Convert a WIX website to WordPress

by Joe Leonard
https://jgmleonard.com/

Many website owners choose WIX for their first website because it’s extremely simple to set up a site with no technical knowledge, and provides a very intuitive drag-and-drop interface that anyone can use.

As they grow, many of those same businesses realize that WIX has limitations that affect their website growth, and decide they want to move to something more powerful and flexible. For many, WordPress is the obvious choice for their next website platform.

This article will walk you through what you need to consider before moving your site, outline your options for getting your site onto WordPress, and provide you with a step-by-step approach to get it done.

IMPORANT! Migrating your site from WIX to WordPress is NOT simply a matter of moving over the content. It is essentially building a brand new website from scratch.

Here are a few reasons to make the switch from WIX to WordPress:

Ownership – When you use the WIX platform, you don’t own your website, hosting, domain name or content (check out the terms and conditions on WIX). With WordPress, you have complete ownership of everything on your website.

Design Options – Using WIX, you have around 500 HTML templates that contain code which cannot be edited. The Theme Directory at WordPress.org has over 5,000 themes and there are 1000s of premium themes as well.

Flexibility – WIX provides a very basic cookie cutter platform, which limits your site in many ways. WordPress is open source, and thus allows for endless possibilities. One of the reasons it is so popular is because it can be fully customized to fit your specific needs.

Search Engine Optimization – While WIX sites can certainly be SEO-friendly if set up correctly, WordPress offers amazing SEO plugins (Yoast SEO or RankMath) that can really help you truly optimize your site and its content.

Plugins and Apps – WIX currently offers a couple hundred free and premium applications in their App Market. There are over 55,000 WordPress plugins that can add a wide range of functionality to your site.

Cost – WIX offers a free version, but the annoying WIX ads will drive you nuts. Their paid plans vary from $10-25 per month based on your needs. With WordPress, you will pay around $10/year for domain name registration and a few dollars per month for hosting (varies, but don’t go with the cheapest host because your site speed will suffer).

Mobile Responsiveness – The biggest disadvantage I see with WIX .com in the mobile category is that you have to specify that you would like to build a mobile site and then enter into a separate editor. None of the site templates are responsive.

What You Need to Consider Before Moving from WIX

First you will want to use a visual web builder very similar to WIX ’s web builder. I am suggesting Elementor.

The Elementor visual web builder is good replacement for the WIX web builder because you will still have these features:

  • Drag-and-drop interface. The favored WIX feature for many users is its intuitive drag-and-drop interface. If you’re moving from WIX to WordPress, Elementor will allow you to maintain your website with a similar drag and drop capabilities without know any code.
  • Themes. You will have a much larger choice of themes with WordPress however there is no real way to move the theme from WIX , so to get the same look and feelyou will need to take a look at some of the many free WordPress themes available.
  • Functionality. With WordPress there are over 55,000 free plugins available for such things as event calendars, booking systems, hotel reservations, image sliders, user registrations, SEO etc. – many more than WIX.

Migration Steps

Here are the steps involved in moving a website from WIX to WordPress. As you know WIX does not offer a simple way to simply get all your content and images in a single backup file.

Domain name

You will be able to keep the same domain name.

Purchase Hosting

As I mentioned above, in order to move from WIX, you will need to get new hosting. WordPress hosting is widely available, I suggest Hostgator or InMotion as they have excellent support and low prices.

STAGING SERVER

In order to not disrupt your current website while building the new WordPress website, you need to have a staging server. I generally use one of mine.

Install WordPress your new staging server

After you have a staging server, I can take install WordPress and give you your login credentials.

Design

Next we need to agree on the theme design, layout, colors, and fonts.

Build pages

Next I need to duplicate the same pages in WordPress using your design.

Copy and paste content

The simplest way to migrate your site from WIX to WordPress is for me to manually copy content from WIX and paste it into the WordPress staging server site, just like using a word processor.

The advantage of doing the page by page is that I can make sure every single piece of content is copied to the new WordPress staging site.

The obvious disadvantage of this method is that it is tedious and time-consuming, especially if you have a lot of posts and pages on your WIX website

Images

I will use the same images as found on the WIX website or you can supply me with other images or I can use royalty free stock image. Also I will need to optimize these images for fast loading.

Testing website

Once the pages have all been built, I will need to test them on various browsers like Chrome, IE, Firefox, and be sure they are mobile responsive on tablets, smartphones, and iPhones as well as on desktops.

move staging server to host sever

Once everything checks out, I will need to move the staging server WordPress website to the hosting server. This can take a couple of hours.

Domain change

Once everything checks out, I will need to change the domain to point to your new hosting website. At this point you can cancel your WIX account.

Special issues

Your new WordPress website cannot be pixel perfect due to the difference between WIX’s layout and WordPress. However, the look and feel can be very close.

For example, these items might differ.

  • Navigation Menus – WordPress offers an easy to use menu system than will be used instead of the WIX system.
  • Fonts – WIX uses their own proprietary fonts. WordPress uses Google fonts. Many are similar but not the same as the WIX fonts. Colors, however, can be the same as well as font sizes.
  • Image Sliders – WIX uses a proprietary image slider. WordPress will use a plugin that will react differently.
  • Blogs – Depending on the number of blog posts, this can greatly change the price. Most quotes are for setting up the WordPress blog system and allowing you to transfer all the posts, tags, categories, and comments. The standard WordPress blog system has a very different format than WIX.
  • Ecommerce – WordPress uses WooCommerce which is very different from WIX’s proprietary system. If you have a lot of products or services for sale, then the price will vary depending upon whether you want to re-enter the products or if you want me to do it for you. I suggest that you can do it.
  • Appointments – Again WordPress offers many plugins for clients to make appointments that work differently than WIX.
  • Membership and Registration – The WordPress membership plugins and membership system uses different plugins.
  • General Functions – You should not expect that all the WIX proprietary functions or special coding will work in WordPress.

Conclusion

While WIX may have suited you when you first launched your website, it may no longer have everything you need for your growing business. In checking out the alternatives for your website, you likely considered moving to WordPress.

WIX, like many paid platforms, would prefer to keep you as a customer, so moving your website from their platform is not a simple one-click operation, but it can be done by following the steps we outlined above. With a little planning and our instructions, you can have your site moved from WIX to WordPress in no time. While the task is not difficult, it does take quite a bit of time to get done.

Basically, the steps are:

  1. Set up a staging website with WordPress and other plugins
  2. Visit your WIX website
  3. Create blank pages just like the WIX website
  4. Add a navigation menu to your new header
  5. Create a header on the staging server
  6. Create a footer on the staging server
  7. Using RSS migrate all WIX blogs
  8. Copy and paste the content of each WIX page to the new staging server pages
  9. Use WordPress plugins for any WIX functionality like image sliders, events, etc.
  10. Check all links
  11. Client to purchase WordPress hosting
  12. Point the URL to the new website
  13. Make the new website “Under construction”
  14. Add anti-hacking security plugin, backup system, image optimization, and an SEO plugin
  15. Back up the staging server and restore to the new WordPress website
  16. Make mobile responsive
  17. Launch the new website
  18. Client to cancel WIX hosting

See https://jgmleonard.com/wix for more details.

 

10 Reasons Why Migrate from WIX to WordPress

From an article at

https://cmstowp.com/blog/10-reasons-why-migrate-from-WIX -to-WordPress/ 

Your website is the face of your brand in the online world. More than ever, today people are using their website to not only promote but also run their business. Blogs today are more professional and intended to give competition to others.

But if you are a non-technical person, you might have been lured by the drag-and-drop-no-coding-required WIX platform. But if now wish to create a dynamic site to continue growth, there are a lot of factors you need to consider rather than just ease of use. WordPress is more futuristic and give your website the required push and extra edge.

Let’s take a look at why WordPress can be the right option for you-

Ownership

WIX

One of the biggest disadvantages of using WIX is that you don’t own your website, hosting, domain name or the content. WIX makes you agree to it terms before you proceed, that it has the right to move or delete any content available on its service.

WordPress

Being a self-hosted platform, WordPress gives you complete ownership of your website. It means that, you decide whether you want to continue on a particular host depending on its cost, performance and your requirement.

Verdict

If you can’t live under the constant fear of data loss without notice, within minutes of your painstaking creation, WIX is not for you.

Flexibility

WIX

WIX provides a cookie cutter platform which makes the websites capability and expandability limited. For any additional needs, if you are lucky you will find it in its store or else will be left at the mercy of the WIX private team.

You can’t even change your host, no matter how badly your business suffers due to that. It also lacks the flexibility of adding additional author name to a post.

WordPress

Since WordPress is an open source platform, it allows for greater flexibility. The main reason of its rise to fame is the flexibility it provides by allowing users, community and developers to customize about everything according to their needs.

Verdict

With WordPress sky is the limit, as it can expand as much your creativity.

Themes and Templates

WIX

WIX offers a small number of around 500 HTML templates. You can’t edit the code behind the template; neither can you change a template once it is selected for a very long time. One of the biggest cons of using WIX is that once you have selected a theme, it can’t be changes unless you delete the entire thing.

WordPress

WordPress has more than 3000 themes available in its themes directory; of which some are free and some premium ones are paid. You can modify these themes according to your requirement, by using plugins and CSS or if you are a developer, you can also make changes to the code.

Verdict

With WIX you have fewer themes available, no modification or flexibility and will be stuck with a theme forever. Whereas WordPress allows you to customize as much or as little as you want and get a beautiful and effective site for your needs, making it a clear winner.

Plugins and Apps

WIX

WIX offers around 200 free and premium apps. Like for example if you need SEO or Ecommerce app, WIX would offer an app, but the choices are limited. If the available app does not suit your requirement like payment gateway or volume requirement, then you are just out of luck.

WordPress

Plugins extend the functionality of WordPress, making it more powerful. Currently there are more than 35,000 Plugins that can virtually add any functionality to your website you need. Some are free while the premium plugins can cost you somewhere ranging from few dollars to few hundred dollars.

Verdict

If you want a more powerful website with more features and flexibility at a lower cost, you should choose WordPress. WIX apps do not stand anywhere close to WordPress, not only in number but also in quality and flexibility.

Content Creation

WIX

You can’t access the code with WIX as it is purely a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG). That means that you can’t edit the source code according to your requirements. WIX might be simple because of its drag and drop interface to create text boxes and writing using a Visual Editor.

WordPress

You can create page and posts through a visual editor. At the same time, you can also add your own HTML code to modify content. It also provides a distraction-free mode and allows assigning multiple roles.

Verdict

If you are looking to create a dynamic website, WordPress is the way to go. WIX might be simpler to use but it restricts the creativity of a developer.

Support

WIX

It’s different with WIX, for all your needs you have to go up to WIX .com. WIX .com offers a large database of documents, videos and tutorials. If you don’t find your answers there, you can ask for help from the technicians and developers at WIX .com. If that doesn’t work out either the only option is to pay and get a premium support via phones, emails but that comes at a price.

WordPress

When you need help or support, the first place you look up to is the Community. WordPress boasts the largest community with experienced developers and hands-on users.

The primary support website is WordPress.org which hosts WordPress Codex, the online manual and a living repository for information and documentation. WordPress Forums is an active online community of WordPress users.

Verdict

WIX community is dwarf compared to WordPress. If you can’t get your answers from WIX community, technicians or documentation, the only option left for you is to spend more and get a premium support from WIX .com.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

WIX

The truth is that even though WIX websites are SEO friendly, they don’t tend to rank as well as WordPress sites. Also, there are chances that neither the out-of-the-box optimization nor any available app fit your requirements, leaving you more frustrated and out of choices.

WordPress

There are a number of reasons why Google love WordPress. First, it offers excellent SEO capabilities right from installation, which is an important factor for scoring on page rank. Secondly it offers an exhaustive list of best in class SEO Plug-ins that like SEO Yoast that can improve the overall ranking by any search engine.

Verdict

We all know the importance of ranking in Top 10 search results. Google favors WordPress and with more plug-ins the chances of being recognized by Google Index only get better.

Portability

WIX

WIX has low portability. One of the biggest drawbacks of using drag and drop website builder like WIX is that since each platform is so different in its program, it makes it hard to export the content and import it into another platform, and make it work

WordPress

These websites are completely portable unlike other free platforms. It means that at any point in time you decide to move away from your host to another host, you have the flexibility to do that.

Verdict

WordPress wins hands down as it allows portability.

Cost

WIX

WIX offers a number of plans. The plans differ according to your requirements and cost, from basic to entrepreneurs costing anywhere from $200 to $1000 a year. If you choose the free option of WIX, you will be distracted by the annoying Ads that come along.

WordPress

The cost of hosting, buying domain, themes, plugins, e-commerce, maintenance and development are all factor of the plan you chose. It can range from free to somewhere in thousand dollars. But with comparable features and power as a WIX website, a WordPress site costs half. With WordPress, web development certainly looks easier.

Verdict

The simple answer is, WordPress is friendlier on your pocket, but the deeper answer depends upon the plan you chose.

Future

WIX

The frequency of WIX updates in the last 3 years when compared to WordPress is very few. While WordPress is the leader in innovation, WIX only follows its path to create something new. It is a listed company, so it’s most likely not going anywhere. But if it does it will wipe your content and website clean. So beware!

WordPress

Since WordPress is an open source platform, developed by a community, its future is not in the hands of a particular company. Holding the most market shares in websites using CMS, your website is at no risk.

Verdict

The future of WordPress is growing exponentially and well assured.

By far WordPress is the front runner platform and pioneer in inventing new technologies keeping your website steps ahead of others.