Wix and Shopify are two of the biggest names in the fast-growing field of web development. For two decades, both platforms have provided easy-to-use solutions for online presence creation and management, assisting startups and enterprises in going digital.
Wix has become synonymous with user-friendly and adaptable website building, thanks to its millions of active sites worldwide.
Instead, more than 5.6 million online retailers throughout the globe are powered by Shopify, an 'all-in-one' e-commerce platform. You can develop websites and sell items online quite easily with both platforms, but they also have their own capabilities.
In this detailed comparison, we will discuss Wix and Shopify side-by-side to find out which platform is better suited to your needs. We will look at their functions, performance, and user experience in detail.
Article Shortcuts:
Source: Unsplash
Key Functionality: Wix vs. Shopify
To set the stage, let's take a look at what Wix and Shopify have to offer.
1. Drag & Drop Feature
Source: Revealbi
Editing a website is where all the action takes place.
With its user-friendly drag-and-drop builder, Wix stands out in this area, catering to both programmers and non-coders alike. The editor makes the web development process easier even for those who have never touched a line of code.
You have full control over your design, right down to the pixel, with this intuitive interface that lets you effortlessly rearrange elements on the page. With over 120 e-commerce-specific designs, Wix offers an abundance of options for any kind of business.
Shopify, on the other hand, has an editor that is easy to use but lacks drag-and-drop features. You may alter pre-existing layouts by dragging and dropping elements and changing their properties. On Shopify, you can find over 200 themes, with 246 of them being paid and 23 being free.
While both platforms are easy to use and cater to users with varying degrees of design knowledge, Wix surpasses the competition by providing companies with greater creative freedom, letting them bring their one-of-a-kind ideas to life without the need to know how to code.
The Wix platform's free-form drag-and-drop tools allow for even more personalization. In contrast to Shopify, Wix's website builder isn't limited to e-commerce alone; it has a plethora of free designs covering a wide range of industries.
2. AI-based Web Design
Wix and Shopify are two platforms that have gone a long way in utilizing AI for website building and maintenance. Let's take a closer look at how these platforms use AI to simplify company processes and construct websites.
Wix's AI Features
Wix began investing in artificial intelligence (AI) with the launch of Wix ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) in 2016. The Wix set of tools is one differentiating factor:
- Wix AI website builder: Regardless of your skill level, Wix's AI website builder will allow you to create a one-of-a-kind, fully-functional site in no time. Once you explain what you want to achieve using the intuitive chat interface, the AI will generate a unique, business-ready site that you can adapt to meet your requirements.
- In-built artificial intelligence tools: Creating websites isn't the only thing you can accomplish with Wix's AI. Create an appearance of a unified brand on your site by incorporating branded content, product descriptions, and whole blog entries. Another use of AI is the ability to immediately create or edit images. In addition, Wix offers sections and layouts that are customized to your style by AI. It also offers marketing and SEO tools, such as optimized meta tags, email campaigns, and content for Google Ads.
- AI assistants: The artificial intelligence (AI) helpers offered by Wix make it easy to create a site and grow your business. Several helpful widgets are available in Wix that may guide you through common tasks, such as finding certain Editor tools or choosing a theme that complements your brand's style.
With Wix Studio, the company caters to agencies, freelancers, and organizations that want more advanced design and development services. Create more intricate designs, incorporate responsive activities, and effortlessly manage many sites with Wix Studio.
“Ideally, ‘good design’ inspires action beyond interaction with the design itself. Any design that encourages users to do more than they thought of before, in a positive and enriching way, is ‘good.’” —Stephanie Lawrence, senior product designer at dbt Labs and former senior experience designer at Adobe
Shopify's AI Features
Artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities targeted to e-commerce features are offered by Shopify with two separate toolkits. These features include:
- Shopify Magic: There are a lot of features included in this free AI package, such as editing photographs, chat, purchasing carts, email marketing, SEO (search engine optimization), theme building from a single command, and more.
- Shopify Sidekick: Intelligent software that can help you set up Shopify and provide advice on content and strategy. If you give Sidekick a few keywords, it can make up new visuals and speak multiple languages.
Though they both provide tools driven by AI, Wix and Shopify aren't quite the same.
By providing a conversational interface for easy website development and design, Wix's flexible AI website builder makes it perfect for individuals and company owners in a wide range of sectors.
Conversely, Shopify's AI features are designed with e-commerce in mind, which is why it's so attractive to store owners who are always on the go. With its extensive library of premade layouts and AI-powered personalization options, Wix is a great pick for anybody looking for greater design freedom.
While both systems may grow with your business, Wix's extensive AI features make it ideal for a wider range of online endeavors than just e-commerce.
When compared to its competitors, Wix offers superior AI-driven website building and more design freedom in general. On the other hand, Shopify is stepping up its game, especially in the e-commerce space, with AI solutions that simplify administration and sales procedures for online stores.
“Small business owners are some of the most courageous and tenacious people you’ll ever meet.” —Simon Sinek
3. Market Demand and App Market
Wix and Shopify are two of the best website builders out there when it comes to app markets. It should be noted that Wix uses a "native solution" concept before we analyze.
Wix has many capabilities that other platforms would need third-party applications for, so it's convenient for company owners to have all their solutions in one place.
With over 750 applications from verified partners, Wix's App Market offers a wide variety of solutions for different types of websites and industries. Although there are more applications in Shopify's App Store—roughly 16,000—the majority of them are related to e-commerce solutions.
Consider Shopify, which caters especially to fulfillment centers and shipping companies with its extensive app selection and direct connections.
In contrast, Wix's app ecosystem serves a wider variety of sectors and website types, including those that accept bookings via the internet, like flights or shows, purchase online, include cafe menus, and many more.
You can discover what you're searching for within Wix, despite Shopify's statistical benefit with applications and tilt towards e-commerce. Wix has invested in native solutions. What this implies is that you may run and develop your business without an integration or numerous subscriptions.
4. Blogging Capabilities
Source: contentfuel
Although both Wix and Shopify come with built-in solutions for blogging, Wix's more feature-rich platform gives it a tiny advantage.
Wix provides a feature-rich, user-friendly platform for blogging that is accessible to novices and experts alike. Flexible layout choices are available, and tools powered by AI may produce blog articles, outlines, and ideas depending on your target demographic, keywords, and content goals.
They can even edit the text for you. To further aid in the optimization of each content, the software comes with an SEO checklist and an AI meta tag maker. Optimize your blog's exposure with built-in organizational tools like categories and tags. Plus, receive automated SEO support for sitemaps and metadata.
While Shopify does come with a blogging engine, it lacks more complex tools for managing content, such as the ability to directly react to comments or add additional authors.
Additionally, unlike Wix, it does not provide comprehensive blog metrics, such as the ability to monitor blog views. Blogs on Shopify also have fewer native SEO tools and fewer design choices than those on Wix.
If you want to create a professional-looking blog that people will want to read, go no further than Wix's feature-rich blog builder. Shopify's blogging tools are more focused on helping you establish a community around your business.
5. E-commerce Features
The capacity to manage inventory, collect payments securely, and sell through several channels is are important capability offered by both platforms.
The power of Wix lies in its built-in, no-connections e-commerce tools, which are ideal for small to medium-sized businesses or those just beginning out in online sales.
In contrast, Shopify's robust order and inventory management capabilities, as well as its numerous connections with other channels, make it an excellent choice for businesses attempting to extend their operations or have more than one location.
Putting the specifics aside, you may use any platform to sell on popular marketplaces like Amazon, TikTok, eBay, and Google Merchant. But by integrating with other services, Shopify broadens its reach even further. This includes Walmart, Target Plus, and Pinterest. Plus, it works with WhatsApp and SMS for sales.
With the latest inclusion of the "Buy with Prime" button, retailers can reach out to the massive Amazon Prime consumer base and provide Prime perks like free shipping. Another major feature of Shopify is the "Shopify Buy" button, which is included with each Shopify subscription.
Along with all this, Shopify also offers a special tool called its "Handshake" marketplace. This marketplace links sellers with wholesalers that Shopify chose specifically. The business-to-business network might be a great resource for companies looking to expand their wholesale operations or source products.
Among Wix's many advantages is its one-of-a-kind checkout procedure. Users of Wix may fill a single shopping basket with a vast array of goods and services.
Customers may pay for many items in one transaction by adding services (like a manicure), event tickets, and physical objects (like detergent, assuming we're continuing with the washing items) to a single shopping cart. As it is, this is not an option in Shopify's default configuration.
Moreover, Wix allows you to personalize your checkout process, in contrast to Shopify, where Shopify Plus costs more than $2,500 monthly. This is a great feature for Wix users since they can personalize the checkout forms to collect the data they need.
Plus, you may tailor the criteria for certain areas to fit your company's requirements. Make a custom field that asks if the purchase is for business, for instance. If the buyer clicks "Yes," other fields that are related to their inquiry will pop up.
Individuals who choose "No" will not be shown these additional fields. This is an excellent method for learning about your clients, their wants, and how to meet their demands.
In the end, your business's unique requirements will determine whether Wix or Shopify is the better e-commerce platform for you.
Shopify is a good fit for companies that specialize in B2B operations, complex inventory management, or multichannel sales, while Wix is a good choice for those looking for an all-in-one solution.
6. Branding & SEO Tools
Wix and Shopify are similar in that they both offer robust marketing and SEO capabilities; nevertheless, there are significant distinctions between the two.
As an industry leader, Wix provides a one-stop shop for retailers seeking to cover all bases without the headache of managing third-party applications with its extensive range of in-house CRM and marketing tools.
There are certain complex features that Shopify offers that Wix doesn't, but Wix is built to provide you with what you need immediately.
Wix has a wider range of tools that advanced marketers would find useful, matching and perhaps surpassing these capabilities.
Wix offers a number of advantages over Shopify Plus, including the ability to manage ad campaigns directly from the dashboard, integrations with tools like Semrush (which provides 10 free keyword searches per day), and assistance from AI-powered systems when it comes to generating SEO-friendly articles and meta tags.
Along with their website creation services, Wix and Shopify also include marketing resources like logo and company name generators. The native-solution marketing strategy is the true differentiator for Wix.
As an example, Wix allows you to make films and images for social media, and you can also manage your campaigns and upload them from Wix.
Although both platforms give good marketing basics, Wix has a lot more in-house CRM and marketing tools. While Shopify does provide some more sophisticated features, you can have the basics covered using Wix's platform without installing or managing any additional apps.
POWR On Wix
With the most cutting-edge security technologies and large-scale features available, POWR applications are designed to grow alongside your Wix business, ensuring the privacy of both your customers and business.
With POWR on Wix, you can,
1. Install an eCommerce App
The simple method to integrate eCommerce with Wix in a matter of minutes, without the need for a developer or technical knowledge.
2. Add a Job Board App
Personalize the Job Board to fit your website's theme and style. You can add it anywhere on a Wix page, blog, sidebar, or a specific page.
3. Install a Social Feed App
With POWR, we focus on the security of our Social Feed app and other 60+ applications on Wix to keep malicious acts and thefts away, and we assist Wix sites with a high volume of users.
POWR On Shopify
Regardless of your stage of growth, we are just as dedicated to assisting you as Shopify is to helping you expand your business beyond online sales.
With POWR on Shopify, you can,
1. Add a Pop-up App
Using POWR, you can customize different pop-up messages, notifications, and automated emails for your unique needs.
2. Create a Media Gallery
With the help of POWR, one can add slideshow galleries to product or collection pages as well as attach and display videos.
3. Create a Form
With this option, you can build lead‑generation forms, contact & survey forms, upload files, and make payment collection via integrated payment apps.
FAQs
1. Which one is better: Wix or Shopify?
Wix and Shopify are both fantastic platforms, yet they cater to significantly different audiences: For online stores, Shopify is the platform of choice. It has strong connectivity with payment and shipping providers, an extensive app ecosystem, improved scalability, and sophisticated inventory management.
2. What sets Shopify apart from Wix?
Unlike Wix, Shopify allows you to see all of your sales—online and off—in one convenient location. To further assist you in analyzing the performance of your business, Shopify also provides a more comprehensive sales data dashboard.
3. Why is Shopify more popular than Wix?
Shopify is the Best for Online Sales. For good reason, Shopify boasts the most advanced sales tools available, which is why it is a preferred e-commerce platform. While Wix is more suited to operating a small business with a few products, Shopify is perfect for online businesses with expanding or large inventory.
4. Is Wix compatible with Shopify?
It is easy to set up connectivity between Wix and Shopify. You can quickly turn your Wix site into a mini-store with the help of the Shopify Buy Button. To make sure your site has a consistent aesthetic, this option is adaptable, modifiable, and made to complement your brand.
5. Are Wix websites free to use?
With Wix's free, dependable, and secure hosting, you can build a basic website using their drag-and-drop editor. For those just starting out or companies seeking to expand their online visibility, Wix's free plan is an ideal no-code website builder.
Conclusion: Wix vs. Shopify – Which One Should You Choose?
Which of the two platforms, Wix or Shopify, is better for you depends on your website's intended purpose.<