WordPress, Shopify or Wix? How to Choose for a Small Business Website (2026)

You need a website, and everyone seems to have a favourite platform. This guide explains what WordPress, Shopify and Wix actually are, what their own pages say they cost (checked in October 2026), what to check if you sell to customers in the Netherlands, and how to choose.

NyxWorks builds on WordPress, WooCommerce, Shopify and Wix, so we have no single tool to push. We do have a view, and we say where it comes from. Where we could not verify something, we say that too.

Prices, fees and rules in this article were checked on 19 October 2026. They can change, so check the linked pages before you decide.

The short answer

These are rules of thumb, not laws, and your situation can tip the balance. The first three rows are how we usually advise clients.

What each one actually is

WordPress is free, open-source software published under the GPL licence (wordpress.org). "Free" describes the software, not the whole project: you still arrange hosting and a domain, and someone has to look after updates. In return you can manage pages, posts, images and products yourself in the back end.

WooCommerce is an open-source e-commerce platform powered by WordPress. Its own website says it works "without limits, compromises, or monthly platform fees" (woocommerce.com). That is a statement about the platform fee. Hosting, a domain, paid extensions and payment fees are still yours to budget.

Shopify is a subscription service. According to its pricing page, hosting is included in every plan, and you pay the monthly plan plus payment fees.

Wix is a website builder. As with Shopify, hosting comes with it.

What it costs: what we could verify

Shopify (Dutch pricing page, checked 19 October 2026)

Shopify's page says you can try it free for 3 days, then pay €1 per month for 3 months. Its card rate for online payments through Shopify Payments is 1.9% + €0.25 on Basic, 1.8% + €0.25 on Grow, 1.6% + €0.25 on Advanced and 1.4% + €0.25 on Plus. If you use an outside payment provider instead, the page lists an extra transaction fee of 2% (Basic), 1% (Grow), 0.6% (Advanced) and 0.2% (Plus). Shopify also notes that pricing and payment options can differ depending on where your business is based, so check the page for your own situation, including how VAT is shown.

WordPress and WooCommerce

The software has no licence fee. What you pay for is hosting, a domain, any paid themes or extensions, payment-provider fees, and whoever builds and maintains the site. We do not quote hosting prices here: they differ per provider, and we did not compare current offers for this article.

Wix (Dutch pricing page, checked 19 October 2026)

Wix's page says all plans include your own domain, no Wix branding on the website and Dutch-language customer service, and shows a 14-day money-back guarantee on all Premium plans. The prices are shown per month. The page does not make clear whether they assume annual billing, so check that before you compare them with Shopify's annual-billing prices above. In practice: if you want to take online payments, the cards list that from the Core plan up, and the Light card does not list it.

Payment fees for iDEAL

If you sell to Dutch customers, the cost of iDEAL is worth a line in your comparison.

To see what the listed rates mean in practice, here is the arithmetic for three order sizes. It is an illustration with the rates above, and your plan and payment mix will differ.

If you sell in the Netherlands, check these first

The KVK's guide to selling online (updated 3 July 2026) lists ten basic rules. Whatever platform you choose, check that it lets you do these:

• Show your business details where customers see them before they buy, for example in the header or footer: registered business name, KVK number, VAT number, address, email, phone number and opening hours. Complaint schemes and dispute-committee membership must be stated too.
• Offer a clear withdrawal button or link. The KVK says that since June 2026 it is easier for customers to cancel orders and services. The button does not replace the standard model withdrawal form.
• Give the purchase information the law asks for: main features, price, delivery, payment and cancellation options, guarantees, complaint handling and the 14-day cooling-off period.
• Do not refuse customers from other EU countries. You may limit delivery to the Netherlands only if EU customers can use a Dutch delivery address or parcel point.
• Accessibility: a webshop with more than €2 million turnover or more than 10 employees must be accessible to people with disabilities, says the KVK. It is good practice for everyone else.

The KVK adds that the ACM supervises these rules and that fines can reach €900,000 or four percent of annual turnover. This is a checklist, not legal advice. Ask your adviser about your own situation.

Questions to ask before you choose

• Who owns what? Domain, hosting and accounts should be in your name. We keep accounts in your name wherever practical, and once a project is delivered and paid for, the final website work and files are yours. Third-party software, fonts, plugins, stock images and platform subscriptions stay under their own licences and terms.
• What can I take with me if I leave? Ask each platform what you can export and in which format, and get the answer in writing before you build. We did not verify the export options of each platform for this article, so we do not claim any.
• Who keeps it healthy? On WordPress and WooCommerce, plugin, theme and platform updates can change things over time, so someone needs to handle updates and backups. Shopify and Wix include the hosting.
• Which languages do you need? If you sell in Dutch and English, check how each platform handles a second language before you commit.
• How fast do you need to launch? Our typical delivery for a landing page is around 3 days, a standard WordPress site around 7 days and a custom-coded site around 10 to 14 days, once we have the content and access we need.

Which to choose: four situations

A service business whose site has to explain and persuade (consultant, tradesperson, clinic, studio). Content, SEO and flexibility matter most here, which is why we usually point to WordPress. If your site is small and you want to manage everything yourself, Wix is a straightforward option.

A store-first business. Shopify is purpose-built for e-commerce and is often the better choice here. If you would rather own the whole stack and are happy to deal with hosting, WooCommerce on WordPress is the alternative.

A portfolio or a very small site you want to run entirely yourself. Wix suits this well.

You already have a site. A rebuild can keep useful content, URLs, metadata, analytics and existing search visibility, as long as redirects are planned before launch where URLs change. We work inside Shopify and Wix too, so a move is not always necessary.

What having it built costs with us

Our fixed-price packages, as published on our web development page (first-year prices as published on 19 October 2026, excluding VAT, 20% below our standard rates):

Hosting and a domain are not included unless you add Setup & Launch (€79 first-year price). Shopify and Wix include hosting, while WordPress needs its own. We build or configure WooCommerce, Shopify and Wix stores depending on the catalogue, checkout and customisation you need, and product entry, payment-provider setup, shipping rules and complex catalogue work can be scoped separately. Optional care plans for WordPress start at €59 per month. You can read the full details, including what counts as a page and what is not included, on the page itself.

Frequently asked questions

Is WordPress really free?

The software is free and open source. A working website still needs hosting, a domain and maintenance, and some themes and extensions cost money.

Which platform is cheapest?

It depends on what you count. Compare the monthly plan or hosting, payment fees at your average order value, paid add-ons, and the time you or someone else spends maintaining the site.

Can Shopify take iDEAL payments?

Shopify's Dutch pricing page lists iDEAL with its own fee, shown above. Check the page for your situation, as pricing and payment options can differ by where your business is based.

Can I use iDEAL on WooCommerce?

Mollie, which publishes a WooCommerce plugin, lists iDEAL (Netherlands) among the methods it supports. You need a Mollie account and pay Mollie's per-transaction rates.

Which platform is best for SEO?

We do not promise a particular Google ranking on any platform. Rankings depend on competition, authority, content, search intent and many factors outside the website. WordPress is usually the strongest fit when content, SEO, flexibility or long-term ownership matters.

Can I switch platforms later?

Ask before you build: what can you export, in which format, and how would redirects work? We did not verify each platform's options for this article.

Not sure which one fits your business?

Tell us what your business sells and what the site has to do. We will tell you which platform and package fits, or say honestly if a simpler option is enough. A focused 30-minute consultation costs €30, or you can build a quote yourself. If you already have a site, run it through our free Website X-ray first, and read why websites fail to generate enquiries or what a website costs in the Netherlands.

Sources

• WordPress: About
• WooCommerce
• Mollie Payments for WooCommerce
• Shopify: pricing (Netherlands)
• Wix: Premium plans (Netherlands)
• Wix: iDEAL via Wix Payments
• KVK: Online verkopen, deze 10 basisregels
• NyxWorks: web development page, as of 19 October 2026

Prices and rules change. Check the linked pages before you decide.

WordPressShopifyWixWooCommercewebsite platformsmall business website