Switch from Wix to WordPress & Elementor
When running my business I try to constantly look for trends in new clients. What are the main reasons people come to us? What motivated them to choose an agency that uses WordPress and Elementor?
After a successful year of building many new websites for clients, the number 1 trend is clients coming to us after building their own website with Wix. We’ve had a lot of work from clients and businesses who are progressing upwards and want to switch from Wix to WordPress.
Why would you want to switch from Wix to WordPress?
Let’s begin this section by saying this is not an ‘attack piece’, which looks to wade into the recent Wix vs WordPress phoney war. All I am interested in are my clients, past, present and future.
When talking to new clients we’ve worked with who’ve come from Wix, there are very similar issues. Firstly, by having built their own website it’s not as visually appealing as their rivals who paid an agency. Users are very savvy and around 75% of users base their opinion of a company on their website.
While there are Wix agencies, our recent clients have wanted to move away from Wix entirely due to the other limitations of the platform.
The main difference between WordPress and Wix is flexibility. WordPress is designed to be open-source. That means that the code behind WordPress is open for anyone to create plugins, themes or tweak the code themselves. It’s designed to be open. Whereas Wix is designed to be a product. It’s designed to lock the user into staying with Wix and limit their ability to expand their website.
Once you have picked your theme with Wix you’re not allowed to change it. Meanwhile, with WordPress, you can openly tweak, change and improve your own website so it grows as your business grows.
Not only is WordPress more open, but it’s also infinitely more scaleable. Wix has around 250 ‘apps’ you can add to improve the functionality of your website. WordPress has over 50,000 plugins. You can pretty much build any website with WordPress, but Wix has a very obvious ceiling to your creativity.
How to switch from Wix to WordPress
By the very nature of Wix, it’s quite tricky to move your own data and content out of your Wix website. Some might even argue that Wix owns your website, not you!
Luckily the CMS2CMS plugin for WordPress can help you. With their plugin, you can transfer all content from your Wix website to WordPress, but note — it won’t be free!
Before you worry about transferring content you need to ensure you have taken a few other crucial steps:
Purchase hosting
There are loads of great options for hosting and it’s impossible to recommend one without knowing your needs. While there are cheap shared hosting plans, some benefit from VPS hosting, where you have more control over the server your website is hosted on.
We use Cloudways for all of our clients. Our clients are either on one of our own servers or we spin up a new server for larger client websites.
While the cheap options might seem a good idea, you really do get what you pay for with hosting.
If you need any advice, please get in touch and we can recommend the right hosting plan for you.
Install WordPress
Once hosting is installed you will need to install WordPress. How that’s done depends on the hosting you purchase. However, most hosting providers have software you can install and that will undoubtedly include WordPress.
Installing WordPress for the first time can seem daunting. Make sure you follow the steps on screen carefully or use a guide to help.
Set up your site
Once WordPress installed you can log in and get started. Begin by choosing a theme and think about which plugins you might need. There’s plenty to choose from, so take your time and do some research.
What if you don’t want the hassle?
If all of the steps above seem scary or just an awful lot of work, that’s ok. We’ve had many clients recently reach out to say they want their Wix website built with WordPress but want someone else to do it for them.
Especially for those who have built their own Wix website, working with an agency that specialises in building great WordPress websites is the perfect choice.
While it is possible to move over your existing data from Wix, often it’s just not a great idea. You will want a fresh start with a new website. We can help build a website from the ground up and incorporate the ideas behind your old Wix website but within a freshly, modern, new website.
Working with WordPress allows us the ability to replicate the SEO on your Wix website, if not improve upon it. By using the excellent SEOPress plugin, we can ensure page URLs are either replicated or redirected. We can also move over page titles and meta descriptions. SEOPress also provides an in-depth audit to help further improve the SEO of your website.
Wix vs Elementor
One of the big draws towards Wix is the visual way people can build and edit their website. Being able to see how simple it is to use the Wix editor does instantly attract people.
One of the big concerns I have heard from new clients about moving away from Wix is that they will no longer be able to easily edit and maintain their website. However, with Elementor that’s not the case!
Elementor is a visual drag-and-drop website builder. It’s quite similar to the Wix editor and quite a few of the ways you edit the content are transferable as skills.
We currently use Elementor to build all of our client’s website. We ensure all of the websites we build are really ridiculously easy to edit.
We also provide first-class aftercare to all of our clients. With access to our highly-regarded client learning portal, our clients can get access to bespoke training and help. We work to empower our clients to be able to edit all key aspects of their website.
The reviews we’ve had from clients who have moved from Wix to WordPress and Elementor show that there’s no downside. If anything they all seem to agree that WordPress and Elementor are even better than Wix.
In summary
If you have a Wix website, but you’re looking to move away to WordPress, we can help.
WordPress will provide you with much more flexibility and control over your website. When paired with Elementor you will still have the ease to edit your website and develop it yourself.
Feel free to get in touch today to switch from Wix to WordPress & Elementor.
