Set up wix website for customers to download file

Wix is used by over 100 million people across 190 different countries. It’s an affordable, easy and hassle-free way of creating your own website in a matter of minutes.

Building your own website used to be something only whizkid coders could do. Or people who were rich enough to pay whizkid coders to do it for them!

But thanks to Wix, now everyone can create a website of their own. Whatever your skill level, Wix’s powerful template editor gives you full creative control – without needing to know a word of code.

If you have a look at some of the website examples that are created by Wix, they’re beautiful and professional.

Wix isn’t the only drag-and-drop website builder, of course. But it’s the best in the world today.

Why do we think that? First off, it covers hundreds of industries – many more than any other website builder. Just check out what it’s got for…

No matter what your niche is, you’ll find Wix templates, tools and apps to match.Dog walkers?Success coaches?Internet stars?? It’s easier to say what industries Wix doesn’t cover!

Since launching in 2006, Wix has swiftly established itself as the market’s leading website builder. Before we get our teeth into this review of Wix, though, let’s take a step back and explain what a website builder actually is:

A website builder is an online platform that helps you create your own website, without coding.

There are two main types of website builders – the classic template-based platforms, and the more modern AI (Artificial Intelligence) platforms.

A classic website builder lets you pick from a vast range of pre-designed templates. You can then easily customize the template and populate it with all your own content, adding in useful features as you go.

AI website builders work by asking you a series of questions, like the type of website you’d like, and your design preferences. After that, it creates a website for you. You can still make some tweaks to the design, but this approach is really for people who need a simple website up fast.

Wix is a classic template website builder and an AI platform rolled into one. You can choose from over 500 industry-specific templates and make use of its incredible drag-and-drop editor. Or if you’d prefer, use Wix ADI and let Wix design a website for you!

Wix comes with a big reputation, but here at Website Builder Expert, it’s our job to scratch beneath the surface and tell you exactly how good it is. Unlike many Wix reviews, we conduct our own thorough research and testing to bring you expert analysis.

Throughout this review of Wix, you’ll learn about its strengths and weaknesses, how suitable Wix is for different types of websites, and how it fared when we put it through its paces.

Whether you’re a computer whiz or just have a grasp of the basics, Wix is fast and easy to use for everyone – including WBE’s own writers Hannah and Dan, who’ve spent countless hours testing this builder out themselves. See what they have to say about Wix below:

Wix is the only website builder to earn a perfect 5/5 customer score in our research. We calculate this score by asking real users just how easy a builder is to use, and whether they would recommend a builder to their friends.

We reached out to various Wix users for insight into their own experience of using the website builder to create and grow their online businesses.

USER REVIEW: CLOUD NINE KNITS

“I highly recommend Wix to every small business owner I meet, for its ease of use, centralized business functions and for the convenience of being able to manage it all from my phone.”

Inspired by her passion for knitting, Sara started her small business, Cloud Nine Knits, to teach people across the UK how to crochet and arm knit using giant yarn. Sara created her website because she needed a place online where she could manage bookings for her workshops, as well as sell a small selection of handmade knitted products.

Why did you decide to build a website yourself?

I have a background in IT and Operations so I figured it couldn’t be that hard. Then Wix proved me right.

Why did you choose Wix to build your website?

After struggling with another website builder in the past and feeling limited by its templates, I turned to Wix because of its claim of simplicity. I instantly loved the Wix Editor, which gave me professional results with zero coding knowledge. SEO Wiz gave me the peace of mind I had that handled (and my stats tell me it’s working!). And I was attracted by the Ascend by Wix, an all-in-one business solution, whose features allow me to centralise most of my business functions.

How long did it take you to build your website?

It took a couple of hours to get the main pages as I wanted them. That was the easy part. Then it took a few more days of tweaking and rewriting my own content – being a perfectionist can be time consuming!

How easy was it to build your website?

I found Wix super intuitive. I chose to have a bit of design freedom using the Wix Editor (rather than use a template), and the drag and drop features made it so simple to start building out the pages. I loved how I could toggle through layouts and design features and see them update on screen, until finally selecting the one I liked best. The Wix apps made the process of adding instant functionality to my site a breeze too, such as Wix Bookings. I had my bookings page live within about 45 minutes of dragging the app onto the page.

Is there anything you’d improve about Wix?

I’d love there to be a little more functionality within the booking system: for example, being able to give my customers specific options, such as letting them pick their yarn colour from a list of options prior workshop.

How has having a website benefited your business?

It is the central hub for my business. I’d be lost without it and my business far less a success! I use it to take all bookings, sell products, manage my customer community, share video tutorials, send invoices and manage payments, run email marketing campaigns and track visitors to the site in real time. And the most wonderful part is that I do it all (for the most part) from the Wix app on my phone, wherever I am.

USER REVIEW: NAZ & ELLA

“We found Wix very easy to build our website. It’s really simple and does a lot of the legwork for you, such as providing pre-made templates and colour schemes.”

Ella plays guitar and sings backing vocals in her indie-folk band, Naz & Ella. The duo perform gigs in and around London, including functions at pubs and bars, as well as corporate events. Ella wanted a place online where she could promote her music, videos and gig dates to fans.

Why did you decide to build a website yourselves?

We decided to build a website ourselves as we didn’t have the money to pay a web designer/developer. We try and do as much ourselves as possible.

Why did you choose Wix to build your website?

We chose Wix to build our website as we had heard from other musicians in a similar position to us that it’s a good, easy-to-use platform for building a site. We also looked at reviews and Wix sounded right for what we were looking for.

What do you like most about Wix?

What I like most about Wix is the ease and speed at which you can create an attractive, professional-looking website. As musicians, our website acts as a portfolio of our work, so we don’t need a super sophisticated website.

We have also used their blog and email marketing functions, which have really helped spread the word about us. It’s great to have an all-in-one platform for your site, blog and email marketing.

Is there anything you’d improve about Wix?

I think one improvement Wix could make would be to sort out the glitches and slow loading time. It sometimes struggles when editing – an error message pops up and you are forced to refresh the page mid-design, which can be really frustrating.

How has having a website benefited your band?

Getting online has absolutely helped us to grow our band. It’s made us look a lot more professional when emailing people to book gigs and has given us a platform to share our content and grow awareness of our music. We’ve also had people get in touch who have found our site naturally through Google searches.

Would you recommend Wix to others?

I would definitely recommend Wix to other creatives and freelancers who want to build a simple portfolio or a simple small business website. It’s an easy-to-use way to build a nice website fast.

USER REVIEW: THE VEGAN BAKES

“I love how simple it is to navigate and create beautiful sites. I wanted a minimal, modern and professional looking site and this was so easy to create on Wix.”

Claudia runs The Vegan Bakes from her kitchen at home. She launched her business after turning vegan and struggling to get hold of any tasty vegan treats. Believing no one should have to miss out on a little indulgence, Claudia chose to create a Wix online store to sell and ship her brownies, cookies, and cakes to customers all over the UK.

Why did you decide to build a website yourself?

I decided to build a website myself as I’d already previously made one on Wix for a wedding planning business, and loved how easy and user friendly it was. I was also trying to keep costs down when launching my vegan bakery as I didn’t have the money to spend on branding and website design. I also knew this way I could create it exactly how I wanted it to be and maintain/make changes whenever necessary.

Why did you choose Wix to build your website?

Wix was the first platform after WordPress that I tried and I loved how easy it was to use. I had a look at Squarespace too as I know a lot of people use it, but I struggled to get to grips with it so stuck with Wix.

How easy was it to build your website?

Wix is super easy to use, it almost reminds me of using Microsoft Word as it uses a simple drag-and-drop system. This means you can select any of the features and drag them to where you need to create the design of your website.

What did you find the most challenging when building your website with Wix ?

I wanted to add a subscription option to my website to allow people to get boxes of brownies and cookies delivered to their door each month! Initially when I was looking this option wasn’t available, but I got creative and managed to use an app to create the subscription functionality.

Do you think Wix is good value for money?

I think Wix is pretty affordable for what it is. I paid a one off payment for the year and it works out a low price per month.

Would you recommend Wix to others?

I would definitely recommend Wix to anyone looking to create their own website at a low cost. It’s so straightforward to use and you can personalize every part of your site.

We asked lots of everyday people to give Wix a try and tell us what they thought.

The feedback we got speaks for itself – people loved Wix! Here are just a couple of their thoughts:

“I was genuinely surprised that making a website could be done that quickly. I didn’t think that it would all get done, but in an hour, I’ve done everything.”

“Once I’d got to grips with it, it became really easy. I can see myself definitely using Wix to actually create my own personal website.”

With Wix, you have two choices – Wix ADI or Wix Editor. Wix ADI designs your website for you, based on your answers to a few questions. You can make edits to the final design, but this process is not ideal if you want total control. On the other hand, Wix Editor uses drag-and-drop functionality, meaning anything on your website can be repositioned simply by clicking and holding the item, then moving it where you want.

Wix scored an impressive 4.3/5 in our research for ease of use, and we were particularly impressed with how quickly you can create a site with its drag-and-drop editor.

For those who are a little more tech savvy, you can also use Wix Code. This lets you access and edit the raw HTML behind your template for even greater customization. Using Wix Code is by no means essential, but the option’s there if you want to dig a little deeper.

Customer Satisfaction

After everyone finished testing Wix, we asked them if they’d recommend it.. Well, the results are in – and they’re glowing.

A massive 88% of people who used it would highly recommend Wix to a friend.

To put that score into some context for you, that recommendation is:

• 24% higher than Weebly’s
• 20% higher than Squarespace’s
• 12% higher than GoDaddy’s.

People loved the freedom Wix gave them when editing, and just how easy it was to drag and drop things around their website. They were also amazed at just how quickly they could create something they’d be happy to publish online.

The only criticism people had was that to begin with, Wix can feel overwhelming. There’s so much choice – in templates, features and customization – that it takes a few minutes to settle into the platform.

For pure ease of use and creative control, though, Wix is unrivalled.

Further Reading

Wix Editor vs Wix ADI – A detailed breakdown of the key differences between Wix’s website building options.

We’ve determined that Wix is the best overall website builder, but is it right for you?

Depending on your needs, Wix could be just the answer you’re looking for. However, there may be another platform out there better suited for the job. Below, we’ll run through why people build websites, discuss what Wix is capable of, and suggest other options to Wix if we feel there are better out there.

Business

Business websites are Wix’s bread and butter. There are hundreds of templates to choose from, designed specifically for different industries. From handy services to advertising and marketing, real estate to finance and law, everything is covered.

Wix also has a whole host of amazing business features – like subscription forms, appointment bookings and email marketing – and an app market bursting with amazing add-ons.

Ecommerce

If you’re looking to start selling online, Wix eCommerce has you covered. Create your own stunning online store with ease and speed using Wix Editor or Wix ADI.

Wix lets you sell an unlimited amount of products – whether physical, digital, or service-based. You can also create discount and promotional codes, control your shipping options, and even manage your store on the go through its mobile app. The mobile app in particular is an asset, since mobile commerce is expected to account for 45% of the US ecommerce market by 2020.

If you want to take your online store to the next level, we’d recommend using a Wix app called Ecwid. This gives you access to guest checkouts, inventory tracking, social commerce and more.

Wix has also put a lot of energy into making its ecommerce analytics much more powerful. Through its dashboard store analytics you can now access in-house data to rival that of dedicated ecommerce platforms.

That said, if you’re generating six-figure monthly profits and need a powerful platform capable of managing bulk orders and scaling with you, look at either Shopify or BigCommerce. These are ecommerce website builders designed solely for building online stores.

Personal

Personal websites are another strength of Wix’s. Whether you need a site for an event (like your wedding), a portfolio to showcase your work, or even just an online résumé, Wix has you covered.

There are templates for almost everything imaginable, and with Wix’s intuitive editor, you can really get your personality across.

However, if you’re in a creative field – such as photography, art or graphics – you may be better off using Squarespace. Its templates are beautiful, and cater better to those areas.

Blogging

Wix provides more than enough features for you to create a fantastic blog. That said, if you need a website solely for blogging, there are better options out there.

Wix allows you to create blog posts, separate them into categories, and even add a comments section and search bar for your users. Perfect if you want a blogging section on your site – and most of us do, since companies with blogs generate 55% more website visits than those without.

For a more rounded experience, though, you can’t look past Weebly. Weebly’s blogging features are excellent, and they’re used by some very well-established bloggers. For more on Weebly, read our expert review here.

Scalability

When speaking to our users, some expressed concern about whether you could outgrow a Wix website. In all honesty though, unless your website’s going to become a global, household name, Wix has more than enough about it to scale with you.

Wix’s app market is great, and is always releasing new, exciting add-ons that will enhance its websites – either in terms of the functions it can perform, or the quality of existing ones.

As mentioned, if you need a big, powerful ecommerce website, Wix may not be the best fit. Otherwise, Wix’s developers are constantly improving the platform, and it keeps pace with almost every need.

94% of first impressions relate to a website’s design, which means stellar templates are a must.

Wix’s templates all look like designer websites. There are hundreds to choose from, and the designs are bang up to date with the latest trends.

Any of them can give your site the stylish, professional look it needs – even if you have no design or coding skills at all.

All Wix templates are categorized into types of websites – such as business, blogging, photography etc – and are completely mobile responsive. This means your website will adjust automatically to fit both mobile and tablet screen sizes.

One downside to using Wix is that you can’t switch templates after your site has been published online. Make sure you don’t rush to pick a favorite template – if you switch templates later on, you’ll lose your content and customizations.

If that’s a deal breaker for you, you may prefer Squarespace. Squarespace’s templates are less flexible than Wix’s, but you can switch between them whenever you want.

We sat down with an industry-leading web design expert to get their opinion on Wix’s templates compared to other top platforms out there. Here’s what they had to say:

“I like Wix because it has these coherent features that run down the page. It’s the only website builder that has a sense of personality, although Weebly and Squarespace probably follow more consistent design patterns”

Design Customization

Wix’s templates are ready-made websites in their own right. You can keep the dummy content and publish right away if you want, but to make a site your own, you’ll need to do some editing.

Wix makes basic tweaks very easy. For example, to edit text, just click the dummy text and type away. Changing its size is also a simple matter of dragging a slider:

It’s also simple to upload content from your laptop or other online accounts, such as Facebook or Instagram.

When you start getting more creative, Wix really comes into its own. You’ll soon find you can really turn that template into something special.

The animation button is a great example. You can bring almost any feature to life – heading, photo, menu or whatever – by making it zoom, fade out, or even spin onto the page.

Wix also has hundreds of additional site features, which you can add by dragging them onto the template.

You can add blogs, restaurant menus, contact forms, music players, maps, interactive slideshows, video backgrounds… much more than we have room to list here!

Once you’ve added extra features, most can be customized by changing their size and behavior, or adding effects like animation.

Wix offers a huge library of professional photos, graphics and videos, all free to use on your site. Wix’s free media content can save you tons of time and decision-making.

While its templates and features steal the show, it’s Wix’s tools that keep things ticking over behind the scenes – in fact, Wix earns a 4.0/5 in our research for features.

We’d be here all day if we wanted to list everysingle one of Wix’s tools. So, we’ve picked out some of the most important ones for you to consider.

App Market

Wix’s built-in tools are excellent, but they can’t quite do everything. Fortunately, if there’s something they can’t do, there’s probably a Wix app that can.

Wix App Market contains hundreds of third-party site features that make your website do more, better.

Basically, what this means is that there are certain tools that Wix does not provide you as part of its core services, so to fill this void, Wix provides you with 1-click, hassle-free installation of tools made by external services providers.

Wix apps are like the ‘plugins’ you can add to WordPress, or the ‘extensions’ you can add to Chrome; different names, basically the same thing.

Serving the Wix website owners is our number one priority. Our goal is to offer a wide choice of apps that provide the popular and niche features Wix users have been asking for or that address current and future market trends. – Avishai Abrahami, Wix CEO & Founder

Wix apps are very popular. Wix users are currently installing apps at a rate of 44,000 apps per day – that’s 16 million app installations per year!

Wix App Market includes useful integrations such as shopping carts, live chat widgets and marketing tools. A lot of these apps are completely free, although some offer you premium versions for a small monthly fee so that you can access even more functions.

Here are a couple of apps that we really rate: 

123FormBuilder 

123FormBuilder is a cloud-based software designed to work for any business and individual that need to collect data online and offline. Their flexible platform offers a variety of possibilities for creating any type of form, survey, questionnaire, quiz, poll, and even time-sheets.

Flip Books

If you produce printed materials (such as brochures or magazines) and want to show them off online too, this is the app for the job. Flip Books creates digital versions of all your best printed materials. Users can turn the virtual pages right on your site, without having to download a boring PDF. Free and Premium versions are available.

If you’re not sure what an app does, Wix App Market apps all come with descriptions, user reviews, and video demos. This means you’ll get a pretty good idea if an app’s right for you before decide to use it.

Help & Support

Wix earned a 5/5 in our research for help and support. That makes it our number one builder for customer service, and the only builder to score above 4.5/5.

The question mark buttons scattered throughout Wix’s editor are small in size, but mighty useful!

Each button opens up a box packed with clever tips about the tool it’s attached to, drawn from Wix’s huge Help Center. Some boxes even feature a video tutorial.

If you’re looking for a more personal touch, you can get in contact with Wix directly via email or phone from Monday to Thursday, 5am-5pm EST.

Wix doesn’t currently offer live chat support, but you can get your questions answered by contacting Wix directly on social media, or by a fellow user on Wix’s official forum.

Domains and Social Media Integration

If you sign up to any of Wix’s premium plans, you’ll get a custom domain name free for the first year. The renewal price is $16.89 annually, and you can also transfer an existing domain and connect it to your Wix site once you upgrade to a paid plan.

Connecting your website to your social media accounts is a great way of increasing engagement for both. Wix allows you to add social buttons, likes, shares, feeds, and follower counts into your website, so people can easily find and follow you anywhere – which is helpful, since 72% of online adults use social networking sites.

One thing Wix hasn’t cracked yet is multi-channel selling. Currently, you can’t sell products directly on social media or marketplaces like you can with Shopify and BigCommerce.

SEO

When it comes to SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Wix is one of the best website builders at helping you rank highly on Google with its built-in SEO tools. You can edit meta titles and descriptions, customize URLs, and even tweak header code.

There’s also a whole host of SEO apps available from Wix’s app market if you need guidance or keyword support. From our own SEO testing, only Weebly came close to Wix for how good its SEO offerings were.

Security, Backups and Restores

All Wix websites come with built-in SSL security certificates. SSL stands for ‘Secure Sockets Layer’, and all it really means is that your visitors will know the site they’re on is safe thanks to the little padlock icon that appears next to your URL.

To stop you tearing your hair out should anything go wrong, Wix also has a handy autosave feature. Multiple versions of your website will be backed up, so you can restore your website to a previous point in a matter of clicks. Phew!

Wix Ascend (Marketing)

As the name suggests, Ascend by Wix helps your business reach higher levels. It’s an all-in-one solution, letting you connect with customers, automate your workflow, and generally promote your business.

What makes Ascend so different? While Squarespace and Weebly have introduced more marketing tools, the Wix package is much more ambitious. It covers 20 product areas all in one place, including:

• Live chat
• Wix automations (like personalized messages and notifications)
• Email marketing
• Social media posts
• SEO

Like the sound of that? Ascend by Wix is available as a separate subscription, ranging from just $9 to $45 per month. Let’s take a look at what you can get on each plan below.