Wix Website Builder Review

If you’re considering building a website for your business or blog, you’ve likely come across Wix in your research. This Wix review dives deep into what makes this platform stand out and where it may fall short, helping you decide if it’s the right fit for your online presence.

Wix has become one of the leading website building platforms globally, with its free plan being just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to its appeal. Let’s explore why millions of users have chosen Wix for their website needs.

In just seven years, Wix has seen its user base skyrocket from 50 million to an impressive 200 million. This remarkable growth is a testament to the platform’s user-friendly interface, cutting-edge technology, and commitment to continuous improvement.

In today’s digital age, having an online presence is no longer optional for businesses and brands – it’s essential. However, not every entrepreneur has coding expertise or the budget for a professional web development team. This is precisely where Wix steps in, bridging the gap between professional web design and accessibility for all.

Bottom Line: Despite its limitations, Wix remains an excellent choice for beginners and small businesses. Its intuitive interface and comprehensive toolset allow you to create and maintain a professional website without coding knowledge. However, for larger businesses or those requiring complex functionalities, it’s worth weighing the pros and cons carefully before committing.

Key Features

Large Library of Website Templates

As a Wix user, you have access to more than 800 gorgeous professionally designed website templates. These are divided into 5 main categories (Business & Services, Store, Creative, Community, and Blog) to meet specific needs.

You can discover subcategories by simply hovering over the primary category encompassing the type of website you want to launch.

If you have a really detailed idea that none of Wix’s existing templates seems to match, you can choose a blank template and let your creative juices flow.

You can start from scratch and pick all the elements, styles, and details yourself.

However, the blank page approach might be too time-consuming for multi-page and content-heavy websites as you’ll have to design each page individually.

Drag-and-Drop Editor

One of the main reasons for Wix’s increasing popularity is, of course, its drag-and-drop editor.

Once you choose the right Wix template for your online store, blog, portfolio, or tech company (you can narrow down your options by filling in the type of website you want to build at the very beginning), the Wix editor will allow you to make all the adjustments you want. You can:

• Add text, images, galleries, videos and music, social media bars, contact forms, Google Maps, Wix chat button, and many other elements;
• Choose a color theme and edit the colors;
• Change page backgrounds;
• Upload media from your social platform profiles (Facebook and Instagram), your Google Photos, or your computer;
• Add apps to your website to make it more functional and user-friendly (more on Wix’s app market below).

Wix ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence)

Wix’s ADI is practically a magic wand for creating a professional website. You literally don’t have to move a single design element.

All you need to do is answer a few simple questions and make a few simple choices (onsite features, theme, homepage design, etc.), and Wix ADI will design a beautiful site for you in just a few minutes.

This is ideal for both beginners and tech-savvy business owners who want to save time and build their online presence as soon as possible.

Built-in SEO Tools

Wix doesn’t overlook the immense importance of SEO optimization and SERP rankings. The robust SEO toolset this website builder provides is proof of that. Here are some of the most useful SEO features every Wix website comes with:

• Robots.txt Editor — Since Wix creates a robots.txt file for your website automatically, this SEO tool allows you to change it to better inform Googlebots how to crawl and index your Wix site.
• SSR (Server Side Rendering) — The Wix SEO suite includes SSR as well. This means that Wix’s server sends data directly to the browser. In other words, Wix generates an optimized and dedicated version of your website pages, which helps bots crawl and index your content more easily (the content can be rendered before the page is loaded). SSR yields multiple benefits, including faster page loading, better user experience, and higher search engine rankings.
• Bulk 301 Redirects — The URL Redirect Manager allows you to create permanent 301 redirects for numerous URLs. Simply upload your own CSV file and import a maximum of 500 URLs. Don’t worry, Wix will notify you via an error message if you made a mistake setting up the redirects or if there’s a 301 loop.
• Custom Meta Tags — Wix generates SEO-friendly page titles, descriptions, and open graph (OG) tags. However, you can further optimize your pages for Google and other search engines by customizing and changing your meta tags.
• Image Optimization — Another strong reason why Wix is the perfect site builder for beginners is the image optimization feature. Wix automatically reduces your image file size without sacrificing quality to maintain short page load times and ensure a better user experience.
• Smart Caching — To shorten your site loading times and improve your visitor’s browsing experience, Wix automatically caches static pages. This makes Wix one of the fastest website builders on the market.
• Google Search Console Integration — This feature allows you to confirm domain ownership and submit your sitemap to GSC.
• Google My Business Integration — Having a Google My Business profile is the key to local SEO success. Wix allows you to set up and manage your profile using your Wix dashboard. You can easily update your company info, read, and reply to customer reviews, and increase your web presence.

You can also connect your Wix website with essential marketing tools such as Google Analytics, Google Ads, Google Tag Manager, Yandex Metrica, and Facebook Pixel & CAPI.

Site speed matters greatly for SEO performance, user experience, and conversion rates (users expect, and demand, that your website loads fast!)

Wix takes care of this, because as of October 2024, Wix is the fastest website builder in the industry.

Wix App Market

Wix’s impressive app store lists more than 600+ apps, including:

• Wix Forum;
• Wix Chat;
• Wix Pro Gallery;
• Wix Site Booster;
• Social Stream;
• 123 Form Builder;
• Wix Stores (one of the best eCommerce features);
• Wix Bookings (for premium plans only);
• Event Viewer;
• Weglot Translate;
• Get Google Ads;
• Wix Pricing Plans;
• Paid Plan Comparison;
• PayPal Button;
• Customer Reviews; and
• Form Builder & Payments.

Let’s take a close look at four of the most practical and handy Wix apps: Wix Chat, Event Viewer, Wix Stores, and Wix Bookings.

The Wix Chat app is a free communication app developed by Wix. This online business solution gives you the chance to interact with your visitors by getting notifications every time someone enters your site.

This is an extremely useful feature because it allows you to build and nurture your customer relationships which can lead to more sales. Plus, you can chat with your visitors from both your computer and your phone.

The Event Viewer app is a must if you’re an event organizer. It allows you to sync to many ticketing and streaming apps, including Ticket Tailor, Reg Fox, Eventbrite, Ticket Spice, and Ovation Tix.

But my favorite thing about Event Viewer is that it enables you to integrate with Twitch and broadcast your live streams. If you’re not sure whether this app suits your needs, you can take advantage of the 15-day free trial and see how it goes.

The Wix Stores app is used by more than 7 million businesses across the globe. It allows you to set up a professional online store with custom product pages, manage orders, shipping, fulfillment, and finances, get your sales tax automatically calculated, monitor inventory, offer your customers in-cart previews, and sell on Facebook, Instagram, and across other channels.

The Wix Booking app is a great solution for companies and individuals who offer one-on-one appointments, intro calls, classes, workshops, etc. It helps you manage your schedule, employees, attendance, and clients from any device and gives you the chance to receive secure online payments for your services. This app is available worldwide for $17 per month.

Site Contacts

Wix’s Site Contacts feature is a convenient way to manage all of your website’s contacts. By clicking on ‘Contacts’ in the ‘Ascend by Wix’ section of your dashboard, you’ll be able to:

• View all your contacts and their info in a separate contact card (email address, phone number, the products or services they’ve bought, and any special notes),
• Filter your contacts by labels or subscribed status, and
• Grow your contact list by importing contacts (from a Gmail account or as a CSV file) or adding new contacts manually.

I really like the fact that when someone completes a contact form on your site, subscribes to your newsletter, purchases a product from your online store, or interacts with your website in some other way, they are automatically added to your contact list with the information they provided.

This tool comes in handy when you want to get in touch with your current and potential customers through a powerful email marketing campaign. Speaking of…

Wix Email Marketing

The Wix Email Marketing tool is part of Wix Ascend — a built-in suite of marketing and customer management tools. It’s an amazing feature every business needs because it helps you create and send effective email marketing campaigns to engage your target audience and boost website traffic.

By sending regular updates and announcements about special promotions, you’ll remind your contacts you’re here and have plenty to offer.

The Wix Email Marketing tool features an intuitive editor that helps you write mobile-friendly emails with ease.

What’s more, this tool allows you to set up automatic email campaigns and monitor their success in real-time, with the help of the integrated data analytics tool (delivery rate, open rate, and clicks).

There’s a catch, though. Every premium Wix plan comes with a pre-installed limited Ascend plan. To make the most of Wix Email Marketing, you’ll need to upgrade your Ascend plan (no, Ascend plans and Wix premium plans aren’t the same thing).

The Professional Ascend Plan is the most popular one and is perfect for entrepreneurs and business owners who want to generate high-value leads through email marketing. This plan costs $24 a month and includes:

• Ascend branding removal;
• 20 email marketing campaigns a month;
• Up to 50k emails a month;
• Campaign scheduling;
• Campaign URLs connected to your unique domain name.

I admit that the fact the Wix Email Marketing feature isn’t part of Wix’s premium site plans is annoying. However, Wix gives you the chance to test-drive the Ascend plan of your choice and receive a full refund within 14 days.

Logo Maker

When it comes to startups, Wix is practically a one-stop shop. In addition to building your website without the bother of coding, Wix also allows you to create a professional logo and thus develop a unique brand identity.

The Logo Maker feature gives you two options: make a logo yourself or hire an expert.

If you choose to test your logo-making skills, you’ll start by adding the name of your business or organization.

Once you select your industry/niche, decide how your logo should look and feel (dynamic, fun, playful, modern, timeless, creative, techy, fresh, formal, and/or hipster), and answer where you intend to use your logo (on your website, business cards, merchandise, etc.).

Wix’s Logo Maker will design multiple logos for you. You can, of course, pick one and customize it. Here’s one of the logo designs Wix whipped up for my site (with a few minor changes by me):

This is a great option if you’re on a tight budget and can’t afford to hire a professional web designer. The only annoying thing about this feature is that you must purchase a premium plan to be able to download and use it. Plus, Wix’s logo plans are valid for one logo only.

Plans & Pricing

As this Wix review has pointed out, Wix is a great website-building platform for newbies, but there are also plans suitable for more experienced entrepreneurs and business owners. See my Wix pricing page for an in-depth comparison of every plan.

Wix Pricing Plan	Price
Free plan	$0 – ALWAYS!
Website plans	/
Combo plan	$23/mo ($16/month when paid annually)
Unlimited plan	$29/mo ($22/month when paid annually)
Pro plan	$34/mo ($27/month when paid annually)
VIP plan	$49/mo ($45/month when paid annually)
Business & eCommerce plans	/
Business Basic plan	$34/mo ($27/mo when paid annually)
Business Unlimited plan	$38/mo ($32/mo when paid annually)
Business VIP plan	$64/mo ($59/mo when paid annually)

Free Plan

Wix’s free package is 100% free, but it has many limitations, which is why I strongly recommend using it for a short period. You can use Wix free plan to familiarize yourself with the best website builder’s basic features and tools and get an idea of how you can curate your web presence with them.

Once you’re certain this platform is a good fit for you, you should consider upgrading to one of Wix’s premium plans.

The Free Plan includes:

• 500MB of storage space;
• 500MB of bandwidth;
• Assigned URL with Wix subdomain;
• Wix ads and Wix favicon in your URL;
• Non-priority customer support.

This plan is ideal for: everyone who wants to explore and test-drive the Wix free website builder before switching to a premium plan or going with another website building platform.

Connect Domain Plan

This is the most basic paid plan Wix offers (but it’s not available in every location). It costs only $4.50 a month, but it has plenty of drawbacks. The appearance of Wix ads, the limited bandwidth (1GB), and the lack of a visitor analytics app are the most significant ones.

The Connect Domain Plan comes with:

• The option to connect a unique domain name;
• A free SSL certificate that protects sensitive information;
• 500MB of storage space;
• 24/7 customer care.

This plan is ideal for: personal use as well as businesses and organizations that are just entering the online world and haven’t decided what their website’s main purpose is yet.

Combo Plan

Wix’s Combo Plan is slightly better than the previous package. If the Connect Domain Plan suits your needs but the display of Wix ads is a dealbreaker for you, then this is the perfect choice for you.

From just $16/month you’ll be able to remove Wix ads from your site. Plus, you’ll have:

• Free custom domain for a year (if you purchase a yearly subscription or higher);
• Free SSL certificate;
• 3GB of storage space;
• 30 video minutes;
• 24/7 customer care.

This plan is ideal for: professionals who want to establish their brand’s credibility with the help of a unique domain name but don’t need to add much content to the site (a landing page, a simple blog, etc.).

Unlimited Plan

The Unlimited Plan is by far the most popular Wix package. Its affordability is only one of the reasons for this. From $22/month, you’ll be able to:

• Connect your Wix site with a unique domain name;
• Receive a free domain voucher for 1 year (if you purchase a yearly subscription or higher);
• 10 GB web storage space;
• $75 Google Ads credit;
• Remove Wix ads from your site;
• Showcase and stream videos (1 hour);
• Rank higher in search results with the help of the Site Booster app;
• Access to the Visitor Analytics app and Events Calendar app
• Enjoy 24/7 priority customer support.

This plan is ideal for: entrepreneurs and freelancers who want to attract high-quality customers/clients.

Pro Plan

Wix’s Pro plan is a step up from the previous plan, giving you access to more apps. From $45/month you’ll get:

• Free domain for a year (valid for select extensions);
• Unlimited bandwidth;
• 20GB of disk space;
• 2 hours to showcase and stream your videos online;
• $75 Google Ads credit;
• Free SSL certificate;
• Rank higher in search results with the help of the Site Booster app;
• Access to the Visitor Analytics app and Events Calendar app
• Professional logo with full commercial rights and social media sharing files;
• Priority customer care.

This plan is best suited for: brands that care about online branding, videos, and social media.

VIP Plan

Wix’s VIP Plan is the ultimate package for professional sites. From $45/month you’ll have:

• Free domain for a year (valid for select extensions);
• Unlimited bandwidth;
• 35GB of storage space;
• 5 video hours;
• $75 Google Ads credit;
• Free SSL certificate;
• Rank higher in search results with the help of the Site Booster app;
• Access to the Visitor Analytics app and Events Calendar app
• Professional logo with full commercial rights and social media sharing files;
• Priority customer care.

This plan is ideal for: professionals and experts who want to build an exceptional web presence.

Business Basic Plan

The Business Basic Plan is a must if you want to set up an online store and accept online payments. This package costs $27 per month and includes:

• 20 GB file storage space;
• 5 video hours;
• Secure online payments and convenient transaction management via the Wix dashboard;
• Customer accounts and fast checkout;
• Free domain voucher for a full year (if you purchase a yearly subscription or higher);
• Wix ad removal;
• $75 Google Ads credit;
• 24/7 customer care.

This plan is ideal for: small and local businesses that want to receive secure online payments.

Business Unlimited Plan

Wix’s Business Unlimited Plan costs $32 a month and includes:

• Free domain voucher for a whole year (if you purchase a yearly subscription or higher);
• 35 GB file storage space;
• $75 Google search advertising credit
• 10 video hours;
• Wix ad removal;
• Unlimited bandwidth;
• 10 video hours;
• Local currency display;
• Automated sales tax calculation for 100 transactions per month;
• Automated email reminders to customers that abandoned their shopping carts; 
• 24/7 customer support.

This plan is ideal for: entrepreneurs and business owners who want to expand their operations/grow their company.

Business VIP Plan

The Business VIP Plan is the richest eCommerce plan the website builder offers. For $59 per month, you’ll be able to:

• 50 GB file storage space;
• $75 Google search advertising credit
• Unlimited hours for showcasing and streaming your videos online;
• Showcase an unlimited number of products and collections;
• Accept secure online payments;
• Sell subscriptions and collect recurring payments;
• Sell on Facebook and Instagram;
• Automate sales tax calculation for 500 transactions a month;
• Remove Wix ads from your site;
• Have unlimited bandwidth and limitless video hours;
• Enjoy priority customer care.

This plan is ideal for: large online stores and businesses that want to equip their websites with useful apps and tools for an amazing onsite brand experience.

Compare Wix Competitors

Here’s a comparison table of Wix and its competitors, including Squarespace, Shopify, Webflow, Site123, and Duda:

Feature	Wix	Squarespace	Shopify	Webflow	Site123	Duda
Unlimited Products	Yes	Yes (on specific plans)	Yes	E-commerce plans available	Limited	Yes (on specific plans)
Free Domain	1 year	1 year	No	No	1 year (with premium plans)	1 year
Storage	2GB	Unlimited (with limitations)	Unlimited	Depends on the plan	500MB – 270GB	Depends on the plan
Video Streaming	Up to 30 minutes	Unlimited (with limitations)	Depends on third-party apps	Depends on third-party apps	Basic with free plan	Depends on the plan
Templates	800+	100+	Limited but customizable	100+	Basic and functional	100+
Ideal for	More design template options	Aesthetic, artist-focused	E-commerce focused	Customizable web designs	Simple, straightforward sites	Multilingual sites

1. Squarespace: Squarespace is known for its aesthetically pleasing and artistically driven templates. It’s ideal for creatives and small business owners who value design aesthetics. The platform offers unlimited storage and video streaming on specific plans, but its template variety is less compared to Wix. Read our Squarespace review here.
2. Shopify: Shopify is a strong contender for e-commerce focused businesses. Its platform is specifically tailored for online stores and offers comprehensive e-commerce tools and capabilities. Although it has a higher starting price, it provides unlimited products and storage, making it suitable for growing online businesses. Read our Squarespace review here.
3. Webflow: Webflow is a good option for users who want customizable web designs and are willing to delve into more technical aspects of website building. It offers a mix of design flexibility and e-commerce capabilities, but its template variety and video streaming capabilities depend on third-party apps. Read our Webflow review here.
4. Site123: Site123 is known for its simplicity and ease of use, making it suitable for beginners or those who need to set up a straightforward site quickly. It offers basic functionality with limited templates, making it a less versatile option compared to others but a good starting point for simple projects. Read our Site123 review here.
5. Duda: Duda is particularly suited for creating multilingual sites and is used often by web design professionals and agencies. It provides a good range of templates and features tailored for professional use, but its focus is less on individual small business owners or hobbyists. Read our Duda review here.

Our Verdict ⭐

Wix stands out as the top choice for beginners in website building. While it has some constraints, Wix’s free plan offers an excellent starting point for those new to creating websites and unfamiliar with coding.

In my experience using Wix for various projects, its strengths truly shine. The platform’s extensive template library covers a wide range of industries and styles. When I built a portfolio site for a graphic designer friend, we found several sleek, modern templates that perfectly showcased her work. The drag-and-drop editor made customizing the layout a breeze, allowing us to create a unique design that reflected her brand.

Wix’s app market is another standout feature. For a client’s small bakery website, we easily integrated an online ordering system and a gallery showcase for custom cake designs. These additions significantly enhanced the site’s functionality without requiring any coding knowledge.

Who should choose Wix? Based on my work with various clients, Wix is ideal for:

• Small business owners looking to establish an online presence quickly
• Freelancers and creatives who need a professional portfolio site
• Entrepreneurs starting an e-commerce venture on a budget
• Non-profit organizations seeking an affordable, easy-to-manage website solution

Wix’s intuitive interface and pre-designed sections make it simple to create a polished, professional-looking site. However, it’s worth noting that as your business grows, you might outgrow some of Wix’s limitations. For instance, when helping a client scale their online store, we found that more advanced e-commerce features required third-party apps, which added to the overall cost.

Despite these considerations, Wix remains a solid choice for those starting their online journey. Its blend of user-friendliness and robust features makes it a valuable tool for creating an impactful web presence without the need for technical expertise.

Recent Improvements & Updates

Wix constantly improves its features and functionality with more integrations, better security, and enhanced customer support. Here are just some of the recent improvements (last checked October 2024):

• Afterpay Integration: Users can now offer a “buy now, pay later” option through Afterpay, available via Wix Payments. This feature allows customers to pay in installments while businesses receive full payment upfront, all manageable through the Wix Dashboard.
• Adobe Express for Digital Creations: Wix has integrated Adobe Express into its Media Manager, providing access to advanced design features for editing media elements on websites.
• Google Pay for Fast Checkout: To reduce abandoned carts, Wix now includes Google Pay as a checkout option, enabling quicker payment processes for online shoppers.
• Tap to Pay on Android: This addition to Wix’s Point of Sale (POS) solutions allows users to accept payments using an Android smartphone or tablet, enhancing mobile payment capabilities.
• Site-Level SEO Assistant: Wix has introduced an SEO tool that provides audits, actions, and recommendations to improve a site’s search performance and overall SEO health.
• Tap to Pay on iPhone: Wix has enabled contactless payments through the iPhone. Users can download the Wix Owner app and accept various types of contactless payments without additional hardware.
• Wix Video Maker Powered by Vimeo: This feature allows users to create unlimited free videos for business promotion, offering a variety of templates and customization options including music and overlays.
• Faster Data Retrieval with Indexing: Wix has updated its data retrieval process, enabling faster querying and preventing duplicate data creation by adding indexes to collections.

Reviewing Wix: Our Methodology

When we review website builders we look at several key aspects. We assess the intuitiveness of the tool, its feature set, the speed of website creation, and other factors. The primary consideration is the ease of use for individuals new to website setup. In our testing, our evaluation is based on these criteria:

1. Customization: Does the builder allow you to modify template designs or incorporate your own coding?
2. User-Friendliness: Are the navigation and tools, such as the drag-and-drop editor, easy to use?
3. Value for Money: Is there an option for a free plan or trial? Do paid plans offer features that justify the cost?
4. Security: How does the builder protect your website and data about you and your customers?
5. Templates: Are the templates of high quality, contemporary, and varied?
6. Support: Is assistance readily available, either through human interaction, AI chatbots, or informational resources?

Learn more about our review methodology here.

Submit Review

References

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wix.com
• https://support.wix.com/en/article/top-reasons-for-choosing-wix
• https://support.google.com/a/answer/6149037?hl=en&ref_topic=4445221&sjid=13747459411769920644-AP
• https://datastudio.google.com/u/0/reporting/55bc8fad-44c2-4280-aa0b-5f3f0cd3d2be/page/M6ZPC