It’s no surprise that I use Wix to create and host my websites, including this one you are currently on. But before you take the plunge and choose it to create your own website, especially with the multitude of website creation platforms that exist, like Squarespace, WordPress, and Weebly, there are a few things you need to know about it.
Your website should help you convert your visitors into subscribers, drive sales, and establish you as an expert in your field. It should not add an extra layer of stress, anxiety or overwhelm, and cause you to spend numerous hours working on it to look just right.
And that’s where Wix comes in. It helps you do just that, and gives you back your time to work on and expand your business. Let’s dive deep into the key things you need to know about using Wix for websites.
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Ease-of-use
Wix’s editor is purely drag-and-drop, and will revolutionize the way you look and create your website.
Unlike other platforms that only allow you to add elements to certain sections, and display them in a certain way, you can add whatever it is to your website, be it an image, text or video, wherever you want. This location is customizable to the millimeter, without limitations.
In other words, what you see is what you get. Your live site will look exactly how it did in the editor, as it will in the preview.
There is no need to know how to code, and if you do wish to insert code from a 3rd party provider, that is just a click of a button away (all you have to do is add an html box and paste the code there).
Wix also does a great job at diminishing the learning curve to the minimum. The platform is intuitive and user-friendly, and it provides help on how to use each of its features and elements, right from the editor itself. There is no need to click on a separate help page, since everything you may want to add to your site has a tutorial on how to use it attached to it.
Design
Wix has a huge selection of templates that you can choose from (to be exact, over 500 of them), and customize to fit your needs and unique branding.
Those templates are up to par with today’s design trends, look professional, and are prettier than the majority of templates that most website creation platforms use. Those templates are a great starting point for you to create and customize your own website, or you can simply switch the sample content that is included in them to your own if you are pressed for time.
Choosing a template that relates to your goals is easy, since they are sorted into categories, such as business, online store, restaurants & food, beauty & wellness, amongst others. You are not obliged to choose a template in the field that you are currently in, though it can make the creation process easier. You can also sort templates by newest added, popularity, or even by blank templates that allow for greater flexibility if you don’t mind starting from scratch.
A word of caution: once you choose a template and start customizing it, there is no going back and changing it. This is the downside of the pure drag-and-drop editor and being able to customize 100% where each element goes. Although WordPress, for instance, limits you to a certain degree as to where certain elements can go, it allows you to switch templates in the future if you so desire.
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Wix ADI (artificial design intelligence)
There is an option to use Wix ADI instead of the Wix Editor, which is a way to have your website ‘magically’ come to life. If you have literally no time to create your website, but still want one in the webosphere ASAP, you should choose this option. This also goes to show how Wix is miles ahead of its competitors when the subject is innovation.
All you have to do is answer a selection of questions, such as what is your business’ name and address, what kind of industry are you in, what color palette you prefer, what are you social profiles, amongst others, and the ADI will automatically add them to your website. Literally like magic.
Once your website has come into fruition, you can then make some tunings and refinements with regard to the the design elements and content. With Wix ADI, you still retain some of the creative control and freedom of using a DIY website creator.
Integration with 3rd Party Providers
If you use and enjoy a lot of 3rd party providers, you may be disappointed at some of Wix’s limitations. Since you don’t have access to an html or CSS editor, there are a number of things that your Wix website can’t do.
This includes adding rich pins to your site’s images, having a Leadbox from LeadPages pop up with the click of a button, or include a ConvertKit opt-in form within a blog post. There are ways to go about those things, as well as the option to vote for them, so that Wix knows to add them to their platform in the future.
What Wix does include is an extensive in-house app market, with more than 250 apps that you can choose from. They are all easy to install with just 1 click, and there are both free and paid options.
Those apps extend the general capabilities of Wix, and allow you to further customize your website. There are different apps for each category (business, online store, photography, music, designer, restaurants, accommodation, events, blog, portfolio & CV, and other), and you can even search by must-have apps, free apps, newest apps, all apps, and apps made by Wix.
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Customer Support
If you have a problem or are encountering an issue, you can rest assured that the Wix team will be readily available to solve it.
Wix solves your customer support claims by e-mail, phone, and they even have a support center / forum where you can read solutions to frequently asked questions, or post your own and have a community of Wix users answer them.
You can call Wix anytime between 9am PST and 5pm PST, or schedule for someone on the Wix team to call you back. If you have opted for the VIP plan, you’ll also have exclusive access to the VIP support team.
Mobile Responsiveness
All of the Wix templates are mobile responsive, and mobile customizable. As such, you can create a mobile experience for your website that either complements, or is unique, to the desktop version of your site.
Wix has a separate mobile editor from the desktop editor that allows you to change text size, color, and the arrangement of elements, so that they make sense on a smaller screen size. You can even hide elements, such as images, to make it load faster, or to improve the flow when scrolling down the mobile page.
Another great thing is the option to include a mobile bar at the bottom of the screen. Your site’s visitors can then call you, e-mail you, see your address on a map, or access your social media accounts, just by clicking a button.
They don’t have to write down your phone or e-mail on a sheet of paper, to then input it in another app. By clicking on the phone icon they will be redirected to your phone, with the number already there, and by clicking on the e-mail icon, the e-mail app will automatically open up. This drastically improves the user-experience.
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Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
First of all, don’t believe claims that say that Google doesn’t understand or like Wix websites - Google actually considers Wix a legitimate website builder.
Now, if you cringe whenever you hear SEO, fret not. Wix makes it super easy to optimize your site for search, and to be ranked #1 on Google, especially with the addition of the Wix SEO Wiz. This can be considered as an ‘automated wizard’ that will take you by the hand, and show you step-by-step, action item by action item, what you need to do to boost your site’s SEO.
If something is holding your website back from being search engine optimized, the Wix SEO Wiz will let you know. It will even provide you with a plan of attack, with guidelines of what to do, and where to find each thing you should change.
Wix also allows you to customize the URL of each of your site’s pages, including those of blog posts, and add alt text to your images. This allows you to add keywords to your URLs and images that you would like search engines to focus on.
Pricing
Wix offers 5 paid plans in addition to a free one. The paid plans are:
Connect Domain ($4.50 per month on an annual plan, or $7 month-to-month), which comes with 1GB bandwidth, 500MB storage, and allows you to connect a domain.
Combo ($8.50 per month on an annual plan, or $12 month-to-month), which comes with 2GB bandwidth, 3GB storage, allows you to connect a domain and a customized favicon, gives you a free domain of your choice, and removes Wix ads.
Unlimited ($12.50 per month on an annual plan, or $16 month-to-month), which comes with unlimited bandwidth, 10GB storage, allows you to connect a domain and a customized favicon, gives you a free domain of your choice, removes Wix ads, and grants you access to the Form Builder App ($48 value), and the Site Booster App ($60 value).
eCommerce ($16.50 per month on an annual plan, or $20 month-to-month), which comes with 10GB bandwidth, 20GB storage, allows you to connect a domain and a customized favicon, gives you a free domain of your choice, removes Wix ads, grants you access to the Form Builder App ($48 value), and the Site Booster App ($60 value), and allows you to create an online store.
VIP ($24.50 per month on an annual plan, or $30 month-to-month), which comes with unlimited bandwidth, 20GB storage, allows you to connect a domain and a customized favicon, gives you a free domain of your choice, removes Wix ads, grants you access to the Form Builder App ($48 value), and the Site Booster App ($60 value), allows you to create an online store, send 10 e-mail campaigns per month, and gives a professional site review.
The more you pay, the more you get. Whereas a blogger or online entrepreneur would do just fine with the Combo or Unlimited plans, those looking to sell digital or physical products should select the eCommerce plan or higher, since they allow for the inclusion of an online store.
For those interested in dipping their feet in the DIY website creation realm, the Free plan is a great choice. It has its limitations, including visible ads for Wix, but does not include a time limit up until when you can use it.
This is useful if you want to see whether you actually enjoy using this platform before committing. The majority of other website creation platforms, like Squarespace, only offer a 14-day trial, so after that time period you are obliged to drop down a credit card, and there is pressure to make an upgrade.
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Conclusion
If you are starting out in the DIY website creation realm, Wix is tech-, user-, and beginner- friendly. The learning curve is practically nonexistent, you can start off with a free plan, and stay on it for as long as you’d like, and you can customize your new website in a multitude of ways. Wix is my platform of choice, and if I had to create a website from scratch again, I would not hesitate for one second on choosing it once more.
Now I do understand that you may be considering other options, such as Squarespace or Weebly. If you need more convincing, or information on which platform is best for you, make sure to download the Website Builder Comparison Table. It goes through the pros and cons of these three, popular website creation platforms, so you can make an informed decision.
Just fill out the form below to download the Website Builder Comparison Table, and be a step closer to creating your own website!
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