I've been involved in web design since 2011 and have used many different platforms, from custom built which cost thousands of pounds to free Wordpress themes (templates). I've also updated web designs on other platforms such as GoDaddy and SquareSpace.
Out of all of them Wix is my favourite and I wouldn't recommend or use anything else.
Here's why ..
Sorry (not sorry)
This is an unapologetic approach to why Wix is the best, so get ready to have your mind blown or feathers ruffled.
I discovered Wix in 2018 and since then, for me, it completely outshines everything else that is out there. I'm not just saying it's fantastic because I specialise in Wix, I specialise in Wix because it's so fantastic.
I find other platforms are clunky in functionality, limited in design features, expensive to run, an unintuitive dashboard and not very user-friendly to build.
Clunky, limited, expensive, unintuitive and not user-friendly. Everything you DON'T want your website to be.
But there are web design snobs out there that laugh at Wix as the cheap and easy alternative .. yes, why would anyone want 'cheap and easy' when they can hire you and get expensive and difficult?
Reasons to use Wix for your business website ..
(whatever you do for a living, whatever skill set you have)
There are so many reasons to use Wix because it offers a wide range of functions to suit all of your business requirements and meets the needs of every skill set.
But here are a few that come to my mind:
Build option for all skill sets - design it yourself or get Wix to design it for you (for FREE)
Wix Coding - customise your site with coding (with or without coding skills)
Cost Effective - professional tariffs start from £4 per month (includes hosting, SSL and support)
User-friendly dashboard - navigate the backend of your website easily
Intuitive design mode - design your site in real time / live view
Extensive design features - scroll effects, animation, stock photography and so much more
Wix SEO and Wix Analytics - get found online and keep track of your site's performance
Built in CRM system - manage your workflow, automated responses and client communication
Email Marketing - send beautiful emails in seconds and track their open rate
Ecommerce website - sell through your website and take secure payments
Book appointments - show your availability and allow people to book
Members Area, Forum, Chat and FAQs - create an online support community
Blog - showcase your expertise and support your website SEO
Responsive design - for desktop, laptop and mobile devices
Hosting, Secure, Updates and Support - all the important things to keep your website safe
I mean, wow. All in one place and included in your single monthly / annual Wix subscription.
Let's explore these reasons in more detail ..
1. A Build Option For All Skill Sets
Wix ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) for Beginners
This option allows Wix to build your website for you. Yes, you did read that correctly: Wix ADI creates a stunning bespoke website for your specific needs - instantly and for FREE.
This is the first-ever AI solution for website design and content creation. Wix ADI is designed to eliminate the main challenges in building a website – lack of time, no design skills and the effort of content creation.
To learn more about Wix ADI click HERE
Wix Editor for Intermediate Users
This option gives you the creative freedom to build your own web design.
This offers over 800 industry specific web design templates for you to start with and these are easily customisable for you to upload your branding, images and text.
Or you can start with a blank canvas and create your own design.
You also have a massive menu of design features and functionality to choose from, in a drag and drop style build, such as stock photography, vector images, decorative elements, page sections, animation and scroll effects.
Editor X for Advanced Users
This is the solution for web developers, design teams and advanced creators - so this point won't be everyone's cup of tea but here are a few of the main features:
Unlimited customisability in an integrated development environment. You can edit your site’s CSS or add Javascript that responds as you click on different content elements on your site. These features are important for web developers, especially if you want to create a site with dynamic content.
Saves you time if you have a data-heavy website, enabling you to import custom databases and use them to manage content on your website. It offer lots of customisation options and is more suitable for sites with a lot of back-end data.
Simultaneous editing by multiple designers. You can see where other users are working, leave comments on any content element, and assign tasks. It also lets you to set user roles and permissions for making changes to a site, which is ideal for design agencies.
More responsive design flexibility for mobile devices
In Wix's own words:
Design freedom meets responsive technology. This is a powerful combination of approachable CSS, integrated business solutions and built-in coding capabilities. If you're a professional creator you can go from an idea, to design and straight to production—using a full stack solution on the world’s most flexible canvas.
To learn more about Wix Editor X click HERE
2. Coding
If you thought Wix was just a no code drag and drop tool, you'll be happily mistaken. Since 2017 Wix has offered Wix Coding (Velo by Wix), which lets you go beyond the 'easy' drag and drop functionality.
And the beauty is you can use this even if you have no coding experience!
No Coding Skills
You can use this without coding because it still gives you access to powerful tools that let you enrich your website significantly.
For example:
DATABASE COLLECTIONS allows you to manage all of your website’s content in one place. You can collect and store text, images, numbers, documents, user info and more.
DYNAMIC PAGES connect the Database with Dynamic Pages, you can generate a design style that will adapt itself to each row on your database that could equate to hundreds of pages on your website. And of course, everything is SEO compatible.
Coding Skills
Wix takes care of the hassle of setting up the infrastructure and maintaining web environments in order for you to enjoy a much better and faster creation experience.
This will give you more time and freedom to:
TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR SITE WITH API'S AND JAVASCRIPT - you can extend your website’s functionality, which you have full control over; from Wix elements to databases to backend files – including fetching and routing.
CUTOMISE PAGE ELEMENT BEHAVIOURS WITH CUSTOM INTERACTIONS - Add JavaScript code to your page elements to customise their behaviour. Create interactions for any action a user performs, like clicking a button, hovering over a shape and toggling the page layout. It’s easy to do, even if you’re not a JavaScript pro.
3. Cost Effective
Wix websites start from FREE but if you're looking for a professional website I recommend upgrading to one of their tariffs because you can connect your domain name and remove their advertising.
They offer 3 types of categories to suit all business needs: Business, Ecommerce and Bespoke. And within these categories are different tariffs to suit all budgets.
Their tariffs start from just £4 per month but you save money if you pay annually.
And if it's your first web design with Wix, you can get 50% off when you pay annually (which works out to be just £60 for the whole year on their Unlimited Business tariff!!)
All of their tariffs include the following as standard:
Connection of custom domain
SSL Certificate
Hosting
24 / 7 Customer care
Believe it or not, you don't get this with other platforms - they charge extra. A LOT extra.
4. User-friendly Dashboard
The dashboard is easy to navigate. You can easily find the feature and functions you are looking for, such as:
How to edit your site
How to connect your domain
How to set up SEO
View your SEO analytics
View your contacts and CRM
View and edit your account details
Create and manage your blog posts
Create and track the progress of an email marketing campaign
Manage your online shop, bookings, memberships and subscriptions
You know, all those things you'd expect to be able to do and find easily.
5. Intuitive Design Mode
When you're in editing mode, you view your web design in 'real time' which means you see exactly how your design will look in the live / published version.
No flipping between a clunky back end version to see the live preview.
It has a organised menu that lists all of the design elements, features and functions available for you to use.
You can easily add sections, text, videos and imagery to your design - just drag and drop. So simple. And you can also effortlessly toggle between your website pages, manage your site menu and add new pages quickly.
6. Extensive Design Features
Wix Editor offers lots of design features at no additional charge, for example:
Scroll effects and Animations
Free stock illustrations, icons, photos and videos
Lots of image Gallery designs
Elements such as boxes, shapes and lists
Section templates such as reviews, services, about and feature
Page templates such as about, services, contact and landing pages
Contact and subscription forms
Buttons that link to an anchor point, document, URL, website page, telephone number or email
Social media feeds
Each element of your website is customisable in terms of colour, size and position.
7. SEO and Analytics
Wix SEO takes you through the steps on how to properly set your site up for SEO and get found on Google. It also offers continuous free support on how to improve your website's SEO.
To learn more about Wix SEO click HERE
You can also track your website's performance with Wix Analytics. Their easy to use dashboard shows you:
How many people have visited your site
How many of these were unique
How your visitors got to your website (Google, direct or social media etc)
How much time they spent on your website
Which pages were the most popular
Where in the world your visitors come from
You can track you traffic, you will know your customers better and understand who visits your website - allowing you to make data-based decisions for your business with confidence.
And you will also get tailored recommendations on how to improve your site's performance - this all comes as standard with any published Wix website.
To learn more about Wix Analytics click HERE
8. Built in CRM
Ascend by Wix allows you to capture leads (collect peoples names and details), convert them, build lasting relationships and manage your workflow.
This CRM suite is already connected to your website, so you have everything you need to grow your business, such as:
Upload and grow your current mailing list
Manage your tasks and workflow
Save time by creating automated responses
Send quotes and invoices
Manage customer communication with their built in inbox that is synced to your contacts
To learn more about Ascend by Wix click HERE
9. Email Marketing and Newsletters
Ascend by Wix also offers an integrated email marketing tool so you engage and connect with your audience through newsletters and campaigns:
You can create and send beautiful mobile friendly emails in minutes, either start from scratch or customise one of their templates by playing with fonts, colours, backgrounds, images and videos to match your brand.
Get organised by setting up automatic email campaigns that land in your customers inbox at the perfect moment.
Use dynamic values to personalise emails with your contacts' names to increase open rates and engagement.
Track your email campaign success in real-time with integrated analytics that show your delivery rate, open rate and clicks.
You can also understand which content is getting the best results so you can optimize future email marketing campaigns.
10. Online Shop and Secure Payments (Ecommerce websites)
You can sell though your website, either products or services and take payment online:
Create a professional online store for your website with custom product pages, shopping cart and more
Manage your orders, inventory, shipping, fulfilment and finances—from a single platform
Sell across multiple channels, like Facebook, Instagram and more
Accept secure online payments for your products and subscriptions
Wix Payments is the most efficient way to accept payments for your business without setting up a third-party payment provide, or you can offer Apple Pay and other popular payment methods to offer a seamless checkout experience.
Give your customers:
Seamless checkout experience
Integrated payment dashboard
Secure checkout
Built in dispute tool
You can manage your entire business, payments and pay outs from your dashboard.
11. Bookings, Appointments, Courses and more
Showcase and offer your services with their professional online scheduling platform. You can let people book appointments through your website by showing your availability and so much more ..
Sell Services
Drive revenue and fill up your schedule by selling your services right from your website. Reduce back and forth communication by letting your clients easily book services from your calendar. Sell any variety of services and offer them online to reach clients anywhere.
Calendar Management
Manage all your calendars from one dashboard. Get the flexibility you need to make online scheduling work for your business.
Payment & Financial Solutions
Let clients pay with cash, credit or digital wallets. Connect to your preferred payment provider and manage all transactions and finances from one integrated dashboard.
Memberships & Packages
Offer free trials, membership plans, subscriptions, punch cards and limited-time discounts.
Staff Management
Manage staff schedules and track their performance. Set roles and permissions so staff can book clients and manage their sessions.
Client Management
Build and manage your client relationships. Send automated confirmations, updates and reminders about upcoming sessions.
Grow Your Business
Get advanced bookings analytics to track your performance and keep improving your business. Review your top services, staff performance, site traffic and more.
12. Members Area, Forums and Chat and FAQs
Wix offers a members area, community forum, chat facility and FAQs section.
Member's Area
This is the ideal tool to make your visitors engage, as it creates a community around your site. People who sign up to your Member's Area get their own account where they can see all their information while getting to know other members.
Wix Forum
Create an online community right on your site with Wix Forum. Your visitors can become members, join conversations, follow posts, leave comments and more. Plus, you can choose from beautiful layouts and customize to get the look you love. And it’s completely free!
Wix Chat
This opens direct communication lines between you and your site visitors. Your business is instantly contactable. Add a personal touch by making conversation with potential customers as they browse. Initiate a chat or let visitors reach out when they need to. Customize your chat box so it looks great on your page and reflects your brand.
Wix FAQ
You can create beautiful and helpful FAQs for your visitors. These are a great addition to any site, as they provide quick answers to common questions about your products or services, saving yourself time by reducing your customer support requirements.
13. Blog
Wix has an in built blog that supports your website's SEO.
Here you can showcase your expertise and create a blog that suits your personal style and grow your online community around the world.
14. Responsive
Wix websites are responsive for all devices so that they resize themselves depending on the type of device they are being viewed from.
15. Host, Secure, Updates and Support
They offer everything you'd expect from your website provider all within their account package - no add-ons or plug-ins at extra cost.
Web hosting is a service that makes your website visible on the Internet. Wix provides secure and free web hosting, allowing you to focus on the important stuff—like building your own beautiful website.
Enterprise-grade security with every Wix site
Your website security is fully managed by our experts—from threat prevention to real-time detection and rapid response—so you can run your business with peace of mind.
Conclusion
Wix is the best!
So if you are interested in having a website built on this awesome platform that offers everything a business could ever need on one place, please get in touch with me for a Discovery chat .. claire@freakybydesign.co.uk
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BIG KISSES
Claire x