The name ‘Wix’ may sound like a cross between a cleaning product a nazel spray, but it is actually a free website builder package. In the following article we are going to look at the advantages and disadvantages of using Wix to create a website.
Wix.com was founded in 2006, the first beta version of Wix was released back in 2008, and the company went public in 2013. It was designed for people who had no coding experience, but who wanted to create a professional web presence. Today around 62 million people use the platform, and with free web hosting included, it’s an attractive option for many small businesses.
Wix is a cloud based website building solution that enables users to create bespoke websites using a ‘drag and drop’ technique. The original Wix was based entirely on Flash, but the latest incarnation is built using HTML5, so it works on mobile websites.
Aside from the fact that Wix comes with free hosting, you also have access to hundreds of different templates, so you can create a customised website to suit your individual needs. Templates are categorised, so it should be easy to find a template that fits your business.
The intuitive website builder is very easy to use. To change anything, all you have to do is click on the image, text or layout section and adjust it.
The Wix App Market is available to add extra services such as social feeds, MailChimp, website analytics, business tools, and Google AdSense. You can use Wix to build an online store, but only if you subscribe to a paid version.
You can use your own domain address, or take advantage of a free Wix domain.
The Wix website builder platform is very easy to use, even for absolute beginners. The ‘drag and drop’ design interface doesn’t require any technical knowledge, but if you do run into problems, you can ask for help on the Wix support forum.
If all you want is a basic website, Wix offers a free plan, however - there's a reason why it's free. You will be given a Wix domain address and access to design templates, but your website will feature Wix adverts. There are four premium paid plans: Connect Domain, Combo, Unlimited, and eCommerce. A basic Wix Connect package comes with 1 GB of bandwidth and 500MB of storage, which might not be sufficient if you attract a reasonable amount of traffic or your website has a lot of pages.
Wix offers three customer support options: email, telephone and a support library (Wix Answers) on their website. The telephone support option is only available Monday to Friday between 6AM and 5PM PST, but you can request a ‘call-back’ if you don’t have time to wait for a customer support agent.
Wix has a relatively small market share compared to other free platforms such as WordPress and is mostly used by low traffic websites. If all you want is a functional online presence and you don’t care about building a highly-customised website, then the Wix Website Builder might be right for you. The basic free version of Wix is easy to use and there are lots of templates to choose from, but for businesses and anyone with ambitions to develop a more permanent web presence, Wix has a lot of limitations and you will get more value for money with a customised website built to your own specifications.
For more information about website development and how a bespoke website can help your business grow, contact us today.
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