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WordPress vs Blogger vs Wix for Blogging, which is best?
If you’re first starting out, choosing between WordPress vs Blogger vs Wix may seem like a daunting task since they are all good for web development. All three do have their own particular features and functionalities.
However, there are also some major differences that separate them as website builders as well. First being that the WordPress CMS is open source and can be self hosted almost anywhere, unlike Blogger and Wix which both need to be hosted on their respective hosting platforms.
In addition, even though Wix and Blogger may seem best for beginners and WordPress may seem more technically challenging, WordPress is far superior for creating more complex sites that you can scale with as your site grows.
Another major difference between WordPress, Blogger and Wix is that although Wix provides 900+ template options while Blogger only offers 12 blog themes, WordPress offers over 9,000 themes and those are just the “free” versions!
Finally, although WiX is now more popular than Blogger, when it comes to actual market share, WordPress vs Blogger vs Wix, the numbers aren’t even close, with WordPress powering over 43% of all the websites on the internet today!
Needless to say, WordPress, Blogger and Wix are all top blogging tools. But, which one is good for you?
In this post, I’ll do a little more detailed comparison to give you more of an idea about these three top blogging platforms: WordPress vs Blogger vs Wix, so you can pick the best blogging platform for your website.
OVERVIEW
WordPress is a mature blogging platform that has evolved over time to include features that help you build a beautiful website or blog. It’s open-source software, which means it’s free to use and you can modify the code to fit your needs.
Blogger is Google’s blogging platform and is very popular. It’s easy to set up and use and is great for simple blogs.
Wix is a website builder with a free blog/blogging template. Many customers love Wix websites and you can now create a beautiful blog for free with Wix as well!
Here are the detailed features of these blogging platforms below:
PLATFORM AND SET-UP
WordPress
WordPress is a free, open-source blogging platform. It offers a wide range of customization and extensibility.
You can make a blog in minutes with their famous “one-click install”.
Now you can also create a website with WordPress. With thousands of themes and plugins to choose from, it’s designed to let you publish and manage your content however you like.
Blogger
To use Blogger, you must have a Google account, which makes it very easy to set up.
You can create a blog in less than 5 minutes with no customizations or installation required.
Your Blogger Blog is also automatically hosted on Google’s servers.
Blogger is great for simple “free” blogs and is a very close second to WordPress. You can even buy or use your own custom domain name and use it on their free hosting platform at no extra charge.
Wix
To create a blog on Wix, you must first sign up for a free account. Wix offers many free templates to choose from and you can start blogging in minutes. Your blog is automatically hosted on Wix servers.
Wix is easy to use and great for simple blogs, but not quite as customizable or extensible as WordPress.
Winner: WordPress
STATS AND SECURITY
WordPress
WordPress has outstanding security features that allow you to easily protect your blog. It has the most mature code base which is regularly updated to fix any vulnerabilities.
The WordPress core software is well-secured, but you can also add extra layers of security with plugins like WordFence (which has both free and paid versions).
WordPress offers many advantages in terms of stats and you can enable Google Analytics or JetPack with a simple click.
Blogger
Blogger is a Google product, so it integrates well with other Google tools like Adsense and Analytics.
However, it doesn’t offer the same level of security features as WordPress. You can’t use plugins to further secure your blog and you’re limited in terms of stats options.
Wix
Wix does not have the same level of security features as WordPress and you can’t use plugins to further secure your blog.
However, Wix does offer great stats tracking options and integrates well with other Google tools like Adsense and Analytics.
Winner: WordPress
Blogger is a close second, but WordPress offers more features and better security. Wix is good for stats, but doesn’t have the same security features as WordPress or Blogger.
THEME AND DESIGN
WordPress
There are thousands of free and premium WordPress themes to choose from, so you can find the perfect design for your blog.
You can also customize any theme to fit your needs.
There are some great starter kits to choose from, like the official WordPress theme “Twenty Twenty”, which is responsive and has built-in SEO.
WordPress offers the most customization options of any blogging platform.
Blogger
Blogger allows you to change your blog’s template, but there aren’t as many design options as WordPress or Wix. You can also add a custom domain name for free (you just need to buy the custom domain name).
Wix
Wix offers many free templates to choose from and you can start blogging in minutes. Your blog is automatically hosted on Wix servers.
Winner: WordPress
Blogger is a close second, but WordPress offers more design options and customization abilities. Wix is good for templates, but doesn’t offer as many options as WordPress.
COST
WordPress
WordPress CMS from WordPress.org is free and open-source software. You can use it on any website you own, for personal or commercial use. There are also many free as well as paid plugins and themes available if you want to add extra features.
There is a free blog plan on WordPress.com available too. But if you want to have an ad-free website and access to unlimited storage space, bandwidth, and domains then you’ll need to upgrade to one of their paid plans.
Even though both WordPress.com and WordPress.org have the same plugin system, you can’t use free themes or plugins on a blog that’s hosted on a WordPress.com domain.
In order to have access to a custom domain name and unlimited storage space, bandwidth, with a WordPress.com blog, you need to purchase one of their paid plans or go with a self-hosted WordPress blog from another Web-Hosting Provider.
Many self hosted options can start at $1-$10/month for Shared Hosting Plans and some include unlimited storage space, bandwidth, and domains.
Blogger
Blogger is a free service offered by Google. You can use it for personal or commercial use.
Wix
There is a free version of Wix available, but if you want to have an ad-free website and access to unlimited storage space, bandwidth, and domains then you’ll need to upgrade. Paid plans start at $5/month for a custom domain name and up to 500GB of storage.
Winner: WordPress
All three options are free. However, if you want to keep your blog for an extended period of time or use plugins, have more flexibility and options for more themes, plugins and hosting, then WordPress is the obvious choice.
SEO OPTIMIZATION
WordPress
Since WordPress powers over 40% of all websites on the web today, it’s the most popular CMS on the planet.
As a result, there are thousands of tutorials and resources to help you optimize your blog for SEO.
WordPress also has some great built-in features, like permalinks and title tags, that help with SEO. You can also use plugins like Yoast to further optimize your blog for SEO.
Blogger
Blogger does not have the same level of SEO optimization options as WordPress. You can’t use plugins to further optimize your blog and you’re limited in terms of metadata options.
Wix
Wix does not have the same level of SEO optimization options as WordPress. You can’t use SEO plugins to further optimize your blog and you’re limited in terms of metadata options.
Winner: WordPress
WordPress offers more SEO optimization options than any other blogging platform. You can use SEO plugins to further optimize your blog and you’re not limited in terms of metadata options.
SOCIAL MEDIA INTEGRATION
WordPress
WordPress integrates well with all major social media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
You can easily share your posts on social media and track how well they’re performing.
You can also use plugins to further integrate your blog with social media.
Blogger
Blogger integrates well with most major social media platforms, like Facebook, and Twitter. You can easily share your posts on social media and track how well they’re performing.
Wix
Wix integrates well with most major social media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can easily share your posts on social media and track how well they’re performing.
Winner: WordPress
All three integrate well with all major social media platforms. However, WordPress offers more customizable sharing options.
EASE OF USE
WordPress
Since WordPress has been around for a long time, it’s easy to find tutorials and resources to help you learn how to use the platform.
There are thousands of free plugins available as well as a variety of themes.
Start your blog in minutes by creating a free WordPress.com account and choosing from one of the many templates available.
Blogger
Since Blogger has been around for a long time, it’s easy to find tutorials and resources to help you learn how to use the platform.
There are a variety of pre-made templates and designs.
Start your blog in minutes by creating a free Blogger account and choosing from one of the many templates available.
Wix
Since Wix has been around for a few years now, it’s easy to find tutorials and resources to help you learn how to use the platform.
There are many free plugins available as well as a variety of themes.
Start your blog in minutes by creating a free Wix account and choosing from one of the many templates available.
Winner: WordPress
WordPress is more user-friendly than any other blogging platform. The interface is easy to understand and you can find tutorials and resources to help you learn how to use the platform.
There are thousands of free plugins and themes available. More than any other CMS out there, by far
SUPPORT
WordPress
If you have a problem with your WordPress blog, there are many support forums available where you can get help from other users and experts in the community.
You can also search for answers to common questions on StackExchange.com or watch YouTube tutorials to learn how to do anything from change your theme to set up a plugin.
Blogger
If you have a problem with your Blogger blog, there are many support forums available where you can get help from other users and experts in the community.
You can also search for answers to common questions on StackExchange.com or watch YouTube tutorials to learn how to do anything from change your theme to set up a plugin.
Wix
If you have a problem with your Wix blog, there are many support forums available where you can get help from other users and experts in the community.
You can also search for answers to common questions on StackExchange or watch YouTube tutorials to learn how to do anything from changing your theme to setting up a plugin.
Winner: WordPress
WordPress has the best support system. It’s also the most popular blogging platform in the world, meaning there are more tutorials available for it than Blogger or Wix combined.
Additionally, you can find help in several different places, including YouTube videos and community forums.
WordPress vs Blogger vs Wix for Blogs and Blogging. Final Thoughts.
Which platform is best for you really depends on what you’re looking for.
Blogger
If you want a free blog and minimal upgrades, Blogger might be the best platform for your needs.
You can build a simple blog using themes available in the Blogger theme store and use widgets to add things like text boxes and countdowns.
The downside is if you want to have access to better themes, widgets, plugins, and additional features you’ll need to upgrade your account.
Wix
If you want a free blog and access to many upgrades, Wix might be the best platform for your needs.
You can build a simple blog using themes available in the Wix theme store and use widgets to add things like text boxes and countdowns.
The downside is if you want to have access to better themes, widgets, plugins, and additional features you’ll need to upgrade your account. Plus Wix is a closed platform, meaning you can’t “self-host” your Wix website on any other hosting platform but Wix hosting.
That’s a real bummer and deal breaker for me since I always want the freedom and flexibility to choose my web hosting based on performance, support and pricing for my own websites or blogs as they grow and their needs change.
WordPress
If you want a free blog but also want access to unlimited storage space, bandwidth, and domains then WordPress.com might be the best option for you.
You can build a blog using thousands of themes or plugins available in the WordPress.org registry to add your own features as well.
In addition, you also have a self-hosting option outside of WordPress.com, if you prefer more control and flexibility.
Winner: WordPress
If you want complete control over your blog then a self-hosted WordPress Blog might be the best CMS platform for you.
With this option, you purchase your own hosting and install WordPress yourself, if you choose.
This gives you access to a custom domain name, unlimited storage space, bandwidth, and plugins.
The downside is that you’ll need to be more “hands on” in order to set up and manage your blog. Although if you decide to go with WordPress.com, they do most of that for you.
You could always move it to a self hosting provider later on, if you feel more comfortable doing so. Which is why, my preference has always been with WordPress as it’s open source.
Which blogging platform is best for you really depends on your needs and personal preferences. Try out all three options to see which one works best for you.
