No experience required... but you'll struggle!
Overall Wix is a good web site builder, allowing absolute beginners (that’s us) to build a slick website, without needing to code. However be careful which template you select if working off one of the ones offered, because once you’ve invested loads of time working on it for your website, you’re stuck with it, unless you want to start all over again. Also we focused initially on creating a desktop site, because we had noted the much pushed auto mobile optimisation feature in Wix. That was a mistake, as when we used that feature it made the site unusable and so mobile friendly site took a lot more time to create.
Early days… Wix allowed us to create a simple but useful site, that we can link to in our email shots etc and it works well with our social media pages.
Overall I am glad we went with wix vs. WordPress as we wanted a design led site. Wix allowed that… But be under no illusion that to create an initial site and find your way around the Wix builder, you need to invest some serious time! That said, the support resources and help community etc on Wix is very very thorough and well used by us.
Enjoy
Pros
- Range of industry focused templates
- No coding required
- Great resources for learning support
Cons
- Pricing is quite high
- Mobile optimisation is not automatic - it needs a lot of work!
- Not as user friendly as you might hope
For total beginners with WIX ADI is easy to publish a simple website
I built a standard website with individual product pages and a blog. The whole process took me only around 10 days, and it was fairly straightforward. There are some useful tools but I struggled initially trying to find the write layout. When I tried to search through the Help sections I couldn’t always find what I needed because I was using ADI version. Whereas I lot of the Help sections referred to the full Editor version. So when I did need help and contacted Support it did take a while for them to get back to me. Not sure if this was because I was using the ADI version or not. Eventually they provided the answer I needed and I was able to complete and publish my site. I’m fairly happy with it, and now I’m more familiar with the functions I’m tempted to upgrade to Editor version to see if there are any more apps and plug-ins available. I would say the only major issue I have had is that when I publish a blog not all of my subscribers are receiving an email notification. I know this because I have asked for feedback (and made sure they had checked Spam folders too). Still not sure how to resolve this.
Pros
- It was fairly intuitive and easy to use
- Quickly set up and publish a new website within a matter of days
Cons
- Support wasn't good with ADI version and took a few days to respond
- Limited plug-in availability with ADI
- Not all Subscribers receive blog notifications
I have built a wildlife photography site
After looking at various comparison articles from Tooltester.com I choose Wix: it seemed to me the one with the most friendly approach for a non-expert person. In fact, I was able to complete my project completely on my own, using online help when I couldn’t get what I wanted.
The experience has been very positive. Online advice during construction and tips for SEO, which I didn’t know what it was before, are very useful. The site was correctly indexed and then they offered me a 50% discount on premium packages. I am very satisfied and recommend it also to the less experienced. The statistics are very accurate and useful. Help sometimes is not useful and if you ask more it goes into an English version.
Pros
- Step by step guide
- Statistics
- SEO plan
- Discount on premium pack
Cons
- Sometimes help is not clear or useful
- Help should be translated into Italian
Website Tool Tester is a helpful Resource.
The comparison and deeper information I found using Website Tool Tester’s web and booklet helped me choose (I went with Wix) and I felt informed and confident. The process was laborious (no doubt about that) however Wix was the right choice for me and without WTT I don’t think I would have felt as confident.
Pros
- Ease of use, especially designing and connecting with Google.
Cons
- I have no complaints.
Wix
I built a website to show my watercolour paintings.
Excellent builder – Very user friendly with clear guidance.
Very helpful customer support, friendly and dedicated.
Convenience of purchasing the domain name from Wix at the same time.
Pricing higher than advertised.
I am delighted with the website.
Pros
- Excellent builder - Very user friendly with clear guidance.
Cons
- Pricing higher than advertised
Good Tool; Well Thought out Templates
Ease of use – didn’t need to know HTML; Well thought out templates
HTTPS support – took a bit, but was able to get it configured
Pricing – Good value
Security – Seems to cover the bases without additional tools / techniques
Pros
- Ease of use; HTTPS support; Pricing; Security
Cons
- Took a bit to get HTTPS going, since I purchased a domain through Google (which is one of their business partners.)
Wix for oldies
I used Wix because of the reviews about the ability to use sophisticated add ons for free. This was true – I have managed to get something together that far exceeded my expectations. At first it was understanding all the options – if I had known something about Publisher then maybe I would have got on quicker. The Help aspect was really useful and I survived on that for the first weeks – certain things I had to ask their Help desk but that was as much due to my lack of terminology and understanding generally about websites and not down to Wix specifically. Now my confidence is growing and I am importing forms and layouts that I thought were outside of my abilities (and that I would have to pay for). Another aspect that I like is the community stuff if you post a general question on Google – so eventually I am building up my knowledge about websites – not the really technical stuff as Wix has allowed me to access really fancy options without needing to have such in depth knowledge.
Customer support was good especially when I am a bargain basement user – any problems were down to my lack of proper terminology – ie inability to ask the right question.
Pros
- It's Free
- Support (not immediate but useful)
Cons
- Pricing not obvious to me but that applied to most I researched
Great Value for Novice Website Builders
I’m not a techie. Not even close. Yet the Wix platform was easy enough that even I could figure it out.
I have a basic website for my Life Coaching business. There were almost too many templates from which I could choose, yet I was able not only to find something acceptable but to make it look great. If you have any experience using basic design, you’ll be able to figure out everything easily.
In addition, I am frequently putting up blog posts, which are a snap. The free photo gallery is really useful – I’ve never had a problem finding just the right image for my posts. If I need to edit something on the site, it’s very easy to do.
This is the first time I’ve built a website, so I have no experience with other companies. I haven’t needed to use the customer support (everything was very self-explanatory), so I can’t comment on that, either. My only complaint is that an SEO specialist told me he wouldn’t work with me if I had Wix, but I’m not sure why. Since I would never attempt to adjust code, I haven’t tried to change anything other than the basic SEO structure.
I’m extremely pleased with my site!
Pros
- Price
- Designs
- User friendly
Cons
- Basic SEO functions
Not as Easy as Promised... and Yet
Let me open this by indicating, in no uncertain terms, that I am terrified of doing things online because I am older, did not even close to “grow up” with this technology, and am terrified of making mistakes which I cannot undo.
That said, I got it done. I even attempted to make an update on it which I sort of half-did but left before I could make an error I couldn’t undo because when “help” is getting directed to a list of instructions… well, it’s less help that I could hope for.
I intend to muddle through this and gain confidence but what I’d really have liked was either “instructions for total idiots,” “what to do when you’ve done this,” or “what to do when what we told you to do didn’t work.”
I do love the end result; it looks gorgeous. I did hope to be able to change it up with some frequency and I can see that’s not gonna happen, but, whatever.
Pros
- Promise it would be easy
Cons
- Not as easy as I hoped
- Support