Why I build in Wix Studio (and why I avoid WordPress)

I’ve always had a morbid fascination with that moment when a long-standing "giant" in an industry gets a bit too comfortable.

If you’re in the creative world, you’ve probably seen what’s happening with Adobe. For decades, they held a bit of a lazy monopoly. They were the industry standard, so they didn't really have to try that hard to keep us happy. Then Affinity came along. It was faster, leaner, and designed for how people actually work today, rather than how they worked twenty years ago. It disrupted the monopoly because it prioritised the user's experience over legacy bloat.

In the world of web design, WordPress is the Adobe. And for me, Wix Studio is the Affinity.

There is a strange kind of snobbery in web design that treats WordPress as the undisputed "gold standard." When I was starting Cavalry, the message I kept hearing was that, if I wanted to be taken seriously, I had to build in WordPress. But every time I looked under the bonnet, it just felt unnecessarily overcomplicated.

I made the choice right then not to even start with it. I didn't want to spend my days constantly fixing a fiddly, over-engineered system when my actual job is to build something clear and straightforward that helps a business grow.

Moving away from the "bolted-on" approach

A lot of the websites I see out there feel like they’ve been built in layers over several years. They might look fine on the surface, but underneath, they are often a bit of a headache to manage.

Because it is built on foundations that are decades old, WordPress relies on a massive collection of third-party plugins to do almost anything. You want a contact form? That’s a plugin. A bit of SEO help? Another plugin. Want the site to load faster? Three more plugins.

Eventually, you end up with a complicated list of separate tools that don’t always play nicely together. They need constant updates, they break unexpectedly and they create security gaps. I realised very early on that I didn't want my clients to own a site that required a part-time maintenance crew just to keep the lights on and the forms working.

Focusing on what actually matters

Coming from a marketing and teaching background, I’m obsessed with clarity. I want things to work because they were designed to work, not because we've bolted on enough extras to make it happen.

Wix Studio feels like a modern response to all that unnecessary clutter. It’s "all-in-one" by design. The hosting, the security, and the core tools are built into the fabric of the platform. This means I can focus on your brand - how the site feels, how it tells your story and how it guides your visitors - rather than worrying if a random update is going to crash your home page at 3:00 AM.

It allows me to be precise with the design without all the technical baggage. It’s the difference between fighting an outdated, clunky system and having a clean, professional canvas to build a space that actually feels like you.

Handing over the keys to the kingdom

This is the part that matters most to me. My goal isn't just to give you a website; it’s to empower you to use it.

One of the main reasons I steered clear of WordPress was what I think of as "hand-over anxiety." I’d seen clients’ faces go pale when they saw the backend of an old-school site. It’s usually cluttered and confusing, the kind of place where it feels like one wrong click might delete the whole business.

Wix Studio makes this process very simple. It uses a clever two-tier system of 'content mode' and 'full mode' which makes it much easier for you to take over the reins. You can update your blog, change an image or tweak a headline in a space that is designed specifically for those quick changes, while the complex design settings stay safely out of the way. It means you can manage your site with confidence, knowing you won't accidentally break the structure while you're making a simple update.

Putting the founder first

I believe a founder’s time is their most precious resource.

Choosing Wix Studio isn't about being "anti-tech", it’s about being "pro-results." It’s about choosing a high-performance tool that allows you to stop being a part-time IT manager and go back to being the expert in your field.

I want the brands I build to be setups that last, not projects that need constant fixing. By choosing a modern, leaner platform, we make sure the structure is solid before we even think about the look and feel.

Are you tired of the "bolted-on" approach to your digital home? I’d love to chat about how we can build a space that finally matches the level you’re playing at. What are you waiting for? Call in the Cavalry.