Wirecutter’s Website Builder for 2021: Wix

This is an interesting little tidbit for “the web industry” generally, and where it interfaces with real people with non-internet-focused lives and careers. The Wirecutter—the de facto site for time-starved yuppies to quickly find an acceptable-to-great version of a product category (aka, how I buy almost everything)—recommends Wix for those looking to make a website.

Now, if you’re reading this site (WPShout) you probably know of another tool or service: WordPress. They did look at WordPress.com. They did not look at “a WordPress site on (your favorite host) with Elementor/Beaver Builder/etc.” And nor do they seem to have been particularly worried about “ease of porting your site” or “ease of augmenting the site with nerdy features.” And you won’t find the term “open source” or “license” anywhere on the page.

For those not following me, the last is some of the reasons us WordPress folks tend to like to use it. But neither Melanie Pinola (the page’s author) nor its primary audience is thinking about those things. And that’s fine. Good even!

And as “a WordPress professional” you benefit from always keeping that gap in mind. The arguments and benefits that lead Wix (and after that, Square—the payments people) to be the best for Wirecutter readers are places and spaces that WordPress (or whatever other nerdy CMS you’re into) can and should go to stay vital and relevant in the industry. I think the Gutenberg project is continuing to play out as a long-bet for the future of WordPress, and I remain bullish on it. But clearly winning all the battles for the home for “people needing a website” is something that WordPress has not beat the whole world at. (Yet.)