WordPress or the Sima site builder?
A comparison from someone who offers both
We sell both the Sima site builder and managed WordPress, so we have no reason to run either down. This page says who each one suits, what each really costs and, if you're on WordPress now, what moving or staying means.
Sima, WordPress and managed WordPress
| Sima site builder | WordPress on ordinary hosting | Sima managed WordPress | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting and servers | Included, on servers inside Iran | Bought separately and run by you | Included, on Sima's servers |
| Updates | Automatic, nothing for you to do | Up to you; sometimes one breaks a plugin | Core and approved plugins by us |
| Security | No third-party plugins; rate limiting and input sanitising built in | Depends on your plugins and upkeep | Only reviewed plugins |
| Payments, SMS, shipping, tax invoices | Built in, no plugins | A separate plugin each, sometimes paid | SMS and code sign-in built in; payments by plugin |
| Freedom of plugins and themes | Only Sima's features and its page builder | Thousands of plugins and themes | Approved plugins and themes |
| Backups | Automatic, restore from the panel | By plugin or host | Automatic, restore from the panel |
| During internet cutoffs | Servers and tools inside Iran; Pro plan also reachable from abroad | Depends on the host and plugins that load from abroad | Servers inside Iran |
| Cost | Monthly or yearly subscription, everything included | Hosting + theme + plugins + upkeep | Monthly or yearly subscription |
Which one should I pick?
Each suits someone. In short:
The real cost of WordPress
WordPress is free, but a WordPress site isn't. A WooCommerce store usually needs hosting, a paid theme, plugins for payments, SMS, invoices and shipping, security and backup plugins, and some developer hours to update and fix conflicts. These costs are spread out and few people add them up.
In Sima all of that is one subscription. See the plans on the pricing page and compare them with the yearly total of your WordPress site.
Speed and SEO
Sima pages are rendered on the server and open fully without JavaScript. SEO titles and descriptions, the sitemap, structured data, hreflang for multilingual sites and the redirect table are part of the system, not plugins to install and configure.
If you come from WordPress, old addresses are kept or redirected to the new ones so you don't lose your Google ranking.
What Sima doesn't have
In Sima you can't install any plugin from the internet or edit the theme's PHP directly. For most businesses that limit is what keeps the site stable, but if you rely on a particular plugin, talk to us before moving or choose managed WordPress.
Pick the plan that fits
Sima and managed WordPress share the same plans. To compare with your current WordPress site, the Business plan is a good place to start.
Start
For a site that has just opened.
- Your own domain and SSL
- 1 languages
- 0.5 GB of hosting space
- 10 GB of traffic a month
- 1 mailboxes
- 50 SMS a month
- 7 days of backups
- Advanced search and Customer support (tickets)
- Your own domain and SSL, beside the Sima subdomain
- The «built with Sima» badge at the foot of the site
- 1 GB of hosting space and 20 GB of traffic a month
- 1 mailbox and 50 SMS a month
- One language and simple search
- 7 days of backups
Business
Our pickFor a business that deals with its customers every day.
- Your own domain and SSL
- No «built with Sima» badge
- 2 languages
- 10 GB of hosting space
- 100 GB of traffic a month
- 5 mailboxes
- 300 SMS a month
- AI: 300 thousand tokens a month
- 14 days of backups
- AI Assistant, Public API, Advanced search, Smart support assistant, and Customer support (tickets)
- No «built with Sima» badge
- 10 GB of hosting space and 100 GB of traffic a month
- 5 mailboxes and 300 SMS a month
- Two languages and several currencies
- Advanced search that forgives typos
- AI: 300 thousand tokens a month
- 14 days of backups
- 2 extra domains
Pro
For a busy site and customers outside Iran.
- Your own domain and SSL
- No «built with Sima» badge
- 12 languages
- The edge: open through an outage, cached for Google
- 20 GB of hosting space
- 500 GB of traffic a month
- 20 mailboxes
- 1000 SMS a month
- AI: 1.5 million tokens a month
- 30 days of backups
- AI Assistant, Public API, Advanced search, Smart support assistant, and Customer support (tickets)
- Everything in Business
- The edge: open through an outage, fast for Google
- 50 GB of hosting space and 500 GB of traffic a month
- 20 mailboxes and 1,000 SMS a month
- Five languages and semantic search
- AI: 1.5 million tokens a month
- 30 days of backups and priority support
- 10 extra domains
Enterprise
For an organisation that wants its own server and design; from 9.9 million toman a month, by agreement.
- Your own domain and SSL
- No «built with Sima» badge
- 12 languages
- The edge: open through an outage, cached for Google
- Agreed ceilings and resources
- 10 mailboxes
- 7 days of backups
- AI Assistant, Public API, Advanced search, Smart support assistant, and Customer support (tickets)
- A dedicated node in the Sima network
- Custom design, package and module
- Agreed ceilings and a service-level commitment
- A dedicated account manager
Frequently asked questions
Didn't find your answer? Ask us in the support chat.
How long does moving from WooCommerce take?
It depends on your site's size. The move runs in the background, resumes from where it stopped if interrupted, and your WordPress site keeps working unchanged meanwhile.
Will I keep my Google ranking?
Old post and product addresses are kept, and 301 redirects are recorded for any that change, the most important condition for keeping a ranking.
Will my Elementor pages move?
Sima's page builder reads Elementor's output and pages move with a structure close to the original. You fine-tune the final look with the page builder afterwards.
What if I want to go back later?
Sima page-builder pages also export to Elementor's format, and your data is yours.
How is managed WordPress different from ordinary WordPress hosting?
With managed WordPress we update the core and plugins, only reviewed plugins are installed, and SMS, email, backups and the Persian dashboard are part of the service.