WordPress vs Shopify vs Wix: Which Platform for a New Site?
Three platforms account for a large share of the sites people launch on a freshly registered domain. They solve different problems, and picking the wrong one is expensive to undo. This guide compares them on ownership, cost shape, commerce, search control and lock-in.
Three different kinds of product
The comparison is confusing because the three are not the same category. WordPress is open-source software that you install on hosting you choose, or buy as a managed service. Shopify is a hosted commerce platform: you rent the whole stack, from checkout to servers. Wix is a hosted website builder with a visual editor, aimed at people who want a page live without touching code.
WordPress also exists as a hosted product at WordPress.com, which is run by a different company from the open-source project at WordPress.org. When people say "WordPress powers a large share of the web" they usually mean the self-installed software, which is what most detectors count. The share figures change monthly; the current ranking is published by W3Techs and is the reference to check rather than a number copied into a guide.
Side by side
| Question | WordPress (self-hosted) | Shopify | Wix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who runs the servers | You or your host | Shopify | Wix |
| Can you export everything | Yes: files and database | Products and customers export; the theme and checkout logic stay | Limited; there is no full export of the site design |
| Main cost shape | Hosting, theme and plugins, plus maintenance time | Monthly plan plus payment fees plus paid apps | Monthly plan tiers; the domain is often free for the first year on paid plans |
| Ecommerce | Via a plugin such as WooCommerce | Built in; the core product | Built in on commerce plans, smaller feature depth |
| Design freedom | Unlimited, needs code for deep changes | Theme-based, Liquid templates | Drag-and-drop with layout constraints |
| Security upkeep | Yours: updates, backups, plugin vetting | Platform handles it | Platform handles it |
| Technical SEO control | Highest | Good, with some URL structure limits | Improved over the years, still the most constrained |
Check current prices and policies on each vendor's site before deciding. They change often, and this table describes structure, not a price list.
Choose WordPress when
- Content is the product: a blog, a publication, documentation or a lead-generation site where you want full control of URLs, templates and metadata.
- You need to leave. Because you own the files and database, moving host is routine.
- You already have, or can hire, someone to apply updates. An unpatched plugin is the usual way WordPress sites are compromised.
- You need an unusual feature. The plugin ecosystem is the largest of the three, which is both its strength and its maintenance burden.
Choose Shopify when
- You are selling physical or digital products and the checkout must simply work, with payments, taxes, shipping rules and inventory in one dashboard.
- You want uptime and PCI compliance handled for you. Hosted checkout moves most of that responsibility to the platform.
- You are comfortable with transaction costs and paid apps as part of the business model.
The trade-off is lock-in. Your product data can be exported, but the theme logic, apps and checkout customisations cannot move to another system unchanged. Shopify storefronts also have a recognisable fingerprint: assets served from cdn.shopify.com and a Shopify global in JavaScript, which is why they are the easiest of the three to detect.
Choose Wix when
- You need a small brochure, portfolio or booking site live this week and do not want to maintain software.
- The owner will edit the site personally in a visual editor.
- Technical SEO beyond the basics is not a growth lever for the business.
Wix's lock-in is the strongest of the three, because the site is built in its own proprietary editor and runtime. Moving later generally means rebuilding. Wix pages are identifiable by assets from static.parastorage.com and static.wixstatic.com.
How the domain fits in
All three let you connect a domain you bought elsewhere, and all three will sell you one. A domain registered separately keeps you portable: you can change platform by editing DNS records. Domains bundled into a builder plan are sometimes harder to transfer during the first period, so check the transfer rules before relying on them. The rules around transfers and expiry are explained in the guide to the domain lifecycle, and the choice of extension is covered in how to choose a TLD for a startup.
One practical point for businesses on a brand new domain: a new site on any platform starts with no search history. Platform choice changes how easily you can fix technical issues, not whether the content earns links.
What new sites actually pick
Opinions are cheap; the data is better. TLDlive's technology analytics are built from anonymous, opt-in observations of the technologies sites run, and its methodology for newly registered domains is explained in what newly registered domains run. The live leaderboard is on /technologies; use it instead of a quoted percentage, since the mix differs by extension and drifts with time. Expect big differences: a hosting-focused TLD attracts different builders from a retail-focused one.
To see which platform any single site uses right now, install TLDlive Lens or follow the manual steps in what CMS does a website use.
A decision shortcut
- Selling products and want minimal operations: Shopify.
- Publishing content or needing control and portability: WordPress, ideally managed hosting to reduce upkeep.
- A small static presence managed by a non-technical owner: Wix.
- Unsure and expecting to grow: pick the platform that lets you export your content, which today means WordPress, then revisit.
None of these is wrong in itself. The costly mistakes are choosing a closed builder for a content-heavy business, or choosing self-hosted WordPress without anyone responsible for maintenance.
Sources
- W3Techs, usage statistics of content management systems: w3techs.com (live figures)
- WordPress.org vs WordPress.com explained: wordpress.org documentation
- Shopify Help Center, exporting products and store data: help.shopify.com
- Wix Help Center, domains and transfers: support.wix.com
Frequently asked questions
Which is best for SEO, WordPress, Shopify or Wix?
WordPress gives the most control over URLs, templates and metadata, so it is the usual choice when organic search is the main channel. Shopify and Wix can rank well for the right content, but each limits some technical options. Content quality and links matter more than the platform.
Can I move from Wix to WordPress or Shopify later?
You can move the text and images by hand or with import tools, but the design and layout must be rebuilt. Plan 301 redirects for every changed URL so existing rankings carry over.
Is Shopify only for large stores?
No. It is used from single-product shops to large brands. The question is whether you want a hosted, fee-based commerce platform or a self-managed store plugin on WordPress.
How can I tell which platform a competitor uses?
Search the page source for cdn.shopify.com, wp-content or parastorage, or use a detector such as TLDlive Lens, which shows the result in the browser popup.