Wix Review
Founded in: 2005
Company Headquarters: New York, NY
Websites managed: Over 3 million
Because it offers a convenient drag and drop editor that can
create both Flash websites and static presentations, Wix is ideal
for small business owners who want to present an exceptionally
creative web presence without paying for professional services. Wix
offers multiple ways to showcase portfolios, making it especially
popular among photographers and other artists seeking to publicize
their creations.
Features
Wix offers a plethora of features and add-ons that can
significantly enhance the look and feel of any website. Although
most of these features are not unique to Wix, Wix does
differentiate itself by offering a website editor that allows for
more advanced customization than most other website editors.
Likewise, while most do-it-yourself web design suites offer
predominantly static websites, Wix offers the largest range of
Flash templates as well as an ample number of static designs. The
only drawback of Wix is that it does not offer an obvious way to
integrate email into your website.
Features Include:
- RSS feeds
- Flash templates and static templates
- Media players
- Comment functionalities
- Contact forms
- Google maps
- Shopping carts
- PayPal integration
- Various photo display options including albums, slideshows,
rotating carousel display and others
- Video integration from YouTube and Metacafe
- Clip Art, animations and icon libraries
The Combo, Unlimited and eCommerce packages which are purchased
on an annual basis also come with a voucher for $75 in free Google
AdWords advertising which can help attract visitors to your website
and extra revenue to your business.
Compare Wix's Features with other Web
Design Services >>
Ease of Use
Wix's drag and drop editor that is a pleasure to use. You can
browse website templates by category or scroll through the vast
selection until something catches your eye. Once you've chosen the
template for your site you can begin editing and adding features
and text immediately.
Template selection
Wix displays your editing options around the border of the
computer screen so that each type of editing is located in an
easily identifiable location. The left side of the page is the
place to change or add images, multimedia additions, and textual
changes. The bottom of the screen is where you can make changes
directly to the template, such as adjusting the color, the menu
options or the general appearance of the template. The top of the
website is where you can save your work, view your changes and undo
anything that you don't love.
I tested out Wix's web design services by creating a website for
a spa. I began by choosing a template for my site.
Original template
I began by changing the name of my site as well as the colors of
the squares above it.
Adjusted template
What is unique about the Wix website editor is that you can
adjust the colors with equalizers that can fine tune the color
exactly how you want it, instead of choosing standard shades. I
proceeded to remove the boxes from the top right of the design and
to add sample text.
Completed homepage
Another useful element of Wix's templates is that they provide a
sample for the entire website, not just a structured design that
will need to be tweaked for each individual page. Flipping through
the different pages of the website can be done on the tab in the
middle of each page so that you can keep your thoughts in place and
make changes to each page as needed.
Lastly, while I didn't choose a Flash template for my completed
website, Wix offers dozens of stylish and equally user-friendly
Flash templates to choose from for those who want to add a bit of
action to their site. I did experiment with the Flash website
templates, and found that using a Flash template was just as
intuitive as using a static design.
Sample Flash
template
Compare Wix's Ease of Use to other
Web Design Services >>
Customer Service
Wix provides customer support through their help center and via
email. The support page is well organized into 3 primary sections;
Wix Help Topics, Top Questions and Video Tutorials. The most
helpful of these sections is the Video Tutorials section which
provides clear and concise information about how to edit your
website using the Wix site builder. The Wix Help Topics and Top
Questions sections focus more on site add-ons and extra features
such as search engine optimization and Google applications.
At the top of the Help Center is a place to ask a question.
Unfortunately, in the 6 times that I tested this feature, I
received irrelevant responses that did not answer my question.
An answer from the Wix Help
Center
Fortunately, Wix seems to be aware that their answers may not
match the questions, and they allow you to email a representative
if you need more help. I submitted a question via email as a free
member at 8:15am EST on a Monday morning. I received an answer 6
days later.
My free membership question to
Wix
Free membership response from Wix
I also emailed Wix using my premium membership, to see if
the response would be faster. I sent the email on a Wednesday
morning. I received a response about 6 hours later, but was
disappointed to see that instead of providing a direct answer, the
representative only sent me a link to the help section, which did
not directly solve my problem.
My premium membership question to
Wix
Premium membership response from
Wix
I approached the manager of the Wix support team to discuss the
problems that I encountered with the help center. She was extremely
amenable and eager to correct the problems and enhance the user
experience. She mentioned that the support team is expanding
regularly to meet the needs of Wix's growing customer base, which
is a normal process for new companies. She also pledged to research
the technical problems and work quickly to resolve any lingering
issues.
Finally, Wix offers a very useful "Wixepedia" which has a
similar organizational structure as Wikipedia. It includes
aglossary of terms, advice on how to use the Wix editor, support
for the premium upgrade. The most unique and useful part of this
service is troubleshooting support - called "error FAQ". It
provides various errant scenarios within the website editor and
explains how to fix them.
Compare the Customer Support of Wix
to Other Web Design Services >>
Wix in the Media
Homepage - Wix.com graphic design user,
Michelle, telling about her experience with Wix.com in the Canadian
TV show "HomePage"
CBS MoneyWatch Wix introduces a new batch of
free design templates Read Article
Summary
Positive Features
- Easy to use website builder
- Useful video tutorials
- Unparalleled color customization
- Vast group of add-ons and applications
- $75 Google AdWords credit with yearly packages
- Allows for the creation of Flash websites
Negative Features
- Limited Help Center
- No email integration included in the site builder