What is Wix, and how can it help you get online? For fans of do-it-yourself website creation who are leery of learning how to code, Wix should be on your shortlist of prospective tools for the job.
The short version: Wix is an online website builder that gives users drag-and-drop simplicity when it comes to designing and publishing your portfolio, small business website, blog, or online store.
Website builders are the DIYer’s dream. If you want to build a site without hiring a developer or learning to code, be sure to check out our review of Wix below, along with how the platform compares to other premium site builder options.
What is Wix Website Builder’s Overall Rating?
I actually took the browser-based site builder for a spin recently. I played with theme options, evaluated the ease of use, sized up the functionality compared to the cost, and put together a beastly in-depth review. While Wix is certainly one of the best and most well-known website building platforms in the industry, we outline our ratings and feedback on the builder below. As you can see, we’re rather fond of Wix:
Wix.com
- FREE signup with email or Facebook
- Drag-and-drop designing is super easy
- 1-year domain free with most plans
- Up to $300-worth of ad credits
- Access to 1,000s of templates and additional tools in the App Market
- Get started on Wix now.
Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
---|---|---|---|
14-day FREE trial | 2 GB - Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | 4 minutes |
See 2024‘s best website builders »
What Are Wix’s Key Features?
Wix touts one of the most straightforward user interfaces for beginner website owners. That’s one of the many reasons we rate it so highly. The site-building platform is also well known for:
- Wix ADI technology: Wix revealed its ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) platform in 2016 — way ahead of the curve compared to many competitors. Today, it uses this same AI-powered technology to help customers build websites using AI to generate custom websites. Its proprietary technology is a significant time saver.
- Customizable templates: Wix leads the charge when it comes to template variety, boasting more than 800 customizable templates. It surpasses the 50 and 100-plus offered by Weebly and Shopify, respectively. You can start with a template that acts as the building blocks of your site, and customize it with colors, fonts, and logos to make it your own.
- Drag-and-drop editor: Ease of use is a major selling point for Wix. Website owners are busy enough, particularly those who are building a site for their small business. The drag-and-drop editor lets you customize elements of your site by clicking and dragging with your mouse. It’s so easy; anyone can do it regardless of experience.
- Mobile optimization: More than half (55%) of eCommerce activity occurs on a mobile phone, and Wix is prepared to help you get in on the action. Wix’s website templates are made with mobile in mind, meaning they’re optimized for all screen sizes. This significant user-experience factor directly impacts your site’s conversion rates.
Considering what Wix has to offer, its price tag is justified. While it may be pricier than some of the more budget-friendly options, the value you get is worth the cost.
What Does Wix Cost?
When it comes to pricing, we find Wix to be so-so. You certaintly can’t beat the rock-bottom price of FREE, but premium plans can get expensive for those who want to add ecommerce functionality or marketing plugins, for example. The cost isn’t as high as Squarespace, but it certainly falls on the pricier end of the spectrum laid out by the best site builder plans. Bottom line: Wix isn’t always the most competitive cost-wise, but it still costs only a few dollars per month for the most basic plan. Plus, you can start designing with Wix for free!
How Does Wix Compare to Other Site Builders?
If site building were a popularity contest, Wix would certainly be sitting with the cool kids. The platform holds its own among the ranks of Weebly, Squarespace, and WordPress.com. You’ll notice in our head-to-head comparison of the top site builders, however, that each platform has its own strengths and areas that could be improved.
iPage.com
- Choice of Weebly or WebsiteBuilder by iPage
- Mobile-optimized and easy-to-use setup wizards
- 100s of professionally designed themes
- FREE online store, shopping cart, and blogging
- Get 38% off your first month
- Get started on iPage now.
Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
---|---|---|---|
30 days | Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | 4 minutes |
See more hosting plans for website builders »
Design & Customization: Wix vs. Others
Wix is a quick-to-launch site builder platform. Sign up with a Facebook or Gmail account, and you’re browsing themes in seconds. Something I consider most appealing about Wix compared with other site builders is not just the number of themes available but how they’re organized. Wix offers industry-specific template categories, so whether you’re a Realtor, a musician, or the owner of a bed and breakfast you quickly find a design to complement your brand.
HostGator.com
- Drag-and-drop design with the Gator™ site builder
- Hundreds of mobile-friendly templates
- FREE hosting, domain name, and SSL certificate
- Easily add a blog, store, and social media
- Analytics portal helps gauge site performance
- Get started on HostGator now.
Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
---|---|---|---|
30 days | 10 GB SSD - 40 GB SSD | FREE (1 year) | 4 minutes |
See more hosting plans for website builders »
ECommerce: Wix vs. Others
While Wix templates cater to business niches, the eCommerce functionalities are pretty basic: shopping carts, multiple payment gateways, and tools to manage shipping options and tax rules. If you’re serious about growing an online business — planning on displaying hundreds or thousands of products and expecting all the traffic and revenue to follow — I invite you to check out the top eCommerce hosts and accompanying website builders:
A2Hosting.com
- 20 times faster performance that boosts sales
- 80+ software options: Magento, OpenCart, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, and others
- Fully managed WordPress and server environments
- Worry-free migration and 24/7 support
- DDoS protection and layered security measures
- Get started on A2 Hosting now.
Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
---|---|---|---|
30 days | 100 GB SSD - Unlimited SSD | New or Transfer | 4 minutes |
See more hosting plans for ecommerce »
Blogging: Wix vs. Others
Can you use Wix to start a blog? Absolutely! Blogging is just one of the many template categories available. Food Blog, Fashion Blog, Business Blog — you name your blogging niche, and Wix probably has a ready-to-go design waiting for you. Because the editor is a WYSIWYG layout (meaning, what you see is what you get), the blog setup experience is highly intuitive. Point and click or drag and drop to customize the layout, and then focus on the words on the screen. Now, is Wix your best option for blogging? Personally, I’d go with the #1 web host for bloggers:
Bluehost.com
- Recommended by WordPress since 2005
- Automatic WordPress installation and updates
- FREE themes and plugins in Bluehost Marketplace
- Upgrade for managed WordPress or design help
- FREE domain and content delivery network
- Get started on Bluehost now.
Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
---|---|---|---|
30 days | 10 GB SSD - 100 GB SSD | FREE (1 year) | 7 minutes |
See more hosting plans for blogging »
Ease of Use & Support: Wix vs. Others
The Wix interface is super easy to learn — highly intuitive and likely to leave you with an end result you’ll love. It’s not the most robust platform, but it doesn’t need to be to fill the needs of the vast majority of its users. A side effect of its being fairly basic and cheap, though, is you’re not exactly paying for an always-on-call support team of technical gurus.
As a paying customer, you’ll have access to Wix’s customer support line, live chat, and ticketing service. However, going with an equally affordable shared hosting company will give you not only more site building and marketing features but a better customer support experience.
SiteGround.com
- FREE website transfer service to get started
- 99.9% uptime guarantee and unlimited traffic
- User-friendly WordPress installation
- 24/7 support featuring custom systems
- 4 caching options plus staging and Git
- Get started on SiteGround now.
Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
---|---|---|---|
30 days | 10 GB SSD - 40 GB SSD | New or Transfer | 6 minutes |
See more hosting plans for website builders »
Is Wix for You?
You’ll be pleased to know that my baby cousin didn’t fall to his demise as a result of my do-it-myself exersaucer building. He’s now standing all by himself, and while I can’t take all the credit, I have no regrets about my DIY approach. Likewise, you should have no qualms about choosing Wix as a site builder. It’s a fantastic tool for a reasonable cost. If you’re not sold, though, be sure to check out other site builder plans we recommend.
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