By using Wix.com (Viks.com) everyone has a chance to create a fan page or official website completely free of charge for business, business development, or simply to expand their own presence on the Internet and show the world, which is moving deeper and deeper online, their real capabilities in the virtual dimension. A serious approach to creating your web page is provided by the developers of wix.com, offering more 20 templates for shopping sites, yoga instructors, nutritionists, art directors, blues and soul musicians, politicians, private and honest detectives... You don’t need to think about the combination of creative interface and ergonomic functionality of your online presence required today, this is already the programmers thought, all you have to do is complete the “picture” with two or three strokes that characterize you as an active www user.
The Vicks.com platform also offers connection and domain maintenance and mail, data storage, favicon and hosting support at reasonable prices.
How to Use a Promo Code on Wix.com
- Register and log in to your Vicks account
- Go to your "User Profile" and click on the "Vouchers" tab
- In the “Promotional Code” column, receive a special code with a simple click of the mouse
- Select the country of service and click “Continue”
This will give you a service gift voucher.
It was not convenient to use, it would not have become one of the most famous designers. Several factors influenced the growth of popularity:
- Versatility - with Wix you can create a business card, blog, online store, etc.
- A simple visual editor. The best description for it is "intuitive". This means that no preparation is required to master the editor. All elements can be easily added, edited and deleted using the mouse.
- Optimization for mobile devices. Templates look equally good on different platforms.
The designer will help you create a website using the intelligent Wix ADI system. Based on the information provided by the user, it suggests a layout. You just need to answer a few questions and confirm the correctness of the information, which the artificial intelligence will detect on its own. The resulting layout can be edited like any other template. The difference is that it will initially be created for your company, that is, the number of changes that need to be made will be greatly reduced.
If Wix ADI is a tool for simplifying development, then Wix Code will allow you to make your site more functional through programming skills. After activating Wix Code, an arrow will appear in the editor; when clicked, it will open a list of pages. The last three items in the list allow you to add JavaScript code and databases to your site. JavaScript can be used to create your own applications; databases - for collecting user data and generating dynamic pages.
Databases can be applied to any element. Without going into technical details: this will allow, for example, to conduct surveys, create dynamic galleries with the display of a random image, display different data on the page depending on conditions, adjust the schedule, etc.
In addition to WIX ADI and Wix Code there is standard editor designer, thanks to which it became widespread among users at one time. It consists of several tabs:
Depending on the type of site, the panel in the editor may also contain modules for managing a blog and an online store. They contain all the necessary tools for working with the relevant sections.
The designer supports teamwork. You can add new users via email and assign them access rights. This will help you more effectively distribute responsibilities between different employees if, for example, you are running a large online store. Among other features of the designer, we note:
- Free connection of an SSL certificate to a domain.
- Mobile application for Android and iOS, which allows you to communicate with customers, add products, photos and materials to your blog.
- Protect individual pages of the site with passwords or hide them from public access. This is useful if, for example, you are creating a subscription model for gaining access to content.
- A layout grid that allows you to constantly see the interface area that will be displayed in the mobile version of the site.
- Layers in the editor that can be added, hidden and rearranged.
The basic functionality of the designer is significantly expanded with applications from the Wix App Market. They offer a different set of features: some solve only narrow tasks like adding social media buttons, others are entire modules with a large number settings. The presence of applications makes Wix a truly universal builder. With their help, you can create a landing page with forms for collecting user data, a hotel website with online booking, a store with a powerful recommendation system, etc.
Wix is a little more complex than uKit, but it also offers more features. Setting up a website also takes more time.
As a reward for his efforts, the webmaster receives own resource, which looks quite professional.
Design
Templates are a source of pride for Wix. More than 500 layouts for different types websites made by professionals, video insertion into the background of the page, 3D effects, your own photo bank and image editor. Only someone who sincerely hates Wix and fundamentally does not want to admit that this builder really allows you to create a great website, as it is written on its main page, can find fault with the external execution. The only drawback is that the template cannot be replaced while working on the site, so you need to choose a theme very carefully. This is facilitated by a full preview mode, which allows you to evaluate the layout from all sides before deciding to create a site based on it.
All templates are available for free, and their database is constantly updated. With adaptability under different devices there are no problems: the site is displayed equally well on a widescreen screen and display mobile phone. The mobile version of the site is configured separately from the desktop version. You can use automatic optimization or pin elements to the page manually. You can also monitor how the content will be displayed on the screen of a mobile device when editing the desktop version: the screen borders are marked with dotted lines.
The design can be changed beyond recognition by adding widgets, horizontal stripes with any content by inserting HTML code and pinning useful elements on the page.Customization appearance great attention has been paid to the site, so in addition to standard features shift type color scheme or background you will find on Wix and advanced options:
- Connection own fonts, if the standard set is not enough.
- Setting up animation and effects.
- Page layout - managing element borders, indents, content positioning.
Another feature of the WIx editor is adding cinemagraphs. These are photographs in which one or more elements are moving, a cross between a still image, a GIF and a video. Nowadays, cinemagraphs are very popular in web design. Wix has its own library of such elements. You can add them as separate pictures or put them as the background of the page.
Each element on the page has its own settings that allow you to personalize its display. All this is implemented through an easy-to-understand interface that does not require programming skills to operate. What is done on a CMS through code editing and is tied to knowledge of HTML, CSS and JavaScript, on Wix is done using sliders and selectors. There are even hotkeys for popular functions. In general, if you have worked with graphic editors like Photoshop, you will immediately appreciate the convenience and power visual editor Wix. The designer also offers a built-in logo editor that allows you to quickly create an attractive logo. For its use you need to pay above the tariff, but the price is justified by the quality and ease of use.
If you feel that you don’t yet have enough skills to create a unique appearance, and you don’t have time to learn, you can contact designers through the WixArena platform. This community is organized on the basis of the WixExpert service, whose task is to select performers to work on projects in the Wix environment. You can select designers based on their portfolio and contact them with a job offer or fill out a questionnaire, based on which the system will automatically select suitable performers.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The Wix builder allows you to create websites that are initially quite friendly search engines. But to achieve high rankings, you need to work a little: set meta tags, check the adaptability of the template, add unique texts.
It's easy for a novice webmaster to get confused by the plethora of demands that search engines make, but Wix seems to have solved this problem. The designer's control panel has a tool for setting up a website's SEO parameters, which is presented in the form of a step-by-step wizard. To get recommendations for website optimization, you need to go through 3 steps:
- Enter the name of the brand for which the website is being created. If you are making a business card, you can simply add your last name or field of activity.
- Select the type of business - with a physical address (you will be asked to indicate it) or online only.
- Add up to 5 phrases or keywords, determining the direction of activity. For example, for an online toy store you can write “toys”, “baby food”, “children’s goods”. You can select words using Yandex.Wordstat.
After a short check of the site, the wizard will issue a checklist, which will indicate what needs to be done to optimize the project. There are only 3 steps in the list: add the site to Google, optimize its pages and continue to improve SEO. But each step contains several points. Here sample list what you have to do to optimize your site:
- Update page titles and descriptions.
- Add unique texts.
- Attach a second level domain.
- Connect your site to Google Search Console.
- Update contact information and links to pages on social networks.
You can go to the appropriate settings directly from the checklist, which is very convenient. SEO page settings are also available from the visual editor interface. In the “Menu and Pages” section, each section has an SEO item, when you click on it you will be taken to a tab with parameters. Here you can add a title, description, CNC, upload a photo that will be displayed in the preview when publishing a link on social networks, and also add additional meta tags.
To further advance, you can use advice from the knowledge base or hire a specialist. You can do optimization yourself - the recommendations for Wix are the same as for other services and CMS:
- Create unique and useful content.
- Use applications to integrate your site with social networks.
- Connect the SSL protocol to encrypt traffic.
In the Wix app store you will find a large number of applications for analytics, organizing mailing lists, hosting an online consultant, and a button to order a call back. All of these tools help increase visitor engagement and ultimately increase conversions and website rankings. search results.
Tariffs
Wix offers 4 paid plans, but only 3 premium plans can be seriously considered: Connect Domain is not much different from the free mode of working with the designer.
At all four tariffs the system offers:
- Free hosting.
- Connecting a domain.
- From 500 MB to 20 GB disk space for data storage.
- Connection Google Analytics.
- Premium support.
If you need to create a business card website or blog, then the opportunities provided on tariff plan Combo. For a corporate website or information portal with high traffic, you must choose the Unlimited tariff. If you want to create an online store, then there is only one option left - the eCommerce plan. The Connect Domain tariff, in fact, has only one function - connecting a second-level domain to the site. Paying 123 rubles for this is unreasonable: it’s better to immediately add to the Combo tariff and calmly assemble a small website.
In principle, you can create a website for free on Wix, and even host it online. But then you will have to endure a number of restrictions:
- A third-level domain indicating the designer on which the site was made.
- Advertising of the service on the pages.
- Low performance and small amount of available disk space.
Even without paying for a premium plan, a website on Wix will be available for management, but a serious project will not be possible with this approach.
Advantages
Everyone praises Wix for its visual appeal, which makes working with the designer enjoyable. But this is not all the advantages of the service. You can also note:
- Template adaptability.
- A user-friendly visual editor interface that even a beginner can quickly understand.
- App store with two hundred widgets.
- A huge knowledge base that helps you understand the constructor interface.
- Ability to add HTML code to pages.
- A single online store control panel through which you can track orders, receive payments and manage delivery.
- Complete statistics on the site - number of page views, traffic sources, position in search results, etc.
If we return to the external component of the designer, we can once again note that there are really a lot of templates on Wix. They are intelligently divided into categories and types of sites, plus keyword search and filters “New”, “Popular”, “Empty” are supported.
Before choosing a layout, you can see how it will look on the monitor and on the screen of your mobile device. If none of the design options suits you, you can filter the proposals using the “Blank” section and create your own template from scratch. You can create one-page websites with Wix. Ready-made templates for landing pages are located in the section of the same name.
Flaws
The main complaint against Wix is high prices and an incomprehensible division of premium plans. Connect Domain, after payment for which advertising for the designer remains on the site, is unlikely to be needed by anyone; eCommerce for creating an online store does not offer anything supernatural, and the price is such that you can assemble a website yourself in a day.
A problem for novice webmasters can be an overloaded interface. It can be easily explained by the functionality of the designer, but mastering the service will take more than one day: you will not only have to figure out what is where, but also learn how to use the tools correctly. On Wix, you can ruin a template because the user has a lot of editing options.
The “Support” section remains uninformative. You can find a description of how basic actions are performed in the editor, but without screenshots it can be difficult to understand where to click. Perhaps this is an empty quibble, but if the service is positioned as a constructor for beginners, then it is logical to expect the most understandable presentation of information.
The wide range of applications in AppMarket sometimes turns out to be a disadvantage. Some are made carelessly and work with errors, although overall the store deserves the highest marks.
Website development expert
Wix is a great platform for building your website, no matter your experience. A user-friendly drag-and-drop visual editor, a huge template library, an impressive App Market and professional e-commerce features. And how can you not love him? Unless you may be unhappy with its customer support. But if you don't mind reading the manuals and independent decision problems, or a conversation with support by phone - then everything will suit you. March 13, 2020
Review
Review
When you think of a “website builder”, the first thing that comes to your mind is Wix. And all because he became the largest player in the market with more than 125 million users in almost 200 different countries around the world.
Until recently, I was not a user of it. You see, I've always been a bit of a web design snob. I've built many websites over the years and WordPress has always been my go-to tool. I mean, if you know how to use WordPress, why would you use anything else?
I had heard about Wix, but didn't pay much attention to it. I knew he was good tool for beginners. People who have never built a website before can now easily sign up, choose a template, upload their own content, and get online instantly, without any technical experience. This is, of course, great. But I wasn't one of those people.
Everything changed one fine summer day when I saw a demo of Wix at a conference. I suddenly realized his true potential.
I needed a website for a personal project I was working on. I was going to use my trusted friend WordPress. But then I started thinking about what I would need to create a website.
I would have to find a reliable web server, install WordPress, choose the right theme, spend hours figuring out how to customize that theme to my liking, and spend even more time testing different plugins to get my site to work exactly the way I wanted it to.
Now why should I bother when I just can...you know... “drag and drop”?
I decided it was time to try using Wix. And let me tell you - I'm glad I decided to do it.
In this review, I will share my experience and knowledge to help you decide if it's right for you. to you Wix. We will consider many advantages, that Wix has to offer, but we'll also discuss a few serious shortcomings, which you should definitely be aware of before you start working with it.
Templates
Functional
Can Wix Really Do It All?
In recent years, we have seen countless Wix clones on the Internet. But I'm not worried about Wix, since the company is clearly trying to stay ahead of the competition.
It's quite difficult to compete with the extensive functionality offered by Wix. You can do almost anything with this platform. Naturally, there will be a learning curve for some of the features, but most of them are so easy to use that, who knows... maybe you're like me and may now be wondering why you've been bothering with WordPress all this time.
Let's take a closer look at some of my favorite features.
Pixel-Perfect Drag-and-Drop Editor
Whether you're creating your first site or have already created one back in the days of the little-known Geocities, you'll love this feature. Not only is the Wix editor easy to use, but it can even seem like more fun than work.
You can move elements and place them anywhere on the page. As you drag and drop, helpful guides appear to help you relate some elements to others. This keeps your design nice and neat.
You can change anything and I mean it All, just a few clicks.
Fonts? Just choose from the list (or upload your own). Colors? Click-click and you're done. Want to add onscreen buttons? Select your favorite style from gallery and drag and drop. You can also add animation to any element.
Need to add a page? Just go to Page Management and click on the button. Your new pages will be automatically added to the navigation menu.
Now, would you like to add a couple really cool stuff? Let's move on to the next function.
Wix App Market
In the Wix App Market you can find more than 300 applications, many of which are free and some are paid. Thanks to them you can improve your website.
You can add important functions, without which no site can do, namely the mailing list and contact form. There is also integration with social media platforms such as Instagram Feed or Facebook Messenger. Plus you have image galleries, business tools and even special application to include HTML code on your site. Just make your choice.
What I like so much about the App Market is that it's easy to use. You don't need to hire a web developer to achieve advanced functionality on your website. And goodbye to the days of endlessly scrolling through lists of plugins, choosing one and praying to the WordPress gods that it doesn't ruin your site.
To add an app to your Wix site, you just need to click a button. You can then drag any site element to the desired location on the page and customize it as you wish. This will literally take a few minutes.
Internet trading
I'm already starting to feel like a broken record, but still Creating an online store with Wix is incredibly easy. You can either choose a template from the Online Store category or simply add a store to your existing Wix site by clicking a button.
You will, of course, have to go to paid version to receive payments, but unlike other e-commerce programs, Wix does not charge a commission on your sales.
From your store's device dashboard, you can enter your business information and payment methods, set shipping fees, and add products. There is no limit to the number of products you can sell. You can sell both real and virtual goods, with up to 300 options for each product. You can also offer special discounts and coupon codes.
I used the Wix Store on my site to sell some different products and everything went like clockwork. I love the new sales alert feature and how you can monitor your inventory and orders right from your device dashboard.
While in the past I wouldn't recommend Wix for large e-commerce businesses, I think you can use Wix for that too. Wix recently added several interesting features for online trading, such as cart recovery, store statistics, printed shipping labels and much more.
Wix SEO Wiz
Wix has had problems with search engine optimization in the past, which is why many web developers and designers have chosen other programs. In the end, no one needs amazing a site that is not visible in Google search results.
However, in recent years this is no longer a problem. Google no longer “hates” Wix, and Wix offers many convenient tools for promoting your site in Google search results.
If you've only heard of search engine optimization, but you don't quite understand what to do, then this is not a problem. Free SEO Wiz will ask you a few questions about your website and develop personalized search engine optimization plan, providing step-by-step instructions.
If you upgrade to the paid version, you can connect your site to Google Analytics to get detailed information about traffic to your site.
Wix Corvid
If you still think that Wix is only suitable for creating small websites, then let me introduce Wix Corvid. Corvid is the next generation of Wix code that allows developers to create powerful applications that and all this using the Wix platform.
I'm certainly not a web developer. I have basic knowledge of HTML, and can work with CSS, but only with the help of someone, but that's about it. However, with Corvid I was able to build a standard database and add dynamic pages to my site. (Hey, it was worth doing just for the bragging rights.)
If you're not particularly tech-savvy and are up for a little challenge, you can experiment with Corvid and see what happens. You will find large number useful instructions and video lessons on the Wix Corvid website.
However, for more complex programs, you will either need to be a web developer or hire one.
Convenience
Support
In an endless search for customer support
The Wix Help Center is huge and covers almost any topic you can think of. Finding the information you need is quite easy.
However, you may encounter a problem for which you cannot find a solution in the database. Contacting support on the Wix website is not easy. And you won't be able to do it just by clicking on Help Desk in the support center, as you will again be redirected to home page support center. In other words, to the same page where you were. Phew.
Link "Contact us"? Nope. It will redirect you to a page with many links, but you won't be able to contact support through any of those links. But I'm sure you'll be glad to know that there is another link to the support center.
Being quite annoyed, I typed in "Wix Help Center" Google search. The first result in the search was a link to this article published in 2015. Wix, are you serious?
Support requests
In the article above I finally I found a link to contact Wix page. There you can select the topic you need help with, and Wix will suggest relevant articles and/or videos (in case you somehow managed to overlook them in the support center).
At the very bottom of the page, if you look closely, you will find an extremely inconspicuous link Click to contact . Once you click on it, you can finally submit your application or schedule a call.
I submitted an application asking if the site I created using Wix ADI would be compatible with mobile devices mi.
After 15 minutes, I received a very long, boilerplate response that contained no information related to my question. They didn't even address me by name, just sent the standard “hello.” It certainly didn't convince me that the company cared about my question.
Telephone support
Since I I hate talking on the phone, I’m not at all happy with such support. I would rather use online chat, but unfortunately Wix does not have such a function. As a result, sighing heavily and rolling my eyes, I called the call center.
I was greeted by an answering machine. Guess what I heard?
Right! Return to the main Help Center page and assign call back. Seriously, Wix? Seriously?
Yes, that's how it was. It's 2020 and it's the age of the Internet. I just “want” to schedule calls or use carrier pigeon to send my customer support request.
The biggest irony in all of this is that Wix offers free application for online chat in the App Market. It's also quite easy to install on your website. One can only wonder why they don't use it themselves.
Still rolling my eyes, I decided to move on to the next feature.
Social media
I was finally able to contact Wix through their Facebook page, as it's the closest thing to live chat. (You can also try to contact them via Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.)
Once again, I asked if my site, created using Wix ADI, was compatible with mobile devices. And again they answered me within 15 minutes. This time they addressed me by name, which could not but please me, but the answer itself contained nothing but a link, which, again, did not contain an answer to my simplest question.
I kept trying to find out more, but I just wasted my time. The Facebook support rep apparently had no idea what “mobile compatible” meant.
Some time later, I finally gave up. In 2020, I still hoped that a member of the support team of such a large company as Wix should know the difference between “compatible with mobile devices” And “Adaptation for mobile devices.”
Prices
Available plans for every website type
Free plan not bad if you are just a beginner. There are storage and bandwidth limitations that shouldn't have of great importance, unless you plan to create a site with a lot of media files.
However, you will have to use a Wix subdomain instead of your own domain (i.e. yoursite.wix.com), and your site will display Wix branding. Additionally, if you are planning to create a Wix store, you will need to upgrade to a paid plan in order to accept payments.
For premium plans good price and they include many other additional benefits - free domain, more storage space and increased bandwidth, free promotional vouchers and more. With higher-tier plans, you get a suite of premium apps, namely Site Booster to increase traffic to your site and Visitor Analytics.
When you're ready to upgrade to a paid plan, you can pay with any credit or debit card. Wix does not accept payments via PayPal, cryptocurrency, or any other payment method.
You can pay in advance for one or two years, or choose a monthly plan. Just keep in mind that monthly plans are significantly more expensive than long-term plans, and with the monthly plan you won't get a free domain, premium apps or advertising vouchers.
There is one important thing to remember before you sign up for a long-term plan: When creating a website on Wix, your site will belong to the Wix platform. You cannot transfer it to your hosting server or to another website builder. If you decide to leave Wix in the future, you'll have to rebuild your site from scratch.
Wix often offers tempting prices. Just remember that after a year or two, you'll have to pay full price to upgrade your plan.
If you're a designer or developer, you can transfer ownership of your client's site (including the paid plan) to your client once you've finished working on it. All you have to do is enter his address email on the page Transfer of ownership of the site in the control panel.
Cancellation of plan and refund
All Wix plans offer 14-day money back guarantee. Cancel yours account easy - just go to the page Billing and payments in the control panel and click Cancel subscription link.
A pop-up will appear on your screen asking if you are sure you want to cancel your subscription. Once confirmed, the next window will ask you to provide a reason. This is necessary, but as you can see, I didn't bother too much.
Once you click Cancel now, you will receive your funds within 20 business days.
On the one hand, this is enough for a long time waiting, which can be a little frustrating. On the other hand, Wix's efforts to avoid customer support actually work to your advantage, since you don't have to talk to a representative to cancel your plan or get your money back.
By the way, if you want to change the structure of the selected stock template, then for this you need to use "Stripe" widget. This is an analogue of a block (empty or with content), a building material. You add it, and as the top layer in the resulting area you place any widgets with content - forms, images, text, tabs, video player or something else. You can arrange the design in any order. You can even choose blank template and start designing its structure and content from scratch - it will be even easier for designers. By the way, a solid set can help you with website design vector graphics– hundreds free images various themes that can be added to the site, giving them the desired size, proportions, color and degree of transparency. You can find them in the “Add - Graphics” section.
We recommend choosing a template that simply suits your type of site. The topic is not very important. Then you can change it beyond recognition, not limiting yourself to just replacing demo texts and pictures. If you are in doubt about your choice, you can look examples of ready-made custom websites in the appropriate section. Look at the examples and get inspired. On each such site, a sign pops up indicating the stock template on which the site is based. Perhaps by understanding what other people do and how they do it, it will be easier for you to choose. Or better understand what you are striving for and what you can focus on.
In addition, you can go straight to newly added or popular templates, which will also help make your choice easier. They are all free , take any and use it. But you should choose wisely: once you make a decision, you won’t be able to change the design. That's probably good. If the huge Wix audience starts changing the designs on their sites every other day, what will happen to their at least conditional uniqueness? Although nothing will stop you from changing the template in the editor beyond recognition. In terms of the range and design of Wix templates, perhaps has no direct competitors . It contains a huge foundation for the implementation of the ideas of creative people. He's the best at this. Solid 5.
Functionality
Wix is great for creating business cards and landing pages. It also works well for blogs and stores. You will be taken to the site editor immediately after selecting a template. The administrative panel makes a very pleasant impression and arouses interest. I want to look at it, rummage through the numerous and well-ordered settings.
Wix provides an impressive number of possibilities. Visual editor , everything is done through drag-n-drop, but it is far from the simplest in its class. You will have to get used to it due to the abundance of opportunities and necessity manual settings block boundaries. You need to get used to it and fiddle a little so that the added elements look organic, do not overlap one another, etc. But she herself The administrative panel is pleasing to the eye: beautiful, intuitive, and chock full of useful features.
We see no point in listing trivial functions. It is clear that here you can create pages, insert texts, pictures, make headings, etc. This is important, of course, but not interesting. This should be and is everywhere. Let's better focus on the most colorful functionality:
Wix allows put a video on the background of the site . It looks as expected as impressive. For this purpose, you can download any video from your PC or select one from the designer’s extensive library. Playback speed and effects are customizable.
You can apply the parallax effect to the background, which will give it depth and some three-dimensional perception. The bottom line is that when scrolling a page, the movement of distant objects slows down in relation to those located nearby. Looks great. In addition to the classic parallax effect, you can choose one of three types of it: with magnification, opening or development. It looks bright and fresh, although the idea of this effect itself is far from new. This is also found in uKit and, perhaps, nowhere else. We do not recommend mixing all types of parallax on one page - this will ruin the picture, choose one. You can also customize layers by moving some elements underneath others. You can turn on transparency, adjust dimensions, rotation, etc. All together this allows you to do interesting things with design.
We've all seen widescreen strips on websites. Most often they can be found on landing pages. They separate the blocks, elegantly highlighting the transitions from one section to another. Wix also has such stripes. You can change the background (photo, video, color), height, etc. In fact, with just one of these stripes you can compose a website, filling them with various content, assigning your own background to each (for example, alternating dark and light areas looks interesting) and so on.
It consists of 3 categories of tools: communication, social networks, online store. This is another gem of the platform. You can find a lot of interesting things here: online payment systems, consultants, galleries, forms, players, social network widgets, etc. There is plenty to choose from. We liked the set.
Anchor menus. If you are going to create a long one-page website, this function will be very useful. You can place a menu on it that floats while scrolling, the items of which will link to specified areas of the page. Very convenient and beautiful navigation.
High degree of customization of elements. You can customize individual button designs, block layouts, page numbering, description formats, and much more. Almost everything that the eye falls on. Everywhere there is an opportunity to use both ready-made options and create your own. If only you have enough imagination, a lot can be realized.
Shop. It is very well organized. Yes, you are unlikely to build a megamarket on Wix, but a high-quality medium-sized trading platform is easy. You can set up payment methods (online payment acceptance is available), delivery methods, discount coupons, taxes, etc. The display window looks good and it’s convenient to work with products/orders. You can use it, but keep in mind: you will have to add all products manually one at a time - there is no import from CSV here.
Ability to add a variety of boxes. Create banners, signs, containers of any shapes and colors. They can contain a variety of content. Quite an interesting and useful opportunity.
Those who need the ability to make online appointments on the website (stylist services, doctor services, trainings, etc.) or book visitors places (hotels, apartment rentals, etc.) can use the convenient Wix Bookings app. With its help, you can set up calendars, schedules, add services, work with CRM based on requests, etc. A related application is Wix Events, which allows you to announce events, accept applications for participation, register users, keep track of the guest list, and so on. In general, a significant part of the designer’s capabilities is contained in applications (we can call them modules, by analogy with other systems), we recommend their active use.
Of course, Wix allows you to connect analytics, configure SEO in detail , redirection, put a favicon, etc. Among other things, you can edit the desktop and mobile version project, adjust the alignment of elements, site boundaries and much more. It's too long to list. Also, for each section there is a detailed FAQ at hand (the “?” sign) - you won’t get confused.
The highlight of the engine is the built-in application store (AppMarket) , which contains a huge number of widgets for all occasions. For example, you can use them to add pop-ups with any content (“wait, you forgot to get a discount” or “only today we have tra-ta-ta”) or beautiful text animations. You can add your music for sale via Wix Music or online broadcasts of various TV channels. You can also set up mailings, create discount cards, connect social media widgets, publish surveys to collect customer information, sell subscriptions to digital goods and much, much more. The total number of applications is more than 150 titles. There are interactive calendars with which clients can make appointments, order services, etc. You can add flash animations, banners, all sorts of graphics, presentations and much more. Let’s summarize this: if you haven’t found a widget that is responsible for implementing the required feature, then most likely you just didn’t look well.
Among other things, the engine provides wide Opportunities for working with blogs and social networks . Here you can connect the ability to comment through most popular social networks (VKontakte, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.), set up a tagging system for quick search information, add videos, photos and music from popular resources and much more.
A rather significant advantage is the competent implementation of the ability to create multilingual websites. It is implemented as a separate application "Wix Multilingual" ("Wix Multilingual"), which can be found in the settings of the control panel. Select the country, check the box, after which the system will automatically create a copy of the site for this language. You will receive an interface in which you can translate standard elements of templates, applications, and more. Translations of text materials, of course, will have to be done and added manually. A language switcher will appear at the top of the site, which can be added as many as you like. This makes the engine suitable for implementing representative offices of international companies and language localizations within one country.
Wix also contains unique functionality that is currently unmatched by competitors. We are talking, first of all, about Wix ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) – a fundamentally easy-to-use system for creating websites based on information provided by the user. Instead of searching and selecting a template, customizing general parameters website and design edits, you just need to consistently answer several questions from the system: what niche the business belongs to, what it’s called, what functionality is needed (choice from the list), and the geographic location of the company.
After entering Wix data will think for a minute, scanning the Web in search of references to the client company, and then display the result. The algorithm automatically builds the design and structure of the site based on information received from you and from the Internet. Also in the analysis process, the customer base of Wix sites plays a significant role, because it helps the algorithm determine what is suitable for use in a given project. As a result, the user receives a website with a ready-made design good quality and even partially filled with content if the business is present in social networks or on other resources.
Of course, in terms of content, this will be a damp option. It’s clear that you can’t use non-unique texts one after another. However, the structure and design of the site will be selected successfully and without your participation. And individually selected demo content will help you better evaluate the result and understand what and how to fill out for the best display. The design can be adjusted if desired using the standard Wix visual editor. That is, you can work with a Wix ADI project in the same way as with any other site in the system. This is just an alternative to the traditional way automatic generation sites.
Wix ADI is a new feature that... at the moment is being tested on the Western market. It is not yet available in the Russian version of the site builder. You can test how this thing works by selecting English language in your profile and start creating a new site (a fork will appear - Wix ADI or select a template). Probably, the Russian version will be delivered later.
Another interesting feature with no analogues on the market is Wix Corvid. It is a comprehensive platform for accelerated development of web applications and interaction with databases. It seems that with its help, the developers decided to dissolve the framework that any WYSIWYG system has by default - a set of widgets, tools for customizing them and the structure of the site. From now on, the user can create functionality individually to suit his needs. We are talking about an interface that allows you to build the logic of behavior and a set of components of a future application from ready-made elements. Let's say you can create a database of pictures arranged in a gallery, and then place them in 1 click anywhere instead of manually selecting them. Or create new effects and assign them to individual website elements. All this will help achieve unprecedented flexibility of functionality. The areas of application are different - from e-commerce to scheduling meetings, systematizing user data, tracking their actions and related SEO optimization. The expandability is impressive; you can create complex structures with complex connections between them and connect them to your sites.
And with the help of applications (there are about 300 of them), you can, for example, place a Wix storefront on Facebook, publish voice reviews of customers about your company, or publish 360-degree images, which is convenient for hotel owners, realtors and many others. There are applications for beautiful design events (posters, ordering and purchasing tickets, reservations), restaurant, hotel business, airlines and travel agencies. For marketing and SEO, this is just a Klondike: optimizations, mailings, boosters, pop-ups, banners and everything else like that. At the same time, all these things look good and really have an effect.
Wix is a powerful platform for creating business websites. The developers combined tools for interacting with visitors, automating actions, and numerous marketing tools into a common concept, calling it Wix Ascend. The idea is that a single interface implements the full cycle of the sales process and everything connected with them: CRM, messenger, mailings, the ability to issue invoices directly in chat, a competent system of notifications and task planning, work with mail, sales channels on social networks , creation of banners, advertising videos, SEO optimization and much more. All this turns the site control panel into a very convenient and technically advanced office of a modern entrepreneur.
If you want to work in a team, you can easily add co-authors to the site . This is done by simply attaching the mail of the necessary people. As a result, filling the site will go much faster. Contributors cannot view billing data or make significant changes to the site. This is intended for security reasons. Editing content, adding pages - yes. There is also the possibility of invoicing clients, setting up manual and automatic email distribution, as well as separate functionality for hotel owners. You will be able to book rooms in a convenient manner.
Also you can publish password-protected pages , which can only be seen by certain categories of users or those who receive a link to them from you. Wix allows you to conveniently manage contacts from your client database, copy a site, issue invoices, view the history of changes made to the site, and much more. There are a lot of possibilities. Surely, among them you can find the ideal set for the implementation of your tasks.
In terms of working with domains Wix doesn't have any surprises. After registration, you will receive a domain like username.wix.com/templatename for free. But to connect your own domain name, you need to buy a premium tariff.
This is neither bad nor good. Standard practice on most platforms. By the way, after connecting to a premium tariff (except for Connect Domain), the domain is given for 1 year free as a bonus.
The functionality and ergonomics of Wix were frankly pleasing. I liked everything without exception. There are a lot of possibilities and it’s nice to swim in them. Against the background of expressive advantages, obvious shortcomings are simply not visible. If they exist at all. Beautiful, convenient, friendly and powerful - these are the epithets that characterize the Wix editor. For this item, credit. The site builder is clearly striving to become an excellent student.
Optimization (SEO) and promotion
In terms of the availability of search engine optimization tools Wix looks great . Technically, it provides the same features as most site builders. No worse and no better. But the optimization settings interface very comfortable, friendly . It is aimed at people who don't understand much about SEO. Under each item there is a short description of what type of data it must be filled in. It's hard to get confused.
There is a special wizard available for each site through the item "Management" - "SEO-master". Here, after publishing the site (this can be done immediately and for free), you can go through several steps that will help you correctly position the project for search engines.
Also in the site editor in the “Pages” category you can and should manually configure SEO parameters for each page: title, description, keywords and CNC. It is also possible to hide individual pages from search robots, which is sometimes useful. What’s remarkable is that you can immediately see how your site will look in search results by clicking “search engine view.”
Don't forget the importance unique texts. They must correspond to the stated topic, be interesting to target visitors and SEO-optimized. We recommend choosing a list of 3-4 keywords for all pages using Yandex.Wordstat and place them evenly in the bodies of the pages. In the title/description (meta tags), also try to use niche words or the same keywords, while being concise and precise.
Also, do not forget that you can connect the SSL protocol to the site for free on any premium tariff. It's no secret that Google is more loyal to sites that have a secure connection (HTTPS). That is, connecting the protocol can be considered an element of the search engine optimization of the project. And in the eyes of users, HTTPS with a green padlock in the browser line inspires more trust by default. Not everyone knows what it really is, but it’s definitely “cooler” than usual. So take SSL into account, especially if you have a store. A connection security protocol is absolutely necessary in this case.
Try to use maximum available tools for website promotion , but don't overdo it. Everything should be appropriate and thought out. Without fanaticism. If you have a Youtube channel, find a reason to post some videos on your website. Or create one. In the video descriptions, be sure to include a link to your website so viewers can receive more detailed information.
And one more the most important moment- Wix Turbo. This is a set of technical and software optimizations of the engine and system servers to achieve significant acceleration of loading website pages. Extended coverage by data centers makes it possible to implement CDN - a technology for selecting the nearest server to load a site to visitors. This reduces latency, as does the use of high-quality layout in templates with the implementation of the latest Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) standards. Advanced caching technology and competent JavaScript processing also add speed to sites. As a result, all this leads to increased visitor comfort, an increase in average conversion rates, improved behavioral factors and, accordingly, has a very positive effect on the overall level of SEO optimization.
In general, Wix not only does not limit the possibilities effective promotion, but also creates comfortable conditions for it through a thoughtful and rich set of built-in tools. After publishing your site, do not forget to submit applications for indexing in Google and Yandex. This will speed up the process.
Pricing policy (prices for tariffs)
Although Wix can be used for free, we will not focus on this. In this case, the user will not be able to connect his own domain. It's not serious. Make a cool website in one of the best website builders and sit on an unreadable domain? No, it's nonsense, excuse me. If you really need free site , then it's better look to the side uCoz. It will allow you to publish and start promoting a full-fledged project by attaching your domain to it, already at the Free tariff.
At Wix, it only makes sense to talk about paid packages. There are four in total:
- Connect domain (123₽/month) - does not delete Wix advertising, but allows you to connect your domain. Gives 500 MB of disk space;
- Combo (249₽/month) - 3 GB of space and throughput in 2 GB;
- Unlimited (375₽/month) - removes advertising, gives 10 GB of disk space, unlimited website bandwidth, and a $75 Google AdWords voucher;
- eCommerce (488₽/month) - 20 GB of space, 10 GB of website bandwidth and a shopping cart.
Wix is a gorgeous builder that skillfully masks the limitations caused by using a widget system and a visual editor with a huge range of features. The system has taken the path of increasing strength and versatility. The Wix store looks great, the blog looks great, the business card looks great. The platform even allows you to create forums, which is very rare for designers.
Sitebuilder is more than usable, if you do not take into account minor oddities. Wix's disadvantages are minor. Even the cost can be significantly reduced by acting wisely. The main problem of the system is the existence of other strong players in the market. It's hard to find an alternative to Wix in his class, but still possible (). uKit on business cards and landing pages can easily compete with it due to quality, extreme simplicity and convenience. It's a matter of wallet and taste.
Wix is an interesting engine, to put it mildly. Without a doubt one of the best. If I had to describe it in one word, “spectacular” would do. It is very well suited for high-quality presentation of graphic content, and in itself it looks aesthetically pleasing and expensive.
Wix is constantly updated with new templates and features. This is one of the most promising designers today. You are unlikely to be able to create a social network or dating site on it, but any site of average size and complexity of structure is easy. The result is very attractive and relatively simple to achieve. We recommend this service Please take a look, you won’t regret the time spent!
