Wix Review
By Corbin HartwickUpdated on August 22, 2024
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In this article, we review Wix's major strengths and weaknesses. Will Wix make all of your website-building wishes come true, or will it leave you wistful for a better solution? Here's what you need to know.
Pros
- Mostly free to use — You can use the platform to create a free website with unlimited pages, up to 500 megabytes of storage space for multimedia files, and free hosting… assuming that you don't mind using a default Wix domain name.
- No code knowledge required — Wix doesn't require you to know anything about how to write computer code. Its interface works entirely like a desktop publishing program. Drag and drop elements wherever you want them, and then use simple button-based commands to resize them, edit the text in them, hyperlink them to other pages, and more!
- Get a head start with templates — Wix won't leave you hanging to build your website completely from scratch. Pick one of numerous templates to start your website with, based on what you're going to use it for. Will it be for breaking news? Food recipes? Showing off your art portfolio? Advertising your business? It's up to you.
Cons
- Limited features, unless you pay — Though you can use the service for free, certain options are locked or otherwise restricted unless you buy a premium subscription. These include limited storage space and bandwidth for uploading and playing multimedia files, as well as having to see Wix-sponsored advertisements on your website and the inability to use a custom domain name.
- What you pick is what you get — You can only select one template to use for your website on Wix. Once you choose that template, you cannot choose another one to use on a different page of your website. Also, if you want to change your website's template after you've already picked it, you will have to delete your current website and create a new one.
- Shutting down requires a lot of cleanup — Deleting your Wix account is no simple matter. You must first cancel your premium subscription (if you have one), move your domain name from Wix (if you have one) to another Wix account or web host, delete all websites connected to Wix, and then submit a request to delete your account to customer service.
The bottom line: 7.5/10
As one of the simpler services for creating your own website, Wix is pretty good at what it does. Its entire interface is image-based, like a desktop publisher, so all that you need to do to edit your website is drag, drop, and click stuff; no coding is required. You also get to pick one of a number of nifty templates to help you get the look of your site laid out before you start. And it gives you a reasonable number of features for free, such as free website hosting, 500 megabytes of storage space to store your media files, and unlimited pages per website.
Wix has a few shortcomings, though. Without a premium subscription to Wix, your website will be somewhat limited in what it can do. For example, you will see Wix-sponsored advertisements on your website, and you won't be able to integrate shopping features into your website if you want to use it to sell stuff. A common annoyance on Wix is that you can't switch your website template without starting a new website and deleting the old one. Additionally, you can't mix and match templates on different pages within the same website. And if you want to delete your Wix account, you have to delete and cancel pretty much everything that you've done on Wix before you can even request your account's deletion.
So, is Wix good enough for you?
Overall, Wix is rather middle-of-the-road good when it comes to website creation services. It offers a good balance of simplicity & ease-of-use and functionality for free (or at least a reasonable price). If you're looking for sites like Wix that are simpler or more feature-rich, check out our guide on the best Wix alternatives.
Well, that's what we think of Wix.