Wix Review: Is it a Good Choice for Your Business Website?

The Expert Market team has been testing Wix for over four years, and it’s maintained its spot as the best website builder on the market throughout that time.

What makes Wix a great choice for most businesses is the fact that it caters to a large variety of different use cases and industries. This is demonstrated by its selection of over 900 templates, spanning several sectors, and its breadth of features, which include ecommerce, scheduling, and even reservation tools, to name a few.

However, as Wix’s repertoire of features has grown, it has become slightly less user-friendly, although Wix’s introduction of AI tools to help with website building has made up for this quite a bit.

I tested Wix myself to find out if it still offers quality, as well as quantity. In this review, I’ll go over my experience using its AI tools and give you a rundown of the pros and cons of the platform, as well as its key features.

Getting Started With Wix: My Experience

When I signed up for Wix, I was given the option of creating my own website manually or using Wix’s AI chatbot.

I opted for the AI chatbot first and was asked questions about the type of website I wanted to set up and what tools I needed. I told the AI chatbot that I wanted to create a website for my handmade knitwear brand, and was impressed by the fact that it gave me suggestions for tools I might need based on the information I gave it.

The overall process of using the AI chatbot took a few minutes, and I was then taken to a dashboard, where I was presented with a list of all the steps I needed to complete to finish setting up my website, based on the features I told the chatbot I wanted.

One of these was website design, which is what I started with. There again, I was given the option of choosing a design from one of Wix’s over 900 templates, or using the AI  tool to help me design my website.

I went with the AI tool again, and it generated a design based on the information I had given during setup. While this took the hassle of sifting through template designs out of creating a website, I did feel that the template design proposals Wix’s AI chatbot created were a little random.

You can relaunch the AI generation process several times, until you’re happy with the result, but some of the designs didn’t fit the theme I was looking for. Wix’s AI website builder always seems to include random pictures to decorate the bottom banner with, no matter what prompt you’ve given it.

I also noticed that Wix’s AI website builder populated my website with some AI-generated images, something it didn’t do when I last tested it a few months ago. Even though the images were high quality and almost photo-real, they still looked fake.

If you choose to set up your website without AI, you’ll still be asked questions about the type of site you want to set up (online store, blog, etc.), but you’ll then be directed to the dashboard where you have full reign to create a website from scratch, or from a template of your choice. If you have more time on your hands, I’d recommend using a template or going from scratch in order to build a unique website that matches your brand.

My experience with the Wix Editor

Whether you’ve created your website from scratch, using a template, or with the AI chatbot, you’ll have a chance to edit it, using Wix’s drag-and-drop editor.

I found that Wix had improved the layout of its editor menu, making it more user-friendly and less imposing by separating different functions into dropdown menu sections. As ever, all I needed to do was click on existing elements in order to edit them. I could also add an element easily using the sidebar menu. It’s full of icons, but, by hovering over them, you get a description of what they are and what they do, which I appreciated.

However, I do think that Wix’s editor is still a little overwhelming for total beginners.

This is mainly because there’s so much you can do with it, so it’s hard to know where to start. It’s easy to get distracted clicking on all the menu items, wondering if you need them, which slows down the website-building process.

If you’re a total beginner or just aren’t great with tech, you might prefer a website builder with slightly fewer features and a simpler editor menu, such as Hostinger or GoDaddy.

The Pros and Cons of Wix

Here’s what I think are Wix’s strengths and weaknesses:

✅ Save time with AI

Wix has been expanding its AI toolkit over the past few years. Starting off with a simple AI website builder and chatbot to help you design your site, Wix now has AI solutions for generating text, product descriptions, email campaigns, and even editing images.

This can really save you time, especially when you’re just starting to populate your website with content. But, as with all AI, it’s probably a good idea to check its work before making your website live.

✅ An abundance of templates

Wix has a library of over 900 pre-made templates, the most of any website builder the Expert Market research team has tested. This is great if you want a fast set-up without having to scratch your head over what font, color scheme, and layout to choose.

There are templates dedicated to different types of business websites, from cafes, to NGOs, to vets. The new Wix templates also have clearer navigation options than its older designs, allowing for a better user experience (UX) for your visitors.

If you don’t want a pre-populated template, you can choose between eight blank layouts, or even go for a totally blank page. Here are some examples of each template type:

✅ A wide range of features to suit almost every business type

Wix has been created with a wide target audience in mind, which means it has tools to suit a multitude of businesses.

Business features include bookings and appointments management, invoice tracking, and memberships and loyalty programs. Wix also has marketing tools, such as email marketing, a logo maker, website analytics, and it offers SEO (search engine optimization) tips to help get your website noticed on search engines.

We tested Wix as a team, and one participant said, “[Wix] does have really useful business features. For instance, there is some understanding of being a dentist – you’re going to need to add services to your website, and also here are some pictures of dental surgeries.”

✅ Test the website out using the free plan

Wix’s free plan is quite basic compared to its premium plans, but it’s one of the few website builders that actually offers more than just a free trial. This means you can take the time to get to grips with Wix, and figure out if you like using it before committing to a subscription.

Using the free plan can also help you determine which of Wix’s premium plans is right for you. It’s easier to know what features you need based on experience rather than trying to predict it by looking at the different premium plan features.

❌ Can’t switch templates after publishing website

One big downside to Wix is that it doesn’t let you switch out your template for a new one once your site has gone live.

Given the massive number of templates Wix puts at its users’ disposal, this seems like an odd restriction. It means you really need to be sure of your choices before you hit publish.

Wix’s main rival, Squarespace, may have fewer templates, but at least it lets you change them after the site’s gone live.

❌ Abundance of features can be overwhelming for beginners

Wix’s large network of features allow for versatility, but this can quickly get confusing, especially if you’re new to creating websites. I found myself spending quite a lot of time just perusing through all the features in the Wix backend, trying to figure out what they did and how to use them.

One of our focus group participants felt similarly. They said, “I think it’s one of those programs that’s been worked on by so many different people at different times that some features work well, but there’s no-one checking on the overall experience to say, ‘does this work for the average person?’”

❌ Unlimited storage only available on the most expensive plan

Wix only offers unlimited storage on its most expensive plan, the $159 per month Business Elite plan. On its other plans, you’ll get between 2GB and 100GB.

This means Wix isn’t a great option if you’re looking to create a website that’s video or image-heavy, such as an art portfolio. Additionally, Wix’s rivals offer unlimited storage at a much cheaper price point. Squarespace, for example, offers it on its cheapest plan, the $16 per month Basic plan.

How Much Does Wix Cost?

Wix has four price plans, ranging from $17 to $159 per month. One is for building a regular website, and three are for building an online shop. There’s also a free plan and a plan with custom pricing for very large and enterprise businesses.

You can check out our detailed guide to Wix pricing or take a quick look at the table below for an easy comparison:

Here’s a bonus: you can get 10% off on Wix plans with our code: TAKE10.

Wix’s prices have gone up in the past few years, which means it’s no longer as affordable as it once was. There’s a particularly big jump in price between the Business and Business Elite plans, which could make scaling your business with Wix challenging.

If you’re just after a simple website that’s more of an informational page, you’ll get better value for your money with website builders such as Hostinger, who’s most expensive plan only costs $13.99 per month. It doesn’t come with as many advanced features or pretty template designs as Wix, but it’s cheaper and has all the basics.

Wix Key Features Explained

Wix’s best features include SEO tools and several different marketing tools that can help your website rank highly in search engine results and get noticed by potential customers.

1. SEO

Wix is one of the best platforms for SEO. It allows you to customize URLs and it automatically adds meta tags to your pages.

Wix’s dedicated SEO dashboard displays data on your site’s health taken directly from Google Search Console. Wix also has a built-in AI SEO assistant that suggests SEO improvements for your existing website. This is a tool that rivals Shopify and Squarespace are missing.

A Wix website will also automatically resize to fit mobile phone screens so that content is laid out clearly. This is an important feature since Google counts mobile optimization when ranking websites, placing those that are well-optimized for mobiles higher up in the search results.

Those with more advanced SEO knowledge will appreciate Wix’s URL redirect function and the integrations it offers, such as Semrush.

2. Marketing

Wix has a comprehensive range of built-in marketing features, including email marketing and social media marketing. There’s a logo-making tool you can use that’s AI-assisted, for easy branding for your business. Besides GoDaddy, Wix is one of the only website builders to offer this range of marketing content creation tools.

From the Wix backend, users can design email campaigns and social media ads, using the same drag-and-drop editor used for web page editing. Posts can also be scheduled and their impact tracked from the same place in the Wix backend.

In addition to its built-in marketing features, Wix has integrations with reporting tools such as Google Analytics and CAPI, so that you can track the behavior of visitors to your website.

3. App market

Besides Shopify, Wix has by far the most extensive app market of any website builder we tested. There are hundreds of third-party apps you can use to enhance your website, plus a selection of Wix’s own.

You can filter apps by category and function, with the selection including marketing and analytics tools, design tools, and apps for event management and hotels. Some are free to use, while others require a paid subscription.

Among Wix’s own apps are:

• Wix Loyalty Program: Let customers earn points and discounts
• Wix Hotels: Manage online bookings and inventory
• Wix Pro Gallery: Create image and video galleries and share on social media
• Wix Blog: Create and manage a blog and get SEO and design tips

You can see rating and reviews for all apps in the Wix App Market, which is great for deciding which are worth your time and which aren’t.

I’d also recommend not overloading your website with too many integrations since this can slow down your site speed, which is frustrating for both you, and your site visitors. So, choose which apps you integrate into your website carefully, and don’t go above 10.

Wix’s Online Store Features

You can start accepting payments and turn your website into an online store from the $29 per month Wix Core plan. This allows you to not just take payments for products but for services, and digital content subscriptions.

A Wix ecommerce website comes with sales, inventory, and order tracking features, and its Business and Business Elite plans allow you to print shipping labels.

Wix also has a wide range of payment processing options, which can increase the chance of customers completing the checkout process. You can use Wix’s proprietary payment processing service, Wix Payments, which can be used for a host of payment methods, including Amex, Apple Pay, and even Afterpay, which can increase sales if your business sells high-value items.

You can also integrate over 90 third-party payment processors into your Wix store, such as Square, SumUp, and Stripe. With Squarespace, on the other hand, you can only add a very limited range of payment processors to your webshop.

That being said, Wix isn’t necessarily the best ecommerce platform to go with if you’re planning on growing your online store. For that, Shopify is your best bet – it affords you more sophisticated ecommerce features than Wix, such as advanced shipping options and full POS integration, as well as in-depth reporting. Its prices are higher than Wix’s, however, starting at $39 per month for its Basic plan, through to $399 per month for the Advanced one.

Wix’s AI Tools

Wix has an AI chatbot to help you build your website. You can find out more about my experience with it in my detailed breakdown at the top of this review.

AI website builders are becoming increasingly popular, and Wix isn’t alone in offering one, with competitors Squarespace, Hostinger, and GoDaddy also hoping to tap into the trend. Results are quite similar across, the board, and I wouldn’t say Wix’s AI website builder is miles ahead of the competition.

In terms of aesthetics, the results you get with the AI builders match the style of the pre-existing templates of each website builder. So, Squarespace’s AI website builder will generate a highly modern and polished looking website, while GoDaddy’s will give you something a little more basic and dated. Wix falls somewhere in the middle.

But AI isn’t just being used for website building. Wix also offers AI support for a host of other tools:

• Content writing: Use AI to generate and edit copy for your website, including headers and product descriptions, based on prompts
• Image editing: Use the AI tools to improve image quality, and remove or change backgrounds
• Logo and image generation: Use AI to generate unique image or logos, based on precise prompts
• Email marketing content: Use AI to craft copy and design a template layout for email marketing campaigns
• Customer support: Integrate an AI chatbot into your website that can answer common questions for your customers

If you’re using AI to generate written content for your Wix website, I definitely recommend you use the results as inspiration rather than for the final product. Like with all AI tools, Wix’s AI writer provides pretty basic copy that might not feel very inspiring or genuine to your readers and customers. Your personal touch will go a long way.

Is a Wix Website Secure?

Wix is a secure platform. All Wix websites come with a free SSL certificate, in which the website link starts with https://, instead of http:// (note the missing “s”).

What this does is enable the encrypted transfer of data between web browsers and websites, and makes users feel more secure visiting your Wix website. If you’ve ever had the experience of clicking on a website, and your web browser blocking it and warning you that it’s potentially unsafe, that’s probably because it’s missing an SSL certificate. This won’t happen to visitors entering your Wix website, since you’ll have one automatically.

You’ll be safe from malicious visitors on your end too, since Wix uses multiple layer security architecture and firewalls to protect websites from unauthorized access.

Wix is also a PCI Level 1 Merchant & Service Provider and is certified as ISO 27001 and ISO 27018 compliant. This basically means it meets the highest standards of security for processing payments, and follows international best practices for security and data protection.

Getting Help and Support with Wix

Wix’s knowledge center is a helpful resource when it comes to simple technical questions about meta tags and page redirects. There is also a series of video courses on Wix Learn that can help users learn how to maximize the website builder’s potential.

Compared to competitors GoDaddy and Hostinger, Wix’s self-help resources are very comprehensive, and most users will be able to find answers to their queries by using Wix’s Help Center AI assistant.

It’s also possible to hire an expert to help you with your website directly through Wix. Wix puts you in contact with a range of experts, from web developers to SEO specialists.

But if you want to speak to a real human, even about an issue as vital as billing, Wix makes it somewhat hard to access direct contact. There’s no public phone line. Instead, you can request a callback, which may come in several hours after your request.

This callback option isn’t easy to find. It was only after asking the Help bot directly, “How can I speak to a human?” that this service even presented itself.

How Does Wix Compare to Its Competitors?

Here’s a quick side-by-side comparison of Wix to its top competitors in the website builder space:

• Squarespace: If you’re after more cutting-edge website design, you might want to consider Squarespace over Wix. It doesn’t have quite as many built-in marketing and content creation tools, but its stunning templates make it a favourite among creatives and image-centered industries. Read our Squarespace review for more details.
• Hostinger: If you’re worried Wix might be too complicated for you, and just need a simple builder to get you online, Hostinger is the answer. It’s an AI-focused website builder that’s easy to use and can help you create a simple website fast. Read our Hostinger review for more details.
• Shopify: If you’re an ecommerce business, you might want to consider Shopify over Wix, especially if you plan on growing and expanding. That’s because Shopify is much more scalable than Wix, and it offers a native POS system, allowing you to integrate and manage online and in-person sales from the same software. Read our Shopify review for more details.
• GoDaddy: If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to get online, but want a tool that’s a little less AI-heavy than Hostinger, easier to use than Wix, but still has a range of content creation tools, GoDaddy is a great option. Read our GoDaddy review for more details.

For a direct comparison of our two top website builder picks, see our Wix vs Squarespace review.

Methodology: How We Tested Wix