Website PlatformsWix review
The drag-anywhere website builder: the easiest on-ramp there is, with the trade-offs that come with it.
Is Wix right for you?
Wix is about as easy as building a website gets. You drag elements anywhere on the canvas, pick from a huge template library, and hosting, domain, and the rest live in one account. For someone with no technical help who just needs to be online, it removes almost every barrier.
That ease is the whole case for it, and it’s a real one. We’ve built on Wix, the sites came out fine, and plenty of small businesses run perfectly good ones today. Nobody should be talked out of a website that works.
The problem is what it competes against at the same price. The template system is mediocre beside Squarespace’s, the software feels bloated (sluggish and cluttered), and it has a knack for complicating straightforward things. None of that is disqualifying alone. Together, at that cost, it’s hard to argue for it over the alternatives.
Then there’s why you’ve heard of it. Wix advertises at a scale no other builder matches and turns up constantly in sponsored placements and paid reviews, so its share of the conversation is bought, not earned. The point that should weigh most is the quietest: Wix won’t let you export your site, so a low-commitment first step is a longer commitment than most platforms ask. Coming from a lot of custom website work, that’s why it’s the one we’d steer most people away from: fine as a first step, limiting as a foundation.
Questions about Wix
What people usually want to know before committing, answered the way we'd answer them on a call.
Why do I hear about Wix everywhere if you don't recommend it?
Because Wix markets harder than anyone else in this category. It advertises at enormous scale and turns up constantly in sponsored placements and paid reviews, so its visibility says little about how it compares. Much of what you'll read about website builders is bought. We earn nothing from Wix or from steering you elsewhere, which is the only reason to take our word over the louder version.
Is Wix actually bad?
No, and we'd rather be accurate than dramatic: we've used it, and the sites turned out fine. But it competes at the same price as builders we like considerably more. The template system is mediocre next to Squarespace's, the software feels bloated, and it makes simple things harder than they should be. Not bad, just consistently the weaker choice at the same cost.
Read the Squarespace reviewWhat's the real risk of starting on Wix?
Portability, and people discover it too late. Wix doesn't let you export your site, so a low-commitment first step is a longer commitment than most platforms ask for. If you might outgrow it, that matters more than any feature comparison: you're choosing where the rebuild starts from.
Is Wix a reasonable place to start if I'm brand new?
It's defensible, but it isn't what we'd pick. With no technical help and a need to be online this week, it removes nearly every barrier and you'll get something presentable. A couple of other builders do the same at similar cost, with better templates and no export problem. For the shortest path at the very beginning, we'd point you to Squarespace first.
Still deciding?
Not sure if Wix is the right call?
The tool is rarely the hard part; fitting it to what you've already got is. Five minutes with the concierge: honest fit, no pressure, and a real person follows up.
More Website Platforms
The rest of this shelf, if you're weighing your options.
Squarespace
Substack
Webflow
WordPressDisclosure: there's no affiliate link on this page. We don't earn anything if you sign up for Wix; it's here because it's good. Other tools in the toolkit do carry affiliate links, and each of those pages says so.