2017 Wix ADI Review: Expert Rating (3.5/5.0 Stars)
It’s easier now than ever to build a website online. You don’t even need to know anything about code or what HTML is. This means that making a DIY website that actually looks professional and stylish is an easy reality. And there are many different platforms to choose from to build yours on.
Wix is one of the most popular companies that makes it quick and easy to build a website. They have a pretty well-known brand and a large following. Like a lot of other website builders, they have great drag and drop features and make designing a stunning website quick and painless.
Have Your Blog Up & Running In 20 Minutes or Less!
My Free Step-By-Step Guide Will Get Your Blog Up & Running 20 Minutes Or Less
But you may be wondering, is Wix a good website builder for you? I’ve put together some Wix website builder reviews for you to see exactly how it stacks up. And then you can decide if it fits your needs or not.
Ratings
Wix Review
Wix is one of the most popular website builders, and it’s because of the quality and dedication that they show to providing a great service with a lot of convenience. For people who need simple solutions to creating a website and don’t have a good knowledge of coding, Wix is a great company. They have an all-in-one platform, making it simpler than ever to get a website up.
Using their platform, you can build the website of your dreams very easily and in a matter of a few short hours. It’s great for anyone looking for convenience and fast setup without a lot of backend control. But despite the convenience, it does have some drawbacks and limitations, which is why I only gave it 3.5 stars for my review.
For DIY website builders, Wix is a fantastic platform that makes website building a snap. And you don’t have to worry about any of the technical bits getting in the way. That being said, many professionals speak badly of Wix because of its lack of options and control. That’s not really a good thing or a bad thing, though depending on who you are. Their service is mostly good for someone who needs a website built now with little hassle and doesn’t fuss much over the control and hosting.
That’s not really a good thing or a bad thing, though depending on who you are. Their service is mostly good for someone who needs a website built now with little hassle and doesn’t fuss much over the control and hosting.
There are of course limitations that come with an all-in-one website builder like Wix. You don't have as much control over things as you might like and there may be some limitations on the plans that don't fit your needs. It really comes down to what you want more, convenience or control.
Pros
Obviously one of the major pros of using Wix is how easy it is to build a website using their program. Like most other website builders they have an intuitive drag and drop feature that allows you to easily create the design of your website. Unlike other companies, they use an approach called absolute positioning, which basically allows you to drop elements anywhere on the page without being limited to certain blocks and areas only.
Unlike other companies, they use an approach called absolute positioning, which basically allows you to drop elements anywhere on the page without being limited to certain blocks and areas only. And that makes it a unique way to build your website however you want. Although it can cause problems if you want to change your Wix theme later on or move to a different platform.
The pricing plans that Wix offers are pretty good. And they do have a free plan, which will suit very basic needs. They are pretty proud of the fact that you can build a website with them for free, and they emphasize that everyone should be able to create a beautiful website for free. And a lot of Wix reviews talk up their free plan but, as you’ll learn later on, just because it’s free it doesn't mean you’re getting everything you need.
However, the free plan does include a lot of nice features, such as free hosting, free domain, 500 MG of storage, and 1GB bandwidth. For a complete beginner, these features might be enough for their website when it's just starting out. The premium packages have more features and incentives added on.
Depending on how big your website will be and how much space you’ll need, the plans range in price with varying features and limitations. But the prices are still relatively affordable. And they have pretty good bundles that make getting everything setup easy and fast.
They may not be known for the most well-designed control panel, but it is simple and easy to navigate so it get’s the job done. They have simple drag and drop tools to make building your site intuitive and straightforward. And a lot can be accomplished with their free plan. Watch this video to see how easy it is to build a great looking website with Wix.
Additionally, they have a fairly good onboarding system that includes email tutorials on getting your website setup. As soon as you sign up for a website with them, you'll get an email to log in and get started building your site. So you don't waste any time getting things going.
Plus they walk you through a lot of the features and options that you have available. They basically tell you everything you need to do from start to finish and they hold your hand along the way. This is a nice bonus for someone who is completely new to building a website and doesn’t know where to start.
They offer a good range of design templates that are modern and easy to modify. Although their designs may not be the most trendy or cutting edge, they are still well-built and can make your website look professional in a hurry. You also have the ability to customize and edit the pre-built templates to your liking.
Because Wix is an all-in-one solution, you get the benefit of having servers that are specialized for Wix websites. So you know those servers are built to be the most effective for your website. However, you don't have any control over those servers or the backend of your site.
They are always introducing new features to make sure that customers are getting the most use and best service out of their platform. They want to make it as easy to use as possible and help users get more done efficiently, so they are always coming up with new ways to improve on that.
Also, they have a good customer service team and are dedicated to helping you fix any problems. And because they control the backend of your site, They can solve pretty much any problem for you if you don’t know what to do. That’s a nice feeling when you’re a complete beginner.
Cons
A downside of having your website on Wix is that you don’t have control over the server or hosting. It’s hosted on their platform so you don’t have as much power as you would if your site was self-hosted. Depending on your needs, there could be a better-priced plan out there for you.
Also, you’ll find that even though the pricing is reasonable, it’s not as affordable as other website builders or even hosting your website yourself. This may be something to consider when looking at the Wix hosting reviews and thinking about the long-term price of your site.
Although the website builder is easy to use, there are some limitations to the editing and designing of your site. You may not be able to make it exactly how you want it or get it just right. And it could still take you a good chunk of time to get your website to where you want it to be.
Wix also has tools to help you with email marketing and sending newsletters. Like other programs, you can create and send beautifully-designed newsletters to your email list directly from Wix. However, the capabilities are limited and you won't find as many features as a program that is designed solely for sending email marketing would have.
If you do happen to know some code and want to do a little tweaking yourself, Wix unfortunately doesn't allow you to access any of the code of your website. This can be frustrating for some who would like to be able to make more advanced changes. That's why Wix is ideal for people who really have no clue about any of the technical parts of a website and just want something pretty and fast.
Also, while you do get a free domain with Wix's free plan, the domain will still display something like "www.wixusername.wix.com/site" so it won't be a fully customized domain name. And the free sites will have a Wix ad banner at the top of the screen. Those two things alone could be major deterrents when deciding to go with Wix.
Again the convenience of Wix is something that a lot of people are looking for, but if you are someone who wants more control, you will most likely be disappointed. And while they do provide a lot of additional features, if you want to add on something that they don’t have it will be difficult. Things like tracking tools and marketing tools may be hard to come by.
Like you may find in other Wix website reviews, another huge drawback is the fact that you can't export data from your website. Meaning it will be pretty difficult to move your website in the future. You would have to copy and paste manually all that data, and that doesn’t sound like much fun. It’s fine if you have a small site that you don’t plan on moving, but it’s just another thing to consider.
Other Product Features
Convenience is the number one feature of Wix and the main reason it gets so many positive reviews of Wix. They also have been incorporating some e-commerce features, like a shopping cart and accepting payments. And they do have decent on-page SEO tools, but I certainly would not rank it high from an SEO standpoint. It get’s the job done, but I don’t think it is the best solution.
In addition, they do provide apps to help make your website perform better. But many users have found these apps to be limited and not fully integrative. It’s not a make or break it kind of thing, but something to think about if deciding if Wix is right for you.
You should also note that Wix is completely cloud hosted, making it easy to access your website online. And you don't have to worry about installing any kind of software to start using Wix.
Another cool thing that I think is worth mentioning is that they have created Wix ADI, an artificial design intelligence that basically builds your website for you automatically. This is another testament to their continued efforts to allows be improving and staying a leader in their industry.
If you already have a website, Wix ADI will extract information and basically automatically creates a first version of your website for you. It's pretty interesting stuff, although it's not quite perfected yet. They are continually working on it though to keep improving upon it.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for an easy way to build your website with no fuss, this is definitely one of the top brands. The intuitive drag and drop feature and wide selection of page designs to choose from makes it a piece of cake to create a great website in no time at all.
The page templates that they offer are also another reason that Wix is a good option to build your website on. And editing those templates is relatively easy. I also appreciate their efforts to integrate e-commerce into their sites, although they are not a full e-commerce platform.
Their plans offer a good choice to just about anyone at any stage of their website, but there are some limitations. Because of its lack in functionality and design elements, it may not be the best option for everyone. But it could work if you just need the bare minimum of features and a well-designed website quickly and at an affordable price.
Have Your Blog Up & Running In 20 Minutes or Less!
Get My Free Step-By-Step Guide Will Get Your Blog Up & Running 20 Minutes Or Less