What Is Wix

What is Wix.com? Reviews, Cost and FAQs (Feb. 2024)

Written by: Alexandra Anderson

Alexandra Anderson

Alexandra is a web marketer, Agile Product Owner, and die-hard wordsmith who's contributed to HostingAdvice, InMotion Hosting, HostGator, and other prominent hosting and technology blogs, as well as Forbes. She has a master's degree in information technology from Virginia Tech and more than 10 years of experience building websites, advising on web and mobile app design, and crafting content that engages and converts. Her primary subject matter expertise spans WordPress, UX design, Agile project management, and, of course, web hosting.

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Edited by: Lillian Castro

Lillian Castro

Lillian brings more than 30 years of editing and journalism experience to our team. She has written and edited for major news organizations, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the New York Times, and she previously served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Florida. Today, she edits HostingAdvice content for clarity, accuracy, and reader engagement.

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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:

BEST OVERALL RATING
★★★★★ 4.6/5.0
  • 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.
Starting Price/Mo. $0.00
Money Back Guarantee 14-day FREE trial
Disk Space 2 GB - Unlimited
Domain Name FREE (1 year)
Wix: Our Expert's Review
Alexandra Anderson (HostingAdvice.com):

As a web builder, Wix is an industry leader when it comes to ease of use, setup time, and available features. The browser-based, WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) site-building service is hands down one of the foremost brands in this industry niche, and that's not without just cause.

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See 2024‘s best website builders »

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.

WEBSITE BUILDER RATING
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • 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.
Starting Price/Mo. $4.99
Money Back Guarantee 30 days
Disk Space Unlimited
Domain Name FREE (1 year)
iPage: Our Expert's Review
PJ Fancher (HostingAdvice.com):

Do you want your website built today. If you answered "yes," you should look no further than iPage.

Go to full review »

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.

WEBSITE BUILDER RATING
★★★★★ 4.6/5.0
  • 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.
Starting Price/Mo. $2.64
Money Back Guarantee 30 days
Disk Space 10 GB SSD - 40 GB SSD
Domain Name FREE (1 year)
HostGator: Our Expert's Review
Ryan Frankel (HostingAdvice.com):

Setting itself apart from the scores of competitors that rely on white-labeled website builder solutions, HostGator spent the time to painstakingly craft its own platform. Gator provides a frustration-free experience that pairs the simplicity of drag-and-drop design with the company’s powerful and respected web hosting services.

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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:

ECOMMERCE RATING
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • Drag-and-drop online store builder for $1/mo
  • Quickly sell products, services, and digital goods
  • Cross-platform selling integrations with social media, Amazon, Google, and eBay
  • Built-in metrics, promos, and coupons
  • Track competitors' Google and social media activity
  • Get started on 1&1 IONOS now.
Starting Price/Mo. $1.00
Money Back Guarantee 30 days
Disk Space Unlimited SSD
Domain Name FREE (1 year)
eCommerce Hosting Plans
1&1 IONOS: Our Expert's Review
Alexandra Anderson (HostingAdvice.com):

The online store builder from 1&1 IONOS gives entrepreneurs a full suite of selling and marketing tools at their disposal — and all for a ridiculously low price. The company’s lightning-fast architecture and tools for SEO and marketing metrics...

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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:

BLOG RATING
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • 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.
Starting Price/Mo. $1.99
Money Back Guarantee 30 days
Disk Space 10 GB SSD - 100 GB SSD
Domain Name FREE (1 year)
Blog Hosting Plans www.bluehost.com/blog
Bluehost: Our Expert's Review
Ryan Frankel (HostingAdvice.com):

Bluehost's WordPress hosting packages are aimed at first-time site owners and personal bloggers. These services come at a premium compared to the standard Bluehost web hosting (basic shared hosting) plans, but the WordPress optimization and platform-specific...

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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.

CHEAP RATING
★★★★★ 4.6/5.0
  • 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.
Starting Price/Mo. $2.99
Money Back Guarantee 30 days
Disk Space 10 GB SSD - 40 GB SSD
Domain Name New or Transfer
SiteGround: Our Expert's Review
Alexandra Anderson (HostingAdvice.com):

Providing hosting with the perfect balance of technological innovation and superior customer support, SiteGround offers a range of affordable hosting services to meet your needs. In addition to the expected cheap web hosting perks — a free website builder and unlimited bandwidth — the company specializes in custom-built tools to deliver strong and positive user experiences.

Go to full review »

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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Our Editorial Review Policy

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alexandra Anderson’s interest in website administration was sparked in her teens, priming her for a fast-paced career in managing, building, and contributing to online brands, including HostingAdvice, Forbes, and the blogs of prominent hosting providers. She brings firsthand experience reviewing web hosts, perfecting website design, optimizing content, and walking site owners through the steps that add up to a successful online presence. With a master's degree in information technology from Virginia Tech, she combines her extensive writing experience and technical understanding to unpack some of the most complex topics that daunt novice website owners, as well as the subjects that excite veteran technologists within the HostingAdvice readership.

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