"Just use Wix, it's easier." "Shopify is the only real option for e-commerce." "WordPress is too complicated." You have probably heard all three of these. The truth, as it usually is, is more nuanced — and the right answer depends heavily on your specific situation, especially if you are a Quebec business operating in a bilingual market with Bill 96 language requirements.

This guide compares WordPress, Wix and Shopify across the factors that matter most for Quebec small businesses in 2026: total cost, bilingual support, SEO capability, ownership, and long-term flexibility.

The Three Platforms at a Glance

**WordPress** is open-source software you install on your own hosting. The WordPress.org software is free; you pay for hosting (typically $15–$40/month) and optionally for premium themes and plugins. WooCommerce (also free) extends WordPress into a full e-commerce platform.

**Wix** is a drag-and-drop website builder offered as a SaaS (software as a service) platform. Pricing starts at approximately $17/month for the lightest business plan and goes up to $35/month for e-commerce. Your site lives on Wix's servers, and you cannot export or migrate it to another platform.

**Shopify** is a dedicated e-commerce SaaS platform. Plans start at $39 USD/month (about $53 CAD) for Basic Shopify, rising to $105/month for Shopify and $399/month for Advanced. Every plan also charges a transaction fee (0.5–2% per sale) unless you use Shopify Payments, which is not available in all countries.

Total Cost of Ownership Over 3 Years

This is where honest comparison diverges significantly from the marketing messaging.

WordPress (3 years)

Hosting: $40/month × 36 = $1,440
Domain: $20/year × 3 = $60
Initial build by a professional agency: $3,000 (one-time)
Premium theme: $0–$100 (one-time)
Key plugins (WP Rocket, ShortPixel): $100/year × 3 = $300
Maintenance plan: optional, $99–$199/month

**Total (without maintenance): approximately $4,800 over 3 years.** You own the site outright. No transaction fees.

Wix (3 years)

Business plan: $28/month × 36 = $1,008
Domain: included or $15/year if external
Professional setup (design work): $500–$2,000 (one-time)
E-commerce plan (if needed): $35/month × 36 = $1,260

**Total: approximately $2,000–$4,000 over 3 years.** You do not own the site. If Wix raises prices, changes features, or you want to move to a different platform, you start from scratch. Your site's code, design and content cannot be exported to another platform.

Shopify (3 years, basic plan)

Basic Shopify: $53 CAD/month × 36 = $1,908
Domain: $20/year × 3 = $60
Apps (typically 3–6 needed for real functionality): $30–$100/month × 36 = $1,080–$3,600
Transaction fees at 2% (if not using Shopify Payments): significant, varies by revenue
Professional setup: $1,500–$4,000 (one-time)

**Total: approximately $4,500–$10,000+ over 3 years**, not counting transaction fees. On $200,000 in annual sales with Shopify's 2% fee (using a non-Shopify gateway), that is $4,000/year in transaction fees alone.

SEO Capability

For Quebec businesses trying to rank on Google, SEO capability is critical.

**WordPress: Excellent.** Full control over URL structure, metadata, schema markup, site speed, internal linking, and content. With Yoast SEO or Rank Math, you can optimize every technical SEO element. PageSpeed scores of 90+ on mobile are achievable with proper setup. Most SEO professionals recommend WordPress for businesses where organic search is a priority.

**Wix: Good, not great.** Wix has improved significantly since 2020 and now handles most basic on-page SEO adequately. However, Wix generates JavaScript-heavy pages that can be slower to crawl, you have limited control over server-side rendering, and URL structures are less flexible. For purely local businesses with low competition, Wix can rank. For competitive markets, it is a handicap.

**Shopify: Good for e-commerce SEO, limited for content.** Shopify handles product page SEO well and integrates cleanly with Google Shopping and Meta. The blog is functional but limited. URL structures for product pages include /products/ by default (cannot be changed), and you cannot remove /collections/ from category URLs — both minor SEO limitations. For dedicated e-commerce where content marketing is not central, Shopify's SEO is adequate.

Bilingual Support for Quebec (Bill 96)

This is where the comparison becomes most important for Quebec businesses.

**WordPress: Best in class.** With Polylang (free) or WPML (paid), WordPress supports proper bilingual architecture: separate URLs for each language (/en/ and /fr/), hreflang tags, separate metadata per language, bilingual menus and widgets, and complete admin control over both language versions. This is the architecture Google indexes correctly — your French pages rank for French searches and your English pages rank for English searches.

**Wix: Limited.** Wix's Multilingual feature creates language versions but serves them from the same URL with a language parameter (?lang=fr). Google's ability to index multiple language versions at the same URL is inconsistent. For Bill 96 compliance (where French must be equally accessible), Wix's approach creates both a legal grey area and an SEO disadvantage. Wix does not support hreflang implementation equivalent to what WordPress provides.

**Shopify: Limited and expensive.** Shopify's native bilingual support requires the Markets feature and a custom domain per language or subdirectory structure. The Translate & Adapt app is free for one additional language but has significant limitations. Third-party translation apps cost $15–$50/month additional. For a Quebec business needing genuine bilingual e-commerce, Shopify's bilingual implementation is complicated and expensive.

Ownership and Portability

**WordPress: You own everything.** Your code, your content, your database, your design — all of it lives on your hosting account and can be moved, backed up, transferred or handed to any developer at any time. Switching hosting providers is straightforward. If you stop working with an agency, you have full access to everything.

**Wix: You own nothing that matters.** Your content is exportable in limited formats but your site as a built product cannot be moved. The design, the structure, the themes — these are locked to Wix. If Wix goes bankrupt, raises prices to an unacceptable level, or removes a feature you depend on, your only option is rebuilding your site from scratch on a new platform.

**Shopify: Partial ownership.** Your product data and customer data are exportable. Your theme code is exportable. But like Wix, if you leave Shopify, you are rebuilding — not migrating. Shopify's ecosystem of apps also means your functionality depends on third-party app developers maintaining their apps as Shopify evolves.

Who Should Use Each Platform?

**Use WordPress when:** - You need a bilingual site that Google can properly index in both languages - You are competing for organic search rankings in a real local market - You want full ownership and control of your site - You need an e-commerce store with no transaction fees - Your business might grow in ways that require custom functionality in the future

**Use Wix when:** - You need a simple, attractive site for a business where web traffic is not your primary lead source - You have no budget for professional development and cannot afford the learning curve of WordPress - The site is essentially a digital business card, not a growth tool - Bilingual support is not required (not a Quebec-facing business)

**Use Shopify when:** - You are exclusively an e-commerce business where content marketing is minimal - You need fast deployment with built-in payment processing - You are comfortable with the ongoing monthly cost and transaction fees - Your primary market is outside Quebec and bilingual requirements are not a factor

The Quebec Context: Our Recommendation

For most Quebec small businesses — a Laval contractor, a Montreal clinic, a local retailer, a professional services firm — WordPress is the right choice. The bilingual architecture requirements of Bill 96, the SEO competitiveness of the Quebec local market, and the importance of owning your digital assets all point in WordPress's direction.

For a dedicated e-commerce business with a large catalogue that is selling primarily outside Quebec, Shopify becomes more competitive. But for any Quebec-facing e-commerce store, WooCommerce's bilingual capabilities, tax configuration, and zero transaction fees make it the stronger long-term choice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is WordPress really harder to use than Wix?

The WordPress admin panel is more feature-rich than Wix's drag-and-drop interface, but it is not difficult to use for basic content updates once the site is built. The complexity of WordPress is in setting it up correctly — which is why professional development matters. Once built and handed over, most business owners can manage their WordPress site's day-to-day content with a short training session.

Can I switch from Wix to WordPress later?

Yes, but it requires rebuilding. Wix content (text and images) can be exported and used as a starting point for a new WordPress site, but the design, structure and functionality all need to be rebuilt. Migrating early is always cheaper than migrating after years of additional content has been added.

Does Shopify work in French?

Shopify's admin is available in French. With the Translate & Adapt app, you can translate your storefront for French-speaking customers. However, as noted above, the bilingual architecture is more limited than WordPress/WooCommerce for proper Quebec French-language SEO purposes.

WordPress vs Wix vs Shopify for Quebec Small Businesses (Honest Comparison)