Wix
There’s been a lot of buzz on the internet about Wix being the best website builder.
The claims are that it’s the most intuitive, easy to use, and has features to power websites of any type, be it an online store, personal blog, or even a corporate website.
But is Wix website builder up to the hype? And should you use it for your website?
To help you decide, I signed up for Wix to test its features and functionality.
In this Wix review, I will highlight the app’s strengths and weaknesses and give you the lowdown on my experience using it.
- Wix provides no-code website building with templates and e-commerce features.
- Drag-and-drop editor enables easy customization for non-technical users.
- Free plan includes Wix branding; premium plans unlock more features.
- SEO tools and app marketplace expand functionality and marketing options.
Basics to Understand
Wix is the world’s biggest no-code builder by market share, powering over 200 million websites, twice as many as its closest competitor, Squarespace.
Wix’s feature-rich drag-and-drop website design software lets anyone without design or coding knowledge spin up an attractive and fully functional website in minutes.
The platform includes hundreds of design templates, built-in SEO, e-commerce features, and a wide range of business app integrations to power any website.
Wix is an excellent option for anyone looking to set up a website without worrying about hosting or development costs.
In fact, you can create a fully functional website on Wix for free.
Getting Started With Wix- My Experience
My experience with Wix was fascinating from the get-go.
After signing up, I had to choose between setting up with Wix AI or manually.
I wanted to try both options, so I started with the Wix AI.
The AI chatbot asked me general questions about my business, including the name, services, location, goals, etc. Within minutes, my business profile was ready.
After that, I was redirected to my account dashboard. The interface was aesthetically pleasing and intuitive.
Once I clicked on the Design Website, I saw two options: Generate Design with AI or Customize a Template.
The AI builder generated my website using the site profile from the initial chat. While this approach seems easier and faster, the AI-generated website was too basic and less functional.
In my case, I wanted a fully functional website for a restaurant that sells African cuisines. But to my surprise, the AI builder generated a one-page website without any functionality.
I asked the AI to regenerate many times, even tweaking the brief. After several trials, it became evident that the AI builder is only ideal for creating simple websites.
Later, I discovered that working with Wix templates is way better, as I can preview a template’s features and functionality before choosing it. More on this later.
Notable Features
Having created a basic website, I wanted to see how functional a Wix website could be, so I started testing the features, from the editor to the template, e-commerce support, App market, and SEO features. Here’s what I found out.
Working With Wix Editor
The first good thing I noticed about Wix is that whichever path you take in creating your website, AI-generated or template, you can use the Wix Editor to further customize it.
The Wix Editor is a section-based, visual drag-and-drop editor.
It allows me to click or drag elements from the on-side library to any section of the page, so adding elements such as text, images, galleries, buttons, videos, etc., was a breeze.
I was able to add new or prebuilt sections and customize them effortlessly.
For my restaurant website, I noticed a bunch of prebuilt pages and sections, such as Menu, Order, and Reseservation, that I can import with one click.
This saves time, as I don’t have to build from scratch.
Anyone with experience working with website builders will find using the Wix editor easy. My understanding of Elementor (for WordPress) also makes things relatively easy.
Working with Wix Template
There are over 900+ professionally designed templates in the Wox template library. These templates are categorized by industry, such as Business, Store, and Creative.
Each template comes with feature-specific layouts to match the industry. You can use the preset filters on the library to browse the library or use the search bar to search by keyword.
I decided to search for Restaurant to see if there’s a template available and was pleasantly surprised with the plethora of options.
The best part is that this template has almost all the pages and features I needed.
I only have to upload my content using the Editor and make minor tweaks to meet my desired taste.
Selling on Wix
Wix offers a comprehensive e-commerce platform that supports the sales of both physical and digital products.
Thanks to the Wix Store set-up wizard, setting up an online store with Wix was a bit easier than with WooCommerce and Shopify.
This Wizard guides you through essential tasks like adding products, setting shipping rules, and setting up payment.
The Wix App Market further extends the capability of your Wix store with tools for online courses, inventory management, accounting, and marketing.
Wix also integrates with multiple sales channels to facilitate effective social media marketing.
Wix supports 80+ payment gateways, including bank transfers and cryptos.
You can also accept payment via credit card, PayPal, Google, and Apple Pay at a fee of $2.9 plus $0.30 per translation.
This rate may vary by region. You can learn more about the Wix payment processing fee here.
The amount of E-commerce functionality you can access depends on your plan. E-commerce features aren’t available for Free and Lite Plan users.
Advanced features like multicurrency support, selling subscriptions, and customer loyalty programs are only available on their higher-tier plans.
Blogging on Wix
As a blogger, I was curious about Wix’s blogging capabilities, so I created a blog on Wix. Here’s what I found.
I started by adding a blog to my site using the element section on the editor sidebar.
Once I do that, the blog section appears on the left panel on my dashboard, where I can manage all aspects of the blog.
When creating a post, I have the option to use a template or create from scratch.
The template is for standard post types, including product reviews, guides, and how-tos.
Using the blog editor, however, gives me the creative freedom to add all sorts of elements to the blog, including text, images, videos, downloadables, tables, buttons, and more.
I also find Wix’s blog management feature incredible. I can organize posts by categories or tags and schedule posts for later.
The blog editor looks similar to the WordPress visual editor. But unlike WordPress, a post can’t have more than one author in Wix.
SEO on Wix
Next, I tested Wix SEO features. The Wix SEO page welcomed me with an SEO setup checklist.
This checklist contains every step to make search engines find, crawl, and index my site.
Wix provides several valuable integrations, from performance insight from Google Search Console and keyword support from popular SEO tools like SEranking and Semrush.
The Wix SEO assistant itemized actions I need to take to improve my site performance in search results.
Other tools in the Wix SEO stack include URL Redirect Manager, Site Inspection, and Robot.txt editor.
With all I’ve seen, these tools are decent starting points for anyone just getting into the website creation and SEO groove.
Exploring the Wix App Market
Just like plugins extend the functionality of a WordPress website, there are third-party apps to add new functionality and design elements to your Wix website.
The Wix App Marketplace has 500+ apps covering marketing, SEO, Social media, shipping, and software integrations, among other things.
While some of these apps are free, most are premium but often offer a limited free trial.
The Wix Bookings app is an example of a free integration on the marketplace. This tool lets you efficiently set up appointment scheduling.
Despite the availability of several “Made by Wix apps,” Wix allows competing third-party apps to thrive.
A typical example is the 123 Form Builder & Payments app vs. the Wix Forms & Payments app.
The third-party app has over 4000 users, while the Wix-owned alternative has only 500+ users.
For me, that’s a big plus for Wix. Knowing that I won’t get stuck with any of their in-house features and apps gives me peace of mind.
Where I Think Wix Could Improve
Wix operates as a closed platform, meaning users cannot freely export their website’s code or content to another hosting service.
This means users can’t migrate their sites to another platform in the future. Also, you can’t switch templates after you publish your site.
To do that, you’ll have to rebuild the site and its content manually.
While Wix templates are generally well-designed, they often have performance issues, such as slower load times, which affect SEO and user experience.
That’s because Wix uses many CSS and JavaScript files, a common trait in no-code builders.
Pricing & Cost
Wix offers various pricing options to cater to different needs and occasions. Its free plan lets you spin up a website at no cost.
However, you’ll have to contend with the Made by Wix label and subdomain on your site.
To create an ad-free website with custom domain or eCommerce functionalities, you must upgrade to a paid plan starting at $7 per month.
This light plan offers 2GB of storage, a complimentary domain for one year, and no e-commerce functionality.
At $11 per month, the Core plan allows up to 5 staff accounts and offers 50GB of storage with basic e-commerce functionality.
For advanced e-commerce features, check out the Business and Business Elite plans, charged at $22 and $46, respectively.
Is Wix Worth The Cost?
For individuals lacking technical expertise who want to create a website, Wix is worth every penny. Its ease of use, plethora of customizable templates, and drag-and-drop functionality streamline the website creation process.
Besides saving money on the first year domain free one year domain, You don’t need to buy a separate hosting plan or hire someone to design your website.
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My Honest Thoughts
Pros of Wix
If you’re looking for Wix’s best features in a nutshell, here’s a quick breakdown:
- Well-Priced: Affordable pricing provides options for all users.
- Suitable for Beginners: Wix doesn’t require knowledge of code and offers hundreds of templates and themes that don’t need any coding knowledge. Wix Marketplace also provides access to professionals.
- Social Media Integration: Email marketing functionality and social media integration allow for robust digital marketing campaigns.
Cons of Wix
As with any other website builder, Wix has its downsides and limitations.
You should weigh them carefully against your needs and budget before making a choice.
Here are a few things to consider:
- Free Plan Limits: Limited branding options with the free plan limit customizations.
- It Can Be Overwhelming: The number of features can be overwhelming for newcomers.
- Website Limitations: You can only create one website as part of your premium plan.
Wix vs. Other Top Recommendations: How They Compare
Wix is like Squarespace in many ways.
It is also not focused specifically on blogging, but allows for the creation of many kinds of sites, including portfolios and stores.
It also lets users start with a variety of templates and customize from there.
If you’re interested in having more design and plug-in options, Wix offers many more opportunities for customization than Squarespace. You can add video backgrounds, scroll effects, and animation.
You can choose from a wide variety of plug-ins from the Wix App Market like blogs, forums, forms, calendars, site search, and many, many more.
This is a great option for bloggers looking for more creative control, but it can be a bit intimidating for an early beginner.
Unlike Squarespace, you can use Wix for free, as long as you don’t mind having their logo and branding on your blog. Stores and custom domain options are not available on the free plan.
The biggest con of Wix is that once you choose a template, it can’t be changed, so major redesigns won’t be an option. But you shouldn’t be changing up your blog regularly – just once every 18 months to 2 years to stay up with the trends.
I never used to recommend Wix because of potential SEO limitations. Now, they have gone back to the drawing board and really tightened up their SEO and I can recommend Wix as an easy way to start blogging!
Conclusion: Should You Choose Wix?
Overall, Wix is an excellent option for businesses.
It offers affordable plans and all the features you need to build a professional website, so you won’t have to worry about spending a lot of time designing each page.
Although other website builders are a bit more user-friendly, Wix is easy to learn and offers ideal results.
Alternatives
Like Wix, Squarespace is famous for its easy-to-use website-building capabilities. However, from my experience with both, Wix offers more design flexibility.
You can place elements anywhere on the page, whereas Squarespace offers a more rigid editing experience.
While Wix boasts a vast template library, Squarespace has fewer but more polished designs suited to creatives.
Both platforms allow free website creation with their branded subdomain plan. Squarespace’s plan starts at $16 monthly, pricier than Wix’s $7 Lite plan.
Starting at $10 per month, Weebly is an affordable alternative to Wix. Think of it as a stepped-down version of Wix.
You get templates, integrations, and apps, but not as robust as Wix’s. Like Wix, the free plan comes with basic features, and your website will have the Weebly branding.
Owing to its more structured editing approach, I’d say it’s ideal for smaller websites like portfolios or personal blogs.
Weebly is light on features and might fail you if you want to run a business with it.
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