Wix is a web builder that does not run on WordPress, but is a completely separate system.
Let’s take a look at what this builder can do, what it is possibly suitable for, and what it is unsuitable for. There will be practical demonstrations and plenty of screens and gifs.
Ready?
The Meaning of Wix
Wix strives to be a comprehensive visual builder suitable for many purposes. Unlike, for example, Webnode, Wix offers multiple features and various plugins (similar to plugins on WordPress) that extend the system.
So Wix’s potential is huge, but let’s look at why I think it’s still particularly suitable for small and unpretentious sites.Why?
What does Wix look like?
Wix is very similar in look and feel to WordPress web builders, such as Elementor, Cwicly, or Bricks.
You pull tiles, fill in content, change colors… You don’t need to know how to code or program.
Wix is then really visual in the sense that you don’t have to set padding or margin, but often just grab the element (for example, a button) and drag it to where you want it.
You can see what Wix looks like in this short tutorial from Web Hosting Center:
How do I create a site?
It’s very easy to get started creating pages on Wix. You go to cs.wix.com , and click on the “Create Pages” option.
The button is easily visible right from the homepage:
You then register (or log in via Google) and find yourself at a signpost where you can fill in a few questions that will pre-configure the site. But you can also skip them and just get to creating.
At this stage, you will already be able to choose the modules and elements you want to use on your new Wix site. However, all elements can be turned off or on after the fact.
Once you have successfully clicked through or scrolled through the initial settings, you will find yourself directly in the main interface of the Wix editor, which unlike other similar builders is quite complex.
Which is well illustrated by the variety of features Wix offers:
Which is underscored by the fact that right at the top you’ll find a “Hire a Professional” option, which you might not expect in a builder like this.
No need to worry though, once you do a bit of poking around in the editor, you can do a lot on your own.
How do I edit a page in Wix?
Click on “Home” and then you have two major options to click through to the page editor (see image):
The first time you run the editor, you will have to go through some customization and settings again,
however, you should be able to do this fairly quickly and easily and then nothing will stop you from creating the image itself.
What is the Wix editor itself?
Compared to WordPress web builders, the Wix editor is definitely simpler, which naturally has advantages and disadvantages.
You can see the basic look of Wix here:
Even if you’ve never created a website, you can quickly look around in the editor and, thanks to the relatively intuitive controls, you can make a lot of changes.As mentioned, the editor strives to be really visual, as you can see from the gif that illustrates how I added and changed an image in the editor:
The editing options that Wix allows you to do are certainly much broader than, say, Webnode.
However, the limitlessness of the builder comes with its drawbacks, as if you have little idea what you’re doing, you can easily get tangled up in the options and easily get lost in the process.
Overall, though, I’m definitely positive about the wider range of editing options.
Overall Editor Rating
I find the editor quite hilarious, and among the widgets it offers is about everything you could use for classic web presentation purposes:
Wix and Responsiveness
Wix offers mobile clickable preview. This allows you to quickly and easily assess how your site looks on mobile.
On a positive note, the mobile preview in the editor is almost identical to how the site looks on a real device:
How it looks in the preview
What it looks like on a real phone
For example, where the site title and search overlay problem is, how easy or hard is it to fix a similar responsiveness problem in Wix ?
It’s very easy.
All elements in Wix are draggable, so you can fix the problem just by dragging the tile to a better position.
Wix performance
Unfortunately, however, Wix can’t just be praised, the wide visual editing options bring with them suboptimal code that results in Wix speed being not much.
Wix speed on mobile
Wix speed on computer
For comparison, you can see what performance can be achieved on WordPress:
Optimized Elementor on mobile
Optimized Elementor on PC
And that’s why it seems to me that, despite the giant ambitions of the site, the system is still primarily suitable for business card or wedding site type purposes.
For these purposes, however, I find definitely an interesting choice.
Summary – overall editor rating
A great advantage is that you can publish your creation on Wix domain for free (but search engines won’t find the site), in our case for example: https://brukhussle.wixsite.com/vojtech-bruk.
The editor itself is easy to use, has many options and thanks to the wide range of templates it is not difficult to create a nice website in Wix relatively quickly and easily.
However, due to the speed and other things that are not handled optimally – so that they can be simple, I still find Wix to be an interesting solution for small and unpretentious projects, and I would not recommend building a business site on it with a few exceptions.
Wix price – or how much does Wix cost?
The price list can be found directly on the Wix website, and currently looks like this:
Of the pre-made solutions and web builders, Wix ranks low in price and could be described as “cheap”, as evidenced by the comparison with other builders I compared for the purpose of creating a wedding website:
| Comparison of options | Price of site (5 months of use) | Templates in Czech | Wedding Template |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wix | 1250 Kč + 200 Kč domain | Some | Yes |
| Mioweb | 8000 Kč | ? | ? Not found |
| WebFlow | 2500 Kč | No | Yes |
| Webnode | 1500 Kč | Yes | Yes |
| Solidpixels | 2400 Kč | No | No |
Main advantages of Wix
- simplicity
- favorable price
- truly visual editing options
Appropriate uses of Wix
- Webs that don’t need to be able to be found in search engines
- Simple presentation sites: business card, wedding, event…
- Simple website that a non-technical person wants to create and maintain themselves
Main disadvantages of Wix
- speed
- difficult to impossible advanced customization
- due to the multitude of addons and modules, possibly unnecessary complexity of initial setup
Unsuitable use of Wix
- Websites that aim for the first page of Google
- E-shops
- Websites to be created by custome design (UX, graphics)
Word in conclusion – would I recommend Wix?
Like many of my colleagues in the WordPress world, I get chills just hearing the word Wix…
However,
it’s mostly because I often see efforts to use Wix for things it’s downright inappropriate for.
If Wix is used for purposes for which it is appropriate,m I think that’s perfectly fine, and I would wholeheartedly endorse such a plan.
If you have a budget of £1000 and your band is playing a gig in two months that you want to make a web presence for, you probably won’t find anything better than Wix.
However, you need to know what you want and what to expect.
A hammer is used to hammer nails, a comb is used to comb. You can try to create an e-shop with 100,000 products on Wix, however you will end up with a combing with a hammer. Only it’ll cost you a few hundred thousand more…
The purpose and appropriateness of the solution is therefore always to be kept in mind.
If I had to give Wix, for the purposes for which it is suitable, a grade, I would happily give it 4.3/5. However, use it for any other purpose and we’ll quickly get quietly to 0.3/5…
Let me know in the comments what your experience with Wix has been and how it has affected you?
