In-Depth Comparison
Custom WordPress
VS
Wix

Wix vs WordPress: The 'Rental' Trap

Why growing service businesses eventually leave Wix. We analyze the 'Vendor Lock-in' problem, mobile performance issues, and why you don't truly own your website.

The Verdict: Wix is the undisputed king of DIY for beginners. But for businesses scaling past $1M, the 'Rental' model, where you cannot export your code or optimize server performance, becomes a massive liability.

Daniel Sim - SaaS Founder
Chris Baker - Agency Director
David Appleyard - Design Lead
Leanne Giavedoni - Business Owner
Trusted by 50+ Founders & Agencies

At a Glance Comparison

Feature
Custom WordPress
Wix
Ownership
100% (Open Source)
Winner
0% (Proprietary)
Mobile Performance
High (Optimizable)
Winner
Low (JS Heavy)
SEO Capabilities
Flexible
Winner
Restricted
Scalability
Enterprise Ready
Winner
SMB Only
Ease of Use
High (Custom UI)
High (Drag & Drop)

The “Rented Land” Problem

The most common complaint we see from business owners on Reddit isn’t about how Wix looks: it’s about ownership.

When you build on Wix, you are building on rented land. You cannot download your website’s code. You cannot move your database to a faster server. If Wix raises their prices or changes their terms, you are stuck.

With WordPress, you own the asset. You can host it anywhere, modify any line of code, and you are never beholden to a single platform’s roadmap.

3 Reasons Why Service Businesses “Graduate” from Wix

1. The Mobile Performance Ceiling

Wix sites rely heavily on JavaScript to power their drag-and-drop features. This often leads to poor Core Web Vitals on mobile devices.

  • Wix: Often suffers from high “Interaction to Next Paint” (INP) scores, making the site feel sluggish on phones.
  • WordPress: We can strip away unused code and deliver a lightweight, lightning-fast experience that Google rewards with higher rankings.

2. SEO is More Than Just Keywords

Wix has improved its SEO tools, but it still hits a “glass ceiling.” To compete in high-ticket niches (like Legal or Solar), you need advanced technical SEO:

  • Programmatic SEO: Generating thousands of landing pages dynamically.
  • Custom Schema: injecting specific JSON-LD data for local businesses.
  • Server-Side Caching: Controlling exactly how Googlebot crawls your site. WordPress handles this natively. Wix often requires complex workarounds or isn’t possible at all.

3. Integration Flexibility

As your business grows, you will need to connect your site to CRMs, booking tools, and marketing automation software.

  • Wix: You are limited to the Wix App Market or Zapier (which can get expensive and messy).
  • WordPress: Has a native plugin or API endpoint for virtually every piece of software on earth. If it exists, it integrates with WordPress.

Stop Renting, Start Owning

If you feel like you’ve hit a wall with Wix, whether it’s slow mobile speeds or the inability to add a specific feature, it’s time to migrate.

We specialize in “Safe-Landing” Migrations. We extract your content from Wix, rebuild your design on a high-performance WordPress foundation, and ensure you never lose a single SEO ranking position.

Contact

Ready to Turn Your Wix Website into a High-Performance WordPress Engine?

Stop losing leads to platform limitations. I specialize in high-fidelity migrations that keep your design but unlock WordPress power.

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Not ready yet? Contact me directly → ga [at] ctaflow.com

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