple of options, a spectacular layout and thinks he already has his site made.

Certainly Wix will have its followers and specific niches where it can be a good asset, however looking at the solutions as a whole, our advice will surely be WordPress.

22.04.2021
Digital Transformation
In the first article of this blog I want to focus the topic of Digital Transformation due to its current relevance on society in general and also to provide an overview on the subject, giving people and organizations the opportunity to understand the importance of this topic that is transforming how companies operate, as well as the way people work, relate, acquire goods and services and interact with public and private organizations.

We all heard this buzzword from articles, conferences, senior politicians and business players, but what does Digital Transformation mean?

“Digital transformation is the strategic adoption of digital technologies, used to improve processes and productivity, offer better experiences for customers and employees, manage business risk and control costs.”

Covering governments, corporations and also businesses created from scratch, such as the populars Netflix, Uber or AirBnB, the digital transformation points the way for businesses to improve their performance, so necessary in an increasingly competitive global market.

And if the reader thinks that this is just a trend or that it doesn’t apply in his area, it’s better to look the signs of change:
Consumer behavior increasingly shows a tendency to use digital tools when looking for a product or service or making a purchase. On the other hand, this increased digital presence offers the possibility of an unprecedented interaction with customers and partners, allowing to increase the visibility, reach and interaction capacity of your business.

And where to begin?

The answer to this question will vary depending on the size of the organization, the company’s business area and the level of digital evolution already reached, however there are several improvements common to the vast majority of organizations and which we detail below.

I leave a parenthesis here for large organizations, which need to carry out more comprehensive approaches detailing cultural and organizational aspects beyond the operational and procedural aspects. This article on Linkedin allows an overview of the domains of digital transformation at the level of large organizations.

In operational terms, we present the most popular digital transformation initiatives with proven results regardless of size or business area.

Digital Presence

If your business is not present on the web this should be a priority. People must know through the internet: who you are, where you are, what you sell. Essentially your business or organization must be visible on search engines, social networks and other relevant digital spaces.

From this foundation you can leverage the web presence to other areas depending on the objectives and the type of business:

Digital Marketing

Promotion of your business online through initiatives that aim to promote your brand and attract potential customers.

Brand Reputation

The digital presence enables an unprecedented level of interaction with your customers and partners, allowing you to improve the customer experience, which in turn will increase customer satisfaction and the perception they have about your business. Leverage this proximity through social networks, forums or support channels.

Business Generation

Through digital presence you will be able to identify potential customers, developing information and interacting with potential targets through sales development techniques.

Going Paperless

Consists of the transition from analog paper processes to digital processes, which in addition to efficiency and standardization gains will ensure the performance and quality of your business processes, given the ease of access, validation and treatment of information in digital systems.

This is probably the most approached digital transformation initiative, given that it was one of the first themes to be pointed out as an added value in the digitization of companies.

The first step towards this objective is the correct analysis and definition of business processes, in order to identify the areas and phases of each process that can be transposed to digital formats. In this way it is possible to implement the desired solutions, taking into account the following automation and integration steps.

Automation

Like the previous theme to increase the level of automation it’s necessary to identify and define business processes. Starting from this base, it is possible to analyze in detail the phases of each process to fit automation mechanisms that guarantee better efficiency, effectiveness and traceability, allowing to reduce operational costs and increasing productivity.

Automation solutions are diverse and vary in complexity and cost depending on the size and business area. Which ones will be right for your business will depend on the specific needs and requirements you have, however it’s possible to find automation solutions for all business areas, such as marketing, sales, production, finance and accounting or also generic process automation solutions.

Integration

Digitization and automation initiatives produce volumes of information that can and should be analyzed in order to extract knowledge, but these volumes of information, being allocated to specific areas such as individual information silos, create problems of efficiency and redundancy given their isolation.

Not all information can or should circulate freely through the various areas of the company for business reasons or even legal requirements in specific business areas. In areas such as health or legal areas, information silos are essential for containing confidential information, or setting an example in terms of business restrictions, a human resources area should only share information from a recruitment process when it needs to involve the person in charge of the area to be recruited, or a commercial area only involves production resources when you need to prepare a proposal or respond to specifications.

It’s in this context that integration systems are a key part in the production of knowledge and in the optimization of business processes, allowing the identification of relevant information for different business areas and sharing it with those who need it, guaranteeing the effectiveness of its employees at the same time as restricts sensitive information and ensures the collection of critical information to assess business performance.

Analytics

Through the information collected in the previous processes, you can produce reports and business indicators such as KPI’s that allow you to obtain knowledge from all the information collected. This knowledge will give a more accurate and immediate view of your business, allowing you to identify points of improvement and making decisions with greater security, ensuring a strategic view of your business and allowing you to act in a timely manner to sudden changes or adverse events.

There are several other possibilities for digital transformation applicable to specific sectors of activity or inherent in the genesis of their own businesses, such as those already mentioned AirBnB, Netflix or Uber. It’s important to note that digital transformation is not just the measures previously identified, but a whole way of defining a business through technology.

And what risks are involved?

Changes of significant dimension to the way your business works result in risks that must be managed in order to achieve the intended objectives, however these risks can be safely contained as long as they are identified and controlled.

Financial

The risk of embarking on an investment with concerns that can get out of control or that does not translate into returns is something that is present in the mind of any manager, however in view of the evolution of the technological market it is also a risk that has become easily mitigated.

The expansion and diversification of the information technology market has democratized the offer of products and services, by bringing new subscription models such as Software as a Service, Product as a Service and Hardware as a Service that allow technological investments at very low costs without sacrificing quality or effectiveness.

In the past, company IT departments grew in order to enable the digital transition, requiring several resources to manage the systems and solutions acquired, however nowadays with the advent of service-oriented cloud-based solutions, investment costs and IT maintenance has become accessible, ensuring functionality and effectiveness without compromising security and privacy.

Complexity

As a result of this growing technological adoption that occurs on a global scale by companies and consumers, the speed with which the IT market evolves is fascinating and I understand that often intimidating. At an almost daily pace, new concepts, products and solutions emerge where, especially for people outside the area, it’s difficult to identify whether they can be an asset.

The key to mitigating this risk is the adoption of knowledge through specialized partnerships. With an experienced and reliable partner like Sollogica it’s possible to deconstruct the complexity of these themes and identify the solutions that best suit the context and timing of your business or organization.

Change

Or resistance to change, this is a phenomenon that comes from breaking routines that have been established many times over the years, or also fueling fears in the face of a new and unknown context.

Most important for the acceptance of changes in the business environment is the involvement of all levels of the organization, especially top management, in order to clearly establish the direction to follow and simultaneously setting an example for the remaining employees.

Another way to mitigate this risk is to ensure a gradual transition, identifying the critical transition points and ensuring that they are met without causing radical changes in the employees’ daily lives.

I hope that at the end of this article the reader will have an improved perception on the topic and it’s main initiatives. If you want to know more about the topics included in this article, reach us through the available channels.
27.01.2021