Contemporary web design niche abounds in professional platforms that cover a broad range of user needs. Wix, however, is that very website builder, which is included in the list of top website development solutions.
This is actually no wonder as Wix does not only work great for all user categories, but it also pays much attention to website design and functionality. It comes with powerful blogging/eCommerce engines, abundance of templates and customization tools. These are only a few features that make the website builder a top web design platform for its subscribers.
Regardless of its flexibility and convenience, Wix, however, is not the easiest solution you can find out there. It takes time to get used to the web design environment here, especially for non-techies.
Likewise, the website builder sets a number of limitations, when it comes to using its free/cheap plans. This sometimes makes Wix users think about switching to other systems.
To be able to decide, whether Wix works great for your project or you need to keep looking for an alternative, it is reasonable to discuss its major parameters and settings now.
What is Wix
Beginners and experienced website developers can work with Wix to build personal and business projects from scratch.
The website builder stands out from the crowd due to its intuitive web design approach, customizability, powerful integrated functionality and affordability.
Whether you are just going to choose the software for your website development needs or just wish to find out more about it, have a look at the list of the system highlights now:
- Best all-in-one DIY website builder;
- Two website editing modes;
- Rich choice of ready-made templates;
- Powerful integrations;
- Blogging/eCommerce platforms;
- Flexible and versatile pricing.
Best All-In-One DIY Website Builder
Wix has rightfully won the reputation of the best website builder in the modern DIY website development niche. This is one of the leaders of the modern web design market when it comes to the number of projects created with it. According to recent estimates, the system currently powers 8,586,516 live sites, while the overall number of projects built with it has exceeded 11,564,269.
Due to its flexibility, extensive design customization options and high end features, the website builder works well for the creation of all types of web projects, including small/medium web stores, blogs, landing pages, business websites, portfolios etc. Everyone can create a website from scratch here without writing a line of code.
Numerous Website Editing Modes
Wix makes it possible to customize websites, choosing one of several editing modes. These include:
- Standard Editor – The editor mostly works well for experienced web design pros who intend to deeply customize their projects, using programming knowledge and web design skills. It provides a drag-and-drop interface, where users can choose from a wide variety of templates, customize layouts, fonts, colors, and more.
- Wix ADI – This is a powerful tool powered by Artificial Intelligence and, thus, allows setting up and running websites in the automated mode. Just provide the required content and watch the system creating a project for you. Wix ADI designs the site layout, selects colors, and even writes some content for you.
- Editor X – This is a more advanced website editing mode meant for users who require precise control over their project design. It offers a fully responsive web creation approach along with the ability to create complex and highly customized websites. This is a great solution for web designers, developers and businesses that need a sophisticated online presence.
- Velo by Wix – Formerly known as Corvid, Velo by Wix comes as a professional website development platform. It makes it possible to add custom code, build web applications and create dynamic, database-driven projects. Velo is suitable for developers who want to extend the functionality of their Wix website by writing JavaScript, APIs, and backend code.
- Wix Studio – This is a web creation platform built for agencies that provides full creative freedom and advanced design customization tools/solutions to let the experts set up websites for their clients from scratch or work with complex templates. It offers in-depth control over animations, typography and design elements.
Rich Choice of Pre-Designed Templates
Wix boasts one of the most versatile and rich collections of pre-designed templates. All of them are stylish, professional and mobile-ready by default. There are currently over 800 free themes to choose from.
While the template switch version is still unavailable, Wix compensates by providing a Mobile Editor that allows users to customize both desktop and mobile versions of their websites. This feature ensures a seamless user experience across different screen sizes. Mind, however, that edits made in the mobile version won’t be displayed in the desktop mode.
For those seeking even more customization and design options, Wix offers Editor X, Velo by Wix and Wix Studio solutions. They empower users to craft highly personalized websites, while users possessing coding skills can independently customize their projects.
Additionally, there is Wix Marketplace that connects users with web design professionals who can offer expert guidance and full control over website elements, making Wix’s template options not only rich but also adaptable to individual needs and preferences.
Read also: What’s the Difference Between Wix and Wix Editor X?Powerful Integrations
Wix App Market is that very place, where the system subscribers can find free and premium applications for all types of projects. The library currently encompasses over 350 positions to supercharge their websites – from eCommerce and customer interaction tools and up to marketing and analytics extensions.
There is also an opportunity to design your own applications, using the toolset provided by Wix Velo platform. This flexibility is an advantage for businesses and developers looking to extend their website’s functionality.
Moreover, the website builder caters to project management and customer interaction needs by offering the Wix Owner App. The app empowers users to take complete control over their website management and stay closely connected with their customers, ensuring a seamless and efficient online presence management experience.
Blogging/eCommerce Platforms
As the all-in-one website builder, Wix makes it possible to set up and customize blogs and online stores. This is done via integration of corresponding blogging/eCommerce modules/widgets.
For bloggers, Wix provides a user-friendly platform to create and manage their blogs. Users can choose from a range of beautifully designed templates, customize layouts, and easily publish content to engage their audience. Wix’s blogging features include options for categorizing posts, adding social sharing buttons, and optimizing content for search engines.
When it comes to eCommerce, creation and customization of online shops is completed via Wix Stores widget integration. The platform offers essential eCommerce features such as product listings, shopping carts, secure payment processing, and inventory management. These and other tools will help you set up a web store with no coding required.
Mind, however, that creation of large-scale digital stores is impossible here because of the limited eCommerce functionality of the service.
Flexible and Versatile Pricing
Wix has a free subscription to let users test its features and practice their skills. For those looking to upgrade, Wix offers two main types of paid packages – standard and business/eCommerce. Each of them includes multiple premium plans, ensuring that users can select the one that best aligns with their specific requirements. The cost of standard plans starts at $22 per month, while that of business/eCommerce subscriptions starts at $27 per month.
Wix frequently provides discounts and special offers, letting users save big when picking the required subscription. Additionally, the platform offers a 14-day money-back guarantee, assuring the risk-free shopping experience.
Pros and Cons
Wix is undeniably one of the best DIY website builders. This does not mean, however, that it doesn’t have any cons. It’s high time to review the pros and cons of the software now.
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Editing a Website with Wix
Wix website builder comes with a handy WYSIWYG editor that supports the drag-and-drop feature. Prior to proceeding to the editing process, however, you will be offered to select the type of project you intend to set up and one of several editing options – Standard Editor, Wix ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence), Editor X, Velo by Wix and Wix Studio.
If you are a first-timer, then Wix ADI will be a smarter solution as it basically lets the system create a project for you. The built-in AI tool will ask you a few important questions regarding your project to further use the answers to build a project. You will just need to submit relevant content afterwards. That’s it.
Have coding skills? Go ahead to customize your website with a Standard Wix Editor. To do this, you need to select a template in the rich design library and access the visual editor to customize the project absolutely from scratch.
The drag-and-drop editor implies the possibility to narrow/expand the borders of content blocks as well as to change their dimensions and positions. The pop-up icons will help select further steps and actions.
Professional code editing is possible when working with Editor X. The advanced editor encompasses the features of the Velo Platform and possibility to set up visual web page design. This is a kind of mixture of code and visual editors suitable for the development of professional web applications.
Editor X features a flexible drag-and-drop interface, providing designers and developers with greater creative freedom. It supports responsive design, enabling seamless optimization for various screen sizes and devices.
Users can access a wide range of design tools, animations and integrations, making it ideal for creating everything from simple blogs to complex eCommerce projects. Wix Editor X caters to both novices and professionals, offering an intuitive, code-friendly environment for building stunning, functional websites.
Velo by Wix is a development platform that makes it possible to create dynamic and interactive web applications. It extends the capabilities of Wix by enabling users to build custom web functionality using JavaScript and APIs.
With Velo, developers can access Wix’s database, user authentication and third-party integrations to create tailored web applications. It provides a powerful and flexible environment for web development, making it possible to create web apps, automate tasks and enhance user experiences on Wix websites.
Wix Studio is a standalone web creation platform powered and supported by Wix website builder. It targets web studios and professional developers who wish to gain full control over their design customization, offering in-depth solutions for typography, animations, design elements and other parameters.
Wix CMS and Wix CRM – What Can Wix Offer in Terms of Content/Client Management?
Wix possibilities go far beyond website creation and customization. The system is also used as a powerful tool for content and client management. For these very purposes, Wix offers high end CMS and CRM systems.
Wix CMS is designed for content management. It provides an intuitive interface for creating, editing and organizing website content. With Wix CMS, users can easily build and update web pages, blogs, galleries etc. It offers drag-and-drop functionality and various templates to simplify content creation, making it accessible to both beginners and experienced webmasters. Wix CMS is ideal for maintaining a well-structured website and ensuring a smooth user experience.
Along with content management, you can also effectively manage clients with Wix CRM. It allows businesses to track and manage customer interactions, store contact info and send personalized emails. Wix CRM also includes marketing automation features, letting you automate tasks like email marketing campaigns and lead nurturing. It’s a valuable tool for businesses looking to build and maintain relationships with their customers.
What’s important, Wix CMS and Wix CRM both create a comprehensive platform for effective online business management. While Wix CMS is responsible for content management, Wix CRM allows tracking customer interactions, acquiring leads and providing a personalized experience. This integration helps businesses streamline their online operations, enhancing user engagement and eventually ensuring quality achievement of your goals.
Design Customization with Wix
Wix is proud of its templates that excel in quality, stylish design, impressive layouts and availability of customization tools. They come with integrated animations, video inserts on the background, parallax and 3D effects, rich image collection etc.
The website builder makes it possible to preview a template before making a final selection, ensuring that it aligns with your project’s vision. However, it’s important to note that once you’ve started building your website with a specific template, switching to another design won’t be possible due to the software’s absolute positioning principle. To change your theme, you’ll need to resubmit the content, which can be quite time-consuming.
The good news is that you won’t encounter any problems with the adaptability of your template to various types of devices. Your project will display equally well on a small mobile/tablet screen as well as on a widescreen. You can even configure separate mobile and desktop website versions and use manual or automatic optimization to tailor the layout to your needs.
As to the design customization, you can change it in several ways – by integrating widgets, inserting HTML code, adding horizontal bars with the required content, fixing the elements on the selected page.
In addition to standard tools and features like background or color scheme change, you will get access to extra options. These include an opportunity to customize effects and animations, connect fonts, adjust web page layout by controlling content positioning, margins, elements borders etc.
The platform allows making each website layout individual by editing each element that has its own settings. No coding is required to do that. If you possess programming skills, however, you can use them when editing sliders and selectors, for example, or when integrating third-party extensions. This, however, will require professional knowledge and time. Newbies will hardly use this option.
Design customization with Wix also implies logo integration. The website builder even has an advanced Logo Maker that allows designing and adding an individual website logo to your website. The tool encompasses a set of elements and special features you may pick and adjust to create a unique and completely personalized project logo.
Moreover, Wix supports multilingual websites, enabling you to create multiple language versions of your site. Activating this feature and following the software’s instructions makes translation straightforward, expanding your site’s reach to a global audience.
eCommerce Capabilities
As mentioned above, Wix can be used for web store set up and customization. The feature is realized via Wix Stores widget integration and there is also a collection of eCommerce templates that can be used as a basis for your online shop design creation. To find out whether the system complies with your eCommerce needs, let’s review the related parameters now.
Payment Gateways
Wix supports a variety of payment gateways, making it convenient for customers to make purchases, picking the most preferable option. Users can choose from multiple payment-related solutions, including credit card payments, PayPal, Stripe, Square etc. This versatility of options allows catering to diverse audience types, offering various payment preferences. What’s more, Wix is known for its secure transactions and compliance with contemporary eCommerce niche standards.
Inventory Management
Wix comes with a set of inventory management tools that let business owners keep track of their product availability. To update their inventory, users can add, modify or remove products from their online stores. Additionally, it is possible to set up notifications for low stock levels to make sure you won’t run out of popular items. The platform supports variants and options, thus making it possible to sell products with different sizes, colors and configurations. You can also organize goods into categories and manage them effectively, making it easier for customers to shop in your web store.
Product Listing Features
Wix offers a user-friendly product listing system that simplifies the process of showcasing the items you plan to offer for sale. To provide detailed product descriptions, you can add high quality images, descriptions, prices, special offers and discounts. With Wix eCommerce, you can sell both physical and digital items as well as services. The website builder also includes customer reviews and ratings, which can enhance customer trust and encourage potential buyers to keep shopping. Finally, the software makes it possible to optimize product listings for the search engines, boosting your web store visibility.
To sum that up, Wix offers quite a full-featured eCommerce platform that is enough to set up and customize small-to-medium online stores. At the same time, its functionality will be insufficient to create and manage large-scale hypermarkets with hundreds of products, however. Take this factor into consideration, when making your choice.
Migration and Export Options
The fact that Wix is quite a multifaceted DIY website builder makes website owners switch to the platform on various stages of their project creation. Likewise, there are users who may decide to migrate from Wix to other platforms looking for more versatile and advanced web design solutions. But how easy is it to complete the transfer process and what data exactly can be moved between the platforms? Let’s review both options now.
Migrating to Wix Website Builder
Wix developers state that it is impossible to import a website created outside of Wix to the platform now. If your website was created with WordPress, it is still possible to import posts to Wix with a few simple steps. Other options are decribed in details here: from WordPress, from Squarespace, from Weebly.
Migrating from Wix
For users looking to move their websites away from Wix, the process can be a bit more complex. It all depends on the system you would like to move your content to (WordPress, Shopify, HTML etc). While Wix allows for data export in various formats, the compatibility with other platforms may require manual configuration of settings. Users can typically export their website content, such as text, images, and documents. Keep in mind that certain Wix-specific features and functionalities may not be fully transferable to other platforms, necessitating some redesign and content restructuring. However, the process still depends on the software involved. So, follow the guidelines the systems generate to make it a success.
When it comes to data export, Wix makes it possible to export critical data from their websites, such as text, images and documents. This can be useful for creating backups, transferring content or integrating with external services. As a Wix subscriber, you can be sure that the system provides control over your project data and can utilize it as needed, even if they decide to move to a different platform.
Wix SEO
Wix is a SEO-friendly website builder. All websites it powers are well-optimized for the search engines. To maximize the result, the website builder uses the advanced SEO Wiz tool that provides the detailed instructions of building an effective SEO strategy and improving your website ranking.
To get handy recommendations for on-site SEO, you will have to stick to three major steps. These include entering the brand name, picking the business type and adding up to 5 keywords/phrases that describe your project specialization.
Having analyzed the submitted info, the wizard will provide the checklist of indications that require optimization. The list may include several parameters.
What you can individually do here is editing meta tags and descriptions, choosing titles for web pages, defining keywords, editing image titles/descriptions etc. To achieve higher positions, though, you won’t go without setting meta tags, checking/testing template adaptability, adding unique content, using analytics tools, attaching 2nd level domain, connecting the website to Google Search Console etc.
These and other settings can be adjusted either directly from the checklist or from the visual editor interface. Each section in the “Menu and Pages” category has a SEO item with a tab of parameters. Check them out to complete the task.
Such a diversity of options, however, may sometimes pose a problem for novice webmasters. It will certainly take some time to explore and master the process of website SEO optimization with Wix.
How Much Does It Cost to Build a Website on Wix?
As mentioned above, Wix has two types of subscriptions – Website and Business/eCommerce. Each package, correspondingly, includes more detailed plans that cater to the needs, requirements, projects types and budget of different user categories.
As the all-in-one website builder, Wix does not require third-party domain name connection and hosting choice. These features are provided in each plan by default.
Most plans, by the way, include a free domain name viable during the first year of the software use, which definitely allows saving big.
Another cost-related advantage is the system of discounts the website builder offers to its subscribers. It is possible to save up to 50% of the initial plan price, if you sign up for a premium subscription from Tuesday to Thursday. The offer is valid on a weekly basis.
Special offers and bonuses are also available on holidays and weekends. You may subscribe to the newsletter not to miss the info.
Generally, the cost of Wix Website plans ranges between $22 and $45/mo, while that of Business/eCommerce subscriptions ranges between $27 and $500/mo/. The final cost of your Wix website, however, will depend on the type of website you intend to set up and the amount of features/tools you wish to avail. Have a look at the list below:
- Portfolio Website (built on the most suitable Unlimited Plan) – $27/mo or $324/year (if used with the 50% discount, the price will constitute $13.5/mo or $162/year);
- Business (Promo) Website (built on the most suitable Business Unlimited Plan) – $32/mo or $384/year (if used with the 50% discount, the price will constitute $16/mo or $192/year);
- Blog (built on the most suitable Unlimited Plan) – $27/mo or $324/year (if used with the 50% discount, the price will constitute $13.5/mo or $162/year);
- Online Store (built on the most suitable Business VIP Plan) – $59/mo or $708/year (if used with the 50% discount, the price will constitute $29.5/mo or $354/year).
Listed above are the prices for using fixed Wix subscriptions. The cost will increase, if you decide to use extra features or integrate premium apps from the App Market. For example, the price of using Wix Events widget currently constitutes $20, but there are also free extensions available there.
Additionally, Wix recommends using its advanced Ascend platform for business website creation. This is the all-in-one solution, which encompasses over 20 business tools for this type of project. You can upgrade to one of three Ascend plans, the cost of which constitutes $10, $24 and $49 per month.
The same is about Wix Logo Maker. Actually, Wix users can use the tool for free, but to get access to premium features and tools, you will need to upgrade to one of its packages. The one-time fee constitutes $20 and $50.
To sum it up, the final cost of your Wix websites comprises the price of the selected subscription as well as external integrations and advanced features. Keep that in mind, when working on your project creation.
Bottom Line
Wix is undoubtedly the top website builder in the DIY market. It is used to set up, manage, customize and promote personal and business projects, while its application does not require deep coding proficiency. Thus, newbies and web design pros will find many tools and features to use here.
The software includes full-featured blogging and eCommerce engines, an amazing collection of free responsive templates, multiple applications and high end features. These are Logo Maker tool, multilingual support, Ascend Platform, Velo by Wix, Editor X, Wix Studio, Wix Marketplace and many more.
Availability of two editing options makes the system applicable for diverse user categories, while a quality SEO Wiz tool will simplify the process of website optimization.
It seems like Wix has everything a user needs to set up and run feature-rich websites. To some extent, this makes sense as you will hardly find a more full-featured website builder out there.
At the same time, the software has a number of demerits that make its subscribers think about switching to an alternative web design solution. The thing is that Wix does not allow switching between the templates, while their customization and integrations may be somewhat complicated for beginners.
The cost of Wix subscriptions is affordable and versatile to fit any budget yet you shouldn’t forget about VAT deducted during each payment. What’s more, cheaper plans include limitations on the website bandwidth that may be a problem for large-scale websites. These aspects are not that serious, of course yet they still may be decisive for some users.
You may also like to read my Wix comparisons with other website builders: Weebly, WordPress, Squarespace, Webflow, Jimdo, Mobirise, Elementor, Adobe Portfolio and Etsy Marketplace.