The verdict in three sentences
Wix is fine for presenting a firm, but it holds back a recruiter whose business runs on job ads: postings are poorly marked up, ATS sync is patched together and Google for Jobs visibility depends on third-party apps. A move to a custom site rests on three workstreams: 180 301 redirects to keep your SEO history, an ATS connector via API and jobs published with JobPosting JSON-LD. At Kolonell, that site costs 800,000 to 3,500,000 FCFA (1,220 to 5,340 EUR) depending on the Starter, Growth or Premium tier, delivered in 6 to 9 weeks.
Wix or custom: what changes for a recruiter
A Wix Business plan costs about 40 to 55 CAD a month, a small line item. The real cost is lost applications: unindexed jobs, duplicates between the ATS and the site, slow mobile forms.
| Criterion | Current Wix site | Custom site |
|---|---|---|
| Recurring cost | 40 to 55 CAD a month, plus paid apps | Maintenance from 35,000 to 120,000 FCFA a month (53 to 183 EUR) |
| Job sync with the ATS | Manual copy or iframe widget | API, refreshed every 15 to 60 minutes |
| JobPosting markup | Partial or missing | Full: salary, location, employment type, expiry date |
| Google for Jobs visibility | Unreliable | Indexed in 24 to 72 h via the Indexing API |
| City and role pages | Limited by the template | Generated from jobs (Toronto, Mississauga, Markham) |
| Mobile application | 6 to 10 fields, CV required | 3 fields, CV via link or LinkedIn |
| Ownership of code and data | Platform | You |
JobPosting markup is the deciding factor. A Senior Financial Analyst posting with salary, location and expiry date appears in Google's jobs panel above organic results, without paying for multiposting.
Migration plan: lose nothing on the way
The 180 existing URLs (pages, old jobs, articles) carry backlinks and ranking history. Every URL needs a destination.
| Step | Duration | Deliverable | Risk if skipped |
|---|---|---|---|
| URL inventory (crawl, Search Console, backlinks) | 2 to 3 days | Sheet of 180 URLs with traffic and links | Lost linked pages |
| 301 mapping table | 2 days | One destination per URL, expired jobs to role pages | Mass 404 errors |
| ATS connector (API) | 5 to 8 days | Jobs synced, applications pushed back to the ATS | Double entry, stale jobs online |
| JobPosting markup and job sitemap | 2 to 3 days | Jobs valid in the Rich Results Test | No Google for Jobs |
| Testing and DNS cutover | 2 days | Redirect checks, sitemap submitted | 20 to 40 % traffic drop |
| Post-migration monitoring | 4 to 8 weeks | Weekly indexing report | Problems found too late |
Common ATS platforms in Canada (Bullhorn, JobAdder, Teamtailor, Recruitee) expose an API or XML feed. Depending on the vendor, API access is included or billed extra, roughly 0 to 200 CAD a month in 2026.
Ontario's 2026 rules for job postings
Since January 1, 2026, Ontario employers with 25 or more employees must state the expected pay or a pay range of no more than 50,000 CAD in publicly advertised postings, disclose whether AI is used to screen applicants and say whether the post is an existing vacancy. A custom site can make these fields mandatory in the ATS feed and display them in a consistent block on every job page.
Which Kolonell tier fits
Starter, from 800,000 to 1,200,000 FCFA (1,220 to 1,830 EUR), suits a firm that posts few jobs and links out to its ATS. Growth, from 1,200,000 to 2,000,000 FCFA (1,830 to 3,050 EUR), adds a blog, analytics and job publishing. Premium, from 2,000,000 to 3,500,000 FCFA (3,050 to 5,340 EUR), covers this Toronto case: API sync, generated city and role pages, advanced SEO. A candidate or client portal with application tracking is quoted separately.
Mini case study
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Olivia, founder of an 8-consultant executive search firm in Toronto, receives 40 qualified applications a month. Her fee is 20 % of first-year base salary, around 95,000 CAD, so 19,000 CAD per placement.
By moving to 60 qualified applications through Google for Jobs and role pages, she expects to close one more placement per quarter on hard-to-fill roles. Annual gain: 4 placements, 76,000 CAD in fees. Cost: a Premium site of about 4,000 EUR, then 114 EUR a month for maintenance (75,000 FCFA), minus roughly 600 CAD a year of Wix fees. The first extra placement pays for the site.
FAQ
Will we lose traffic during the migration?
A temporary 5 to 15 % dip over 2 to 4 weeks is common even when done well. Without a redirect plan, the drop reaches 20 to 40 % and can last months.
What happens to expired jobs?
Redirect them with a 301 to the matching role or city page, and set the expiry date in JobPosting markup so Google removes them from the jobs panel.
Do we have to show salary?
In Ontario, yes for employers with 25 or more staff since 2026, as a figure or a range of up to 50,000 CAD. Postings with pay also earn noticeably more clicks.
Can we keep Wix live during the build?
Yes. The new site is built on a staging environment, and the DNS cutover takes about an hour, ideally early in the week.
Does Kolonell handle SEO after the cutover?
Yes, through a monthly SEO plan at 100,000, 200,000 or 350,000 FCFA. See our SEO services page.
Let's scope your project. Send us your Wix site address and the name of your ATS, and we will scope the migration, the connector and the cutover plan. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
