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We recently had a conversation with a website builder. He asked us what platform we build our client websites on to which we honestly replied Wix. He pfft and said why do you use that! They do not rank! Now, this is not the first time we have heard that, so we kindly replied, “oh really, why is that?” to which the response was… they have poor functionality and you can’t SEO them…
Challenge accepted!
At Blades Media we spend a lot of time researching the best ways and practices to provide our customers with the services they need at prices they can afford. Websites can be quite daunting as they are a multi-faceted item that can cost a lot of money. Understanding your needs, what is achievable and how to implement it with success requires an expert hand to guide you through. Wix provides the best cost vs performance balance as it is easy to use, cheap to run and changes can be implemented without a costly per hour price.
After this very bold statement was made, we proceeded to ask a few questions.
What website builder do you use?
We use WordPress, it is the best!
How easy is it to design websites with WordPress?
Well if you use pay for plugins it is quite easy, however we pay for templates as it is the quickest way then change them.
Ah, with Wix you can design the whole thing from scratch and place items wherever you want and the CMS does the code for you.
Do you ever get issues with templates and mobile responsiveness?
On some templates you can find they don’t like to be adjusted and can break and require re-coding.
On Wix you have a dedicated mobile simulator so you can make sure it works on mobile and desktop.
With WordPress, what do you do if you want bespoke functionality like a shop?
Well you can buy plugins from loads of different websites then you code them into your page.
On Wix you have a large library of vetted plugins which you drag and drop into place and they work instantly. You do not have to download them from random places, and they come with support.
With SEO how do you implement it?
Well you need to download a third-party plugin called Yoast and do it through there.
Oh! With Wix it is all built in. I can set H1 headers, apply alt tags to images, install Schema Mark-up on a page by page basis, apply titles and descriptions to pages, install tracking data and analytics and if I change a page it updates all links globally to ensure my internal linking is always 100%.
Where do you host your sites?
We just find the cheapest server around! Only needs to host the site.
With Wix you get your website hosted on a secure server with advanced encryption which also works as a CMS so you can reply to customers if you connect your email address, send invoice and publish social media updates.
I have had a few customers have their WordPress websites hacked. Is that common?
Yeah, it happens if you do not keep your security up to date.
Oh! With Wix that is all done automatically for you! Safe, secure and encrypted.
Out of interest, how much do you offer a starter website for?
We generally offer 2-page websites for £299+ vat and hosting using a template, you?
We can offer a custom designed, SEO’ed 4-page starter website with a blog for £350 plus hosting.
With Wix it is possible to do everything WordPress and hand coded websites can do and more. They are more secure, have custom functionality like shops, rank in Google like any website and compete against your competitors.