Choosing the right platform for your online store can feel like navigating a maze, especially when it comes to search engine optimisation (SEO). From clean URLs to mobile responsiveness, each feature impacts your visibility on Google and other search engines. That’s why, before you commit, it pays to explore whether Shopify or Wix aligns better with your SEO goals.
Partner with Bird, your trusted Ecommerce SEO Agency in UAE, to ensure your site is fully optimised and primed for higher rankings in the UAE market.
Shopify SEO Features
Clean URL Structure, SSL & Mobile Responsiveness
Shopify is renowned for its straightforward URL architecture. Every product and collection page follows a consistent format, which makes it easy for search engines to crawl your site:
- Clean URLs: URLs are simple and descriptive (e.g. yourstore.com/products/product-name).
- Automatic SSL: Every Shopify store comes with an SSL certificate, giving you the “https” and a secure padlock icon – a ranking factor in Google’s algorithm.
- Mobile-First Themes: All Shopify themes are responsive out of the box, ensuring your site looks great and loads quickly on smartphones and tablets.
Apps & Plugins for Enhanced SEO Strategies
You’ll find a wealth of apps in the Shopify App Store to turbocharge your optimisation efforts. Popular choices include:
- SEO Manager: Simplifies meta tag management, robots.txt editing and broken link fixing.
- Plug in SEO: Provides automatic checks for common issues like missing alt text, duplicate content and sitemap errors.
- JSON-LD Schema Apps: Adds structured data effortlessly, helping search engines understand your products, reviews and events.
Limitations in Advanced SEO Settings
However, Shopify does have some SEO quirks you should be aware of:
- Duplicate Content Risk: Shopify’s automatic pagination and collection pages can create duplicate content if not managed properly.
- URL Customisation Limits: You cannot remove prefixes like “/products/” and “/collections/” from URLs without custom development.
- Server-Level Control: Advanced settings, such as adjusting server headers or configuring .htaccess redirects, are out of your hands.
Wix SEO Features
SEO-Friendly URL Issues
Wix has come a long way, but in terms of URLs, you may still run into:
- Non-Customisable Segments: Some pages include IDs or default prefixes, which can look messy to search engines and users.
- Redirect Management: While Wix now supports 301 redirects, you have to manage these manually in the dashboard.
Limited Control Over Technical SEO
Although Wix offers an intuitive interface, it can limit your technical SEO finesse:
- Robots.txt Editing: You have to leverage the Wix SEO Wiz for robots.txt rather than editing it directly.
- Canonical Tags: Wix auto-generates canonical tags, but if you need to tweak them for content syndication, your options are constrained.
- Schema Markup: While you can add code snippets, there’s no built-in structured data manager like in other platforms.
Recent Improvements in Wix’s SEO Capabilities
Wix has listened to feedback and rolled out useful updates:
- SEO Wiz: A guided setup that generates custom SEO plans and automatically configures key settings.
- Meta Tag Control: Full editing access for titles, descriptions and social sharing images.
- Mobile Editor: Dedicated tools to optimise and preview your site’s mobile version separately.
Performance & User Experience Comparison
Page Speed & Site Performance
Site speed is non-negotiable for both user experience and SEO. Here’s how the two stack up:
- Shopify: Generally faster due to global Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) and optimised servers. Apps can add weight, so choose extensions sparingly.
- Wix: Improved in recent years, but complex animations and custom code can slow pages down. Use built-in performance reports to monitor load times.
Mobile Optimisation & User Experience
With over half of all ecommerce traffic coming from mobile devices, responsive design is crucial:
- Shopify: All themes are mobile-optimised by default. The checkout process is also mobile-friendly out of the box.
- Wix: You get a separate mobile editor to fine-tune layouts. However, you may need to disable desktop-only elements to prevent clutter on small screens.
Best Choice for Different Business Types
When to Choose Shopify
Shopify is ideal if you:
- Run a medium to large online store with hundreds or thousands of products.
- Need reliable, high-performance hosting, with minimal technical upkeep.
- Plan to scale quickly and require advanced ecommerce features, such as multi-currency support and abandoned cart recovery.
- Want access to a vast ecosystem of apps to extend your SEO capabilities.
When Wix Is a Better Option
Consider Wix if you:
- Operate a small catalogue or single-product site and require a quick setup.
- Prefer an intuitive drag-and-drop builder with less reliance on third‐party apps.
- Have a tight budget and want a lower monthly cost without compromising basic SEO essentials.
- Desire granular control over page layouts and design, including blog integration.
Conclusion
So, is Shopify or Wix better for SEO? Both platforms deliver on the basics—mobile responsiveness, SSL security and meta tag control—but they cater to different needs. Shopify shines for larger, growth-oriented ecommerce ventures looking to leverage powerful apps and global infrastructure. Wix offers an accessible path for startups and small businesses that prioritise design flexibility and budget-friendly pricing.
Ultimately, the best choice depends on your store’s scale, technical comfort and growth ambitions. Evaluate your priorities, and if you need expert guidance, reach out to Bird – your dedicated Ecommerce SEO Agency in UAE – to craft an SEO strategy that drives visibility, traffic and sales.
