Wix

I would consider Wix as the most easy-to-use website builder, when compared with Wordpress & Strikingly. Over the years it has made huge improvements, especially now with its ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) feature where you'll first be asked a couple of questions regarding the purpose, the functions, the look and feel of your ideal website, then a ready version would be automatically generated for your further edit, i.e. via drag and drop of your preferred style.

At first I didn't even recognize the difference between Wix Editor & Wix ADI so I got confused and found difficulty following the step-by-step advice on Q&A session. It's simple to identity which is which: If you didn't answer those questions in the beginning, and chose your own designer template instead, then that's a website built under Wix Editor which allows full control over every aspect of the site. On the other hand, if you're like me who wants a quick solution and accept the readily generated website, then it's built under WiX ADI, but you then lose the autonomy to change, even it's just the minor stuff on the webpage. And here comes the problem: Sometimes, when the functions on WiX ADI just didn't work (e.g. after hitting a button a menu was supposed to appear on the left but it just didn't show up) then it's time to write an inquiry to Customer Service Support, instead of reading through the Q&A which mainly offers advice on WiX Editor.

My favorite part of the software is the videomaking tool. Along with the videos I create, I can post them in a template through Wix and send my newsletters to my subscribers and customers. Wix does a great job of keeping a track of my subscribers and having an organized analytics page. I don't think Wix is disorganized at all. It can be pricey for the different type of services to make my website stand out on Google search, but there are discounts from time to time.

My least favorite part of Wix is how it is weak in sales. I had to create a Shopify store to promote the sales part of my business because Wix is more efficient for service-related companies. When I do use the videomaking feature, there aren't that many video templates to choose from. Instead, I am limited on the template designs. For music, it is endless, but I don't plan to use every type of audio in my videos. The other issue is price. I hired a freelancer from Wix to help me with my SEO and it was $100 for just linking SEO and I thought it was too pricey. I ended up using Upwork to hire someone else to help me promote my products. The freelancers signed up in Wix (also called Experts) are not good with communication and they are too expensive.

Wix is easy to use. It is a WYSIWYG CMS that handles everything from design to email campaigns to shopping carts. It features a number of different styles of photo galleries and offers a large range of word processor-style copy options (compared to Squarespace). Dragging padding is easy, searching for high-quality photos and videos (provided by Wix) is easy. Font options are plenty. Wix allows you to upload your own photos, which are stored in an image gallery for easy selection throughout the design process (Squarespace does not have an image gallery which means you have to upload the same image multiple times whenever you need it which is extremely slow and frustrating). Changes can be made per item per section allowing 100% customization (Squarespace applies changes globally and code is required for per-item changes). Wix is closer to WordPress than SquareSpace when it comes to being able to do whatever you want to do to get things exactly as you want them without using code. Wix uses plugins for added functionality (Squarespace does not have plugins available). For a beginner, Wix is a great CMS.

Wix is not WordPress. It is designed for beginners to make all of the basic things anyone needs as easy as drop and drag. But WordPress + Divi theme is the best choice if you aren't afraid of a little learning curve. Wix's shopping cart functionality is not powerful. I made a store with a few dozen choices that had a handful of options each. This crashed the cart. If you have a handful of items to sell, Wix would be fine. Otherwise, use Shopify.

Wix is one of the best website providers out there. The features are easy to start with, yet provide unprecedented opportunity for enhancement. Some of the advanced tools they provide such as databases, datasets, and dynamic pages, allow for templates to be created without manually copying each page. Wix has amazing music player integration, allowing composers and music artists to showcase and sell their work directly from their website. The apps, coding tools and new addition, called Velo, allow for infinite customization, making Wix a great choice for anyone who needs more than the basics.

Overall, Wix is amazing and I have had very positive experiences using their platform. However there are a few areas for improvement. Wix is missing Apple Pay functionality at the moment. This drives customers to other platforms in order to fill this gap. Wix also has an amazing art store app with so much potential, however the company used for print fulfillment has received several less-than stellar reviews. I have also noticed that website speeds for Wix sites tend to be slightly slower than other companies. There are also several formatting glitches I have experienced with Wix, especially with page layout, but they seem to be short-lived. The limited social media share button customization in terms of color, shape and formatting can be frustrating for websites with a specific decor. Otherwise, my experience has been very positive.

Wix is incredibly easy to use, especially with Wix's ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence). I have zero knowledge of web design, let alone design in and of itself. Using Wix's ADI I was able to make a gorgeous website for my company that continues to get compliments. It's very easy to update the website with new information, which is a must-have for me. I've rarely had issues with speed or usability - Wix just works.

Wix can be expensive. The price for ease of use seems to be higher premiums for what would be a given elsewhere - specifically, higher plans within their "website plans" tier only really offer marketing incentives (in my opinion) that expire after a year of use. Sure, you get more storage as well - but $5/mo just for an extra 10GB of storage (from Unlimited plan to Pro plan) seems a little steep, given that for $0.05 I could store the same amount on Backblaze B2 and use a Wordpress instance. In short, anything beyond the basic Combo plan seems obtusely overpriced. Moreover, every single time I enter Wix to edit my site, I feel I'm met with annoying advertisements to get a custom email, get a custom domain, etc. etc. which are just advertisements for services I already have elsewhere (though lately these have calmed down).