With the ever-increasing popularity of the Internet, any individual or business (big or small) needs to have a solid online presence to reach the most people.
The best way to achieve this is with a professional-looking and engaging website.
Websites reach current and potential customers, let readers support your blog, and help build your brand.
This definitive guide to building a Wix website in 2022 includes all the necessary information you need to know about Wix’s website design platform.
What Does Wix Website Do?
Wix is a website-building service that allows individuals and businesses to create a professional and attractive website from scratch.
With complete control of the website’s overall design and development.
That’s why Wix is among the best website builders available.
Why Is Wix So Popular?
There are many reasons why Wix is so popular.
Still, the two most significant reasons are that it’s affordable and easy to use.
- Affordable: Wix makes creating a Wix website affordable, offering a free basic version of their services. You can still access the same excellent website creation tools but with limited features. Wix’s free website version is a perfect option to get you started.
- Easy To Use: Creating a Wix website is straightforward, with an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor, thousands of advanced design capabilities, and over 800 templates to help get you started. So you get the exact look and functionality you desire with less time and hassle.
Wix Website Comparisons
First, let’s cover Wix’s competitors and the differences between them.
Below are the top alternatives to Wix and what makes them stand out.
Is Wix or WordPress Better?
WordPress is currently the most prominent website builder service available, with a reported 43% of all websites created by it.
It has about 100 free templates and themes and a pretty decent editor.
Some critical differences between Wix and WordPress are that Wix has more free content, including more free templates.
While WordPress has premium templates that you need to pay to access, which is one of the reasons why Wix is a popular alternative to WordPress.
Is Wix or Google Sites Better?
Google Sites is Google’s free generic website builder.
It incorporates several of Google’s other applications, such as Google forms, docs, sheets, etc.
One key difference between Wix and GoogleSites is that Wix has more free templates. GoogleSites has less than two dozen templates.
Wix vs. Weebly
Weebly is another decent website builder.
What it lacks in customization options, it makes up for in affordable plans with quite a few of the same features as Wix’s website builder.
Some main differences between Wix and Weebly are that Wix has more free content and a more intuitive editor.
However, Weebly does an excellent job of breaking up its features into affordable plans.
For example, Weebly’s highest plan costs $312 annually ($396 less than Wix’s version).
In addition, it offers many of the same great features, such as unlimited storage, a free domain, ad removal, free unlimited items to sell, etc.
Wix vs. Squarespace
Squarespace is similar to WordPress and Weebly, as it offers some degree of customization and ease of use.
However, some essential differences between Wix and Squarespace are that Wix has more free content and a more responsive editor.
However, Squarespace’s highest plan is cheaper than Wix’s version and is ideal for online shops.
This is because it won’t charge you transaction fees for every transaction processed through your website, unlike Wix.
Is Wix Website TotallyFree?
Next, let’s answer the most crucial question, is a Wix website completely free?
Yes, the basic version of Wix is free to use but only provides you with limited features.
Is Wix Website Expensive?
Whether it’s a regular website plan or one offering business and eCommerce features, there are various versions of the paid plans.
Wix’s tiered plans ensure you pay for only the features you will use.
Is Wix Worth Paying For?
Upgrading to the $192 annual Combo plan is worth the cost to acquire the included benefits.
However, sometimes you can find a Wix discount or promotion available; these are rare.
Pros and Cons of Wix
Every service or product has pros and cons, and it’s important to know what they are before you invest in it.
So I’ve compiled for you the most significant advantages and disadvantages of using Wix.
What Are the Advantages of Wix?
Fortunately, Wix has many advantages that make the service worth using, especially the free version.
Below is a list of the four most significant benefits of using Wix.
- Site Speed: Wix’s site is fast, with no need to wait for its seemingly endless content to load, for content placement to finalize, or for long upload times for external content.
- Availability of Templates: Even to its free users, Wix offers over 800 free templates to get you started designing your ideal Wix website. A template is a great way to achieve a preliminary outline of your website.
- Lots of Features: Whether it’s actually designing a Wix website or managing it afterward, there are tons of great features to use. Website creation features include adding images from multiple sources or creating custom themes, while website management features include SEO optimization and site analytics.
- Lots of Help and Support: Even the free plan has customer support available. However, the paid versions offer premium or VIP support with faster response times.
What Are the Disadvantages of Wix?
Like everything out there, there are disadvantages to using Wix.
Some people might find these trivial, while others might find them dealbreakers.
Below is a list of the two most significant drawbacks of using Wix.
- Wix Branding With Free Plan: With the free plan, your Wix website is subject to Wix branding. That’s the section at the end of every webpage that says, “Proudly created with Wix.com.”
- Site Isn’t Transferrable: Unfortunately, you can’t transfer a Wix website to another host server. However, you can change ownership of a Wix website to another individual. Still, they’ll have to continue to use the Wix server.
How To Create a Website With Wix
Lastly, the essential part of this guide is the step-by-step instructions for creating a simple Wix website.
Follow these steps to get a simple Wix website up and running in no time.
If you’re interested in creating a blog, these instructions cover the steps needed to start a blog.
Wix is known as one of the best blogging platforms and is an excellent option for those who don’t want a paid plan but need a simple blog.
Step-by-Step Instructions
You can skip steps during the initial creation process and custom-complete them in the editor.
- Step 1: First, create an account with Wix.
- Step 2: Next, Wix will ask you to answer a few questions to get you started.
You can choose from pre-selected examples or search for a particular business or website type.
I chose the writing blog option, which ensures that Wix offers features and a website outline specific to creating and maintaining a blog.
- Step 3: Next, Wix will ask you to enter a website name, which you can change anytime.
- Step 4: Afterwards, Wix will ask you to select goals for the website.
There are several different options. I chose to display creative work and promote myself, which is essential for a newbie blogger.
- Step 5: Next, Wix will ask you if you want to add additional features.
- Step 6: After that, you will arrive at the dashboard.
The dashboard is where everything for creating and maintaining your Wix website is available.
- Step 7: On the Home screen, below the Profile section, Wix will have five steps to help get you started. But first, let’s focus on designing the website. Select Customize Site.
- Step 8: After selecting Customize Site, a new window will open, and Wix will ask you to review and edit your info. Complete this and then choose Next when done.
- Step 9: Next, Wix will ask you to select a theme for your website. There were six pre-defined options for a blog.
Wix themes include a sitewide color scheme and complementing fonts.
- Step 10: Then Wix will ask you to pick a pre-created homepage.
- Step 11: Next, Wix will ask you if you want to add a pre-created site page.
- Step 12: Wix will start creating the preliminary website. After Wix completes the initial setup, you can jump into the editor. Select Go to Editor.
You now have the foundation of a website ready to be customized. Have fun!
Frequently Asked Questions
After reading this article, you may have some additional unanswered questions.
Below are a few common questions and their accompanying answers.
Does Wix Own My Website?
Technically, no, you don’t own your website.
If Wix ever goes bankrupt or decides to stop its services, you will have no way of continuing with your website.
How Long is Wix Free Trial?
Technically, it’s not an actual free trial.
Instead, the Wix free trial period has a 14-day money-back guarantee.
How Much Should I Charge To Build a Wix Website?
How much to charge to build a Wix website typically depends on your skills and experience.
For example, most professional web designers charge between $50 to $80 per hour.
Wrapping Up
Now that you’ve finished reading this definitive guide to building a Wix website in 2022, you know everything you need to know about Wix’s website builder.
We’ve covered its advantages to disadvantages and a step-by-step guide to creating a quick but enticing website.
Whether or not Wix is worth it depends on you and your budget and what features you need.
First, you must determine if you can create enough revenue to make the ROI (return on investment) worth the money you will spend.
Please comment if you have any questions; I’d love to hear from you!
