Over the course of the last several years, Wix has amassed a respectable amount of name recognition, in part as a result of extravagant advertising campaigns that have included celebrities such as Heidi Klum, Jason Statham, and Gal Gadot, who stars as Wonder Woman herself. However, let’s begin with the fundamentals first. Wix is now the most dominant player in the world of website development, and it claims to have a staggering 200 million users.
Wix Review: Summary
Wix provides a high-quality editor that operates using a drag-and-drop interface for the creation of simple websites. There is no other website builder that even comes close to matching its score of 4.5 out of 5. There are over 800 free templates that are accessible and may be modified in any way that you see fit. Wix offers its own site hosting in addition to registering domain names (free and paid).
The App Market makes it simple to include supplementary features such as online shops, booking forms, picture galleries, and members-only sections into a website. On the other hand, it has a few limitations that prevent it from being an appropriate solution for bigger locations. Wix is not the least expensive choice, however.
Who Should Use Wix?
Small companies, restaurants, online retailers, and creative professionals like musicians and photographers are the target audiences for their aesthetically attractive layouts, which are built just for them. They are ideal for use on mobile devices and may be personalised with any one of the various applications that can be found in the Wix App Market.
Wix’s core structure is set in stone and cannot be altered in any meaningful sense, hence the platform may be thought of as being analogous to a prefabricated home. You are, however, free to paint the walls according to your whim (choose a motif), and to fill the room with pieces of furniture that spark joy in your heart (photo galleries and other apps – you can learn how in our Wix tutorial).
Wix offers a greater degree of creative leeway than other website builders such as Jimdo and GoDaddy, which we’ve tested and evaluated. Therefore, if you are normally content with a web design that has a more conventional appearing, you may find it simpler to do so with the site developers that were previously stated.
Wix Pricing
Small companies, restaurants, online retailers, and creative professionals like musicians and photographers are the target audiences for their aesthetically attractive layouts, which are built just for them. They are ideal for use on mobile devices and may be personalised with any one of the various applications that can be found in the Wix App Market.
Wix’s core structure is set in stone and cannot be altered in any meaningful sense, hence the platform may be thought of as being analogous to a prefabricated home. You are, however, free to paint the walls according to your whim (choose a motif), and to fill the room with pieces of furniture that spark joy in your heart (photo galleries and other apps – you can learn how in our Wix tutorial).
Wix offers a greater degree of creative leeway than other website builders such as Jimdo and GoDaddy, which we’ve tested and evaluated. Therefore, if you are normally content with a web design that has a more conventional appearing, you may find it simpler to do so with the site developers that were previously stated.
Which plan should I choose?
A comprehensive analysis of Wix’s price structure is an essential component of any evaluation of the platform.
You are welcome to use the Wix platform at no cost for as long as you see fit. You are need to choose one of their premium plans, which range from “Combo” to “Business VIP,” if you want access to professional functionalities such as having your own domain name or doing online business. The least expensive package that does not include advertisements and comes with a personalised domain name is 125 per month.
For standard websites that do not include online shopping, we believe that the Combo plan is by far the most suitable option. It does not include any advertisements, has sufficient space to accommodate most requirements, and comes with a free domain name for one year. Our in-depth review of Wix’s premium plans can be found at this link.
Pros and Cons of the Wix Website Builder
PROS
Excellent templates
The most remarkable thing about Wix is its templates. The designs are exceptional and offer pre-built layouts for many different industries.
It has a high degree of adaptability.
Wix enables you to finish off your work so that it is “pixel flawless,” in contrast to other website builders who place restrictions on the amount to which pieces may be moved about.
Adding animations
Wix is one of the few website builders that gives users the ability to animate text and other components on their websites. But watch out that you don’t go too far!
App Market
There are literally hundreds of different applications that may be added to a website. There is a tool for creating newsletters, software for live chat, widgets for online booking, and so forth. Your Wix website has the capability of quickly incorporating all of these features. Bear in mind, however, that many of them are third-party applications; as a result, Wix does not provide support for all of the apps that are available.
Automatic Site Backup
Wix operates in a manner quite similar to Apple’s Moment Machine in that it routinely makes backup points of your website that can be brought back at any time. In this approach, you will ensure that no significant information is ever lost.
CONS
Pricing
When compared to Wix’s premium plans, the Combo plan, which is Wix’s lowest ad-free option, has a starting price that is still somewhat high at 125 euros per month. The competition provides choices that are more cost effective: For example, Weebly’s most basic plan, which does not include any advertising and begins at around $8 per month.
Mobile device loading times
Mobile speeds still have room for improvement, despite the fact that the company has made significant headway in reducing loading times (a fact that has not gone ignored by Google). Because so many of their templates depend on visuals and media to seem appealing, there is sometimes a trade-off between the templates’ aesthetics and their functionality.
It is difficult to make changes to templates.
Once you have decided on a Wix template to use for your website, you will not be able to change to a different one. It is possible to make changes to the design that is included inside the template; however, it is not feasible to choose a whole new one.
Rating Details
EASE OF USE
The editor is quite easy to grasp because to its user-friendly design. If you get stuck, check out the Frequently Asked Questions area. Instructions on how to use the various functionalities are provided in the form of brief introduction movies. Wix ADI is perfect for those who have no prior experience building websites since it guides you through the process step by step. It has a little bit less flexibility, but it’s a lot more convenient. The greatest part is that you can always go back to the standard builder if you want to.
CHOICE AND FLEXIBILITY OF DESIGN (TEMPLATES)
The designs have a professional appearance and make it possible to make adjustments that are pixel flawless (see examples). There is a version that is suited to mobile devices and may be customised individually. The Wix editor even allows you to submit your own typefaces, in addition to allowing you to embed movies in the backdrop of your website. Unfortuitously, there is no straightforward method for switching between templates. If you wish to switch to a different one, you will need to transfer the content of your website over to the new design.
ADVERTISEMENT-FREE
Only available with the premium plan “Combo,” which excludes advertisements. Both the free edition and the Connect Domain plan display a rather noticeable banner advertising Wix.
LANGUAGES
The editor is compatible with 19 different languages. It is possible to create websites that support many languages, and these websites may choose the appropriate language to show depending on the settings of the user’s browser. The creation of multilingual websites is covered in this guide.
When it comes to setting up several language versions of your website, such as subdirectories (for example, mysite.com/en), Wix provides you with a few different alternatives to choose from. Be aware, however, that this function is not complete; it will not permit you to modify the exact page slug for your translations (for example, the word “shop” in the URL mysite.com/en/shop). On the other hand, it seems like they may implement this functionality very soon.
YOUR OWN DOMAIN NAME (E.G. .COM OR .NET)
Included at no additional cost with the premium “Combo” plan and higher tiers of service is a free custom domain name for a whole year. Wix allows users to choose from a variety of domain suffixes, including.com,.org,.net,.co.uk, and.info. Prices for renewal start at $14.95 for each additional year. If you purchase the “Connect Domain” package or a higher-tiered plan, you will have the ability to either transfer your already-registered domain to Wix or to redirect it from another domain registrar to Wix. Extra details are needed. Always included: a secure connection using SSL (https).
Through Google Workspace or other providers, you may also get a personalised email account that is hosted on your own domain name.
DEPTH OF NAVIGATION
There is a limit of two levels that may be reached. It is currently not very easy to administer a bigger site with Wix (30 pages or more), which is one reason why adding a third level would be ideal. In addition, the loading speed of the editor tends to get slower as more pages are added. Remember that websites built with Wix are restricted to a maximum of 100 pages (not counting blog posts). However, you may get around this page restriction by employing dynamic pages, which are perfect for showing standardised information like portfolios, recipes, classifieds, and so on. This will allow you to circumvent the page limit.
WIDGETS (SMALL TOOLS TO ADD EXTRA FUNCTIONALITY)
The Wix App Market provides users with access to a diverse selection of one-of-a-kind applications and widgets. Wix Bookings, which will help your clients schedule and pay for appointments and consultations, and Wix Music, which allows you to sell and promote music, are two features that really stand out to us (and even online Zoom classes). Integration is also possible with apps from the outside world.
MOBILE APP
The Wix Owner app is really simple to use. You may have access to all of the most important functions, such as updating blog posts, statistics, or inbox communications, via a dashboard. You can immediately administer your shop from your mobile device, but you won’t be able to make any new pages with it (unless you built your site with Wix ADI).
However, there are other aspects that are rather fascinating, such as the ability to add items, create videos, add contacts, or begin email marketing campaigns. We regret to inform you that it is not possible to make edits to your Wix site using touchscreen devices.
E-COMMERCE
The “Business & eCommerce” packages each come with a built-in online storefront for your convenience. Additionally, you may try the functionality in the other plans. It is reasonably priced at $23 a month (there are no sales fees), and it enables you to sell both physical and digital items while simultaneously keeping track of what you have in stock. There are even additional capabilities available, such as the ability to offer subscriptions, integrate with Amazon, and dropship products. Find out more by reading our in-depth analysis of Wix Ecommerce.
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO)
It’s possible that you’ve heard unfavourable things about Wix’s search engine optimization (SEO) skills, which was still true a few years ago (more about this here). In spite of this, they have made significant strides forward and now allow you to alter page names, meta descriptions, and alt tags independently. There are even more complex SEO tools available, such as 301 redirects and something called “SEO Patterns,” which lets you define patterns for automatically producing titles and descriptions for your webpages. You can also manage your Google My Business profile directly from the Wix dashboard, which is another another convenient feature. The SEO Wiz is a guided training that may be used by novices. Check out the page on Wix’s blog about SEO for more details.
BLOG
A search engine optimization (SEO)-friendly add-on that is also very useful is Wix’s blog. It already has the majority of the functions that you’ll find useful (e.g. tags, categories, RSS, etc.). In addition to that, you may pre-schedule blog entries. You’ll have the ability to make edits and publish articles from anywhere thanks to the Wix Owner mobile app. You may also offer paid memberships to anyone who want to read your blog content. The commenting tool is difficult to use, which is a drawback. In order for visitors to your website to leave a remark, they must first create an account on your site. Another disadvantage is that it is difficult to create new tables.
VISITOR STATISTICS
The built-in Analytics tool that comes with Wix generates reports that are detailed and can be customised, covering topics like as traffic, sales, contacts, and blog activity. However, we found that it takes a bit longer than usual for them to load. Paid Wix websites also have the option to integrate Google Analytics to their setup.
CONTACT FORM
There is a straightforward contact form builder available, however it only allows for a maximum of 5 forms and 10 fields per form. To boost these, you will need to upgrade to an Ascend by Wix plan, which gives you access to Wix’s complete collection of in-built marketing tools. You can learn more about this upgrade here. The App Market is where you may find more advanced versions of several tools.
PASSWORD PROTECTION & MEMBER AREAS
Exemplary! Pages may each be given their own password to access them. You may even construct a modest membership website where customers sign up in order to acquire personal login credentials. This can be done on your own website. It is possible to construct member sections inside your shop, and these may be used for a variety of purposes including bookings, events, blogs, and forums, among other things. You have the ability to choose between an automated and a manual approval process for new members. Both of these features are included in each and every plan.
NEWSLETTER TOOL
You may make advantage of the Email Marketing newsletter service that Wix provides (part of the Wix Ascend product suite). It is quite simple to use, but the power it offers is not comparable to that of external suppliers that specialise in their field. Check out our comprehensive review of Wix Email Marketing (which was once known as ShoutOut) here.
ADD HTML CODE
Utilize a built-in application known as HTML iframe to successfully embed a variety of widgets and other tools. However, this is not all there is to it: Velo by Wix is geared for those who have extensive coding abilities and allows you to build up bespoke API interactions by making use of JavaScript. You also have the ability to construct databases.
STORAGE SPACE
Space on the website ranging from 500 MB to 35 GB, depending on the payment tier. Please be aware that the majority of plans have a bandwidth cap that is applied on a monthly basis. This is only important for very big websites (for example, the 2 GB bandwidth that comes with the Combo plan ought to be sufficient for between 3,000 and 5,000 visitors per month). Both the Unlimited plan and the VIP plan provide unmetered download and upload speeds.
BACKUPS & RESTORE
Wix provides its users with a user-friendly version control system referred to as Site History, which makes it possible to revert to any older version of their website with only the click of a button.
SUPPORT
There is also a support centre, a forum, a phone, and a live chat service (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in English, however you will first need to go via Wix’s chatbot). The paperwork is quite thorough and explains everything in great detail. If you find yourself in a bind, you may post your query in the community forum. Usually, responses are sent quickly; however, when communicating by email, there is often some back-and-forth before the problem is resolved.
FUN FACTOR
When first getting started, you’ll find that it’s a lot of fun, and you’ll get great results pretty soon. Wix allows you a great deal of creative leeway throughout the creation process.
A More Detailed Look at Wix’s Top Features
To tell you the truth, when I first heard about Wix I was sceptical since the company’s products haven’t exactly been easy to endorse in the past. In the ancient days, it was based on Flash, and it was always a little bit different (like your old classmate who had that weird taste in clothes). However, because of the consistent progress that they have been making, they have emerged as one of the popular youngsters and have climbed all the way to the #1 spot in our rating.
Is Wix really that easy to use?
One of the aspects of Wix that we like the most is how well it accommodates users with varying degrees of prior technical skill. Wix ADI, which is an artificial intelligence-powered website builder, is available for users who are just starting out. You only need to provide the answers to a few brief questions, and it will construct a fully functional website for you in a matter of minutes.
However, I anticipate that the vast majority of users will have little trouble becoming used to the standard Wix Editor. After selecting a design, the drag-and-drop editor that Wix provides will make it possible for you to personalise your website in almost any manner you see fit. You will have a level of control that is very near to total over what content is included in your websites, where that content is put, and how it appears (you can customise fonts, colors, styles, interactions etc).
Wix sites on mobile devices
The fact that Wix’s templates aren’t mobile-friendly by default is the single significant disadvantage associated with using them. Websites are considered responsive if they are able to dynamically adjust themselves to fit a variety of screen sizes, including those of desktop computers, tablets, and mobile phones. The vast majority of alternative website builders, such as Squarespace, GoDaddy, and Jimdo, adhere to this methodology, which means that the resizing occurs automatically in the background without the need for you to take any action.
Wix has a different approach than other website builders, since it utilises two distinct editors instead of one: one for the desktop version, and the other for the mobile version. Because Wix automatically turns your website into a mobile-optimized version, you will spend the majority of your time working on the desktop version. That is normally effective, but there are instances when it requires a little bit of adjustment since particular components could get disorganised. In addition, there is no version designed specifically for tablets. Therefore, it will either show the desktop version or the mobile version, depending on the size of the screen of the table.
There are also a few positives, such as the fact that the mobile user experience may be entirely customised, in contrast to the majority of Wix’s rivals. Wix gives you the ability to add a Quick Action Bar to your website, which might include buttons that link to your email address, Google Maps, or telephone number. Mobile users also have the option of completely hiding specific components from view. Wix is not as hands-off as other website builders that have responsive themes, but it does provide far more customization options than its competitors.
Enhancing your site with Wix apps
With the use of an app, as we touched on briefly before, you are able to quickly and simply add additional functionality to any Wix site. The Wix App Market is one of the nicest things that Wix has to offer since it has over 300 applications that can be activated on a website with only a few mouse clicks. These include not just third-party applications but also Wix’s huge library of in-house applications as well.
Ascend is one of the basic applications that Wix offers; it is designed for owners of small businesses and contains a CRM, email marketing, automations, forms, and live chat, among other features. Although it is helpful as an all-in-one solution (and can be utilised on a restricted free plan), we believe that the premium packages could provide a bit more than what they now do. Check out this page for the whole evaluation.
Wix Bookings is a helpful tool for anybody who has a company that relies on appointments or services (e.g. yoga studios, beauty salons, personal trainers, consultants). It is an app that allows users to schedule appointments or lessons directly on a business’s website, and it also accepts payments. Integration with Zoom is available, in addition to the capability to manage workers, calendars, and even provide subscriptions. You may download a free version of the app, and a premium version of it is included in the cost of Wix’s Business and Ecommerce applications. This software is generally available for a fee (more on that below).
Wix also provides a selection of applications that are geared specifically for certain markets and occupations. There are a number of them, including but not limited to Wix Hotels, Wix Restaurants, and Wix Events.
The ones that are not produced by Wix may be a little bit hit or miss: we discovered a couple that were not of very high quality, and some of them are also rather pricey for what they are.
Wix Review: Conclusion
The conclusion of this Wix evaluation is rather straightforward: It is the most effective website builder for sites that are not more than 30 pages in length and are required to seem perfect. You wonder why not also for bigger tasks, therefore let me answer that.
Due to the fact that there is only one sub-level, the navigation menu is unfortunately unable to effectively support complicated site architectures. Large websites are often best served by using Weebly or WordPress. Having said that, Wix’s Content Manager might be a viable solution due to its use of dynamic pages; nevertheless, this undoubtedly adds additional complexity to the situation.
Wix offers the most comprehensive collection of prebuilt designs suitable for use in any field. After you have selected a theme for your website, it is not feasible to change to another one, as is the case with the vast majority of website builders available today. Because of this, you will either need to manually recreate it or start completely again. Wix’s biggest strength, which is unrivalled versatility within the theme you choose, is made possible because of this constraint, which is a good aspect of the platform.
And even if you decide that you want to go into the e-commerce game at some point in the future, you can quickly and rather inexpensively add a shopping cart to your website. Learn more by reading our review of the Wix Ecommerce plugin.
What Wix has developed here is undeniably outstanding in a variety of ways, and the rate of advancement is so rapid that it is nearly breath-taking. Make sure that you test out the free plan first before upgrading to a paid one so that you can determine whether or not the premium option is the best one for you.
