Wix pros and cons: an in-depth analysis based on 200 reviews

In the competitive world of business, having a strong online presence is crucial. This means having a website that sets you apart from the rest.

With numerous website builders available, each with its strengths and weaknesses, it can be challenging to determine the perfect fit for your business. While Wix is a great choice, thorough research is essential to ensure it meets your specific needs. That's why we've crafted this article - to evaluate the pros and cons of Wix and determine who it would be the ideal fit for.

What are the pros and cons of Wix?

To understand what people really think about the benefits and disadvantages of Wix, we analyzed 200 user reviews on the software directory site G2. Based on real user reviews, we summarized the main strengths and weaknesses.

In summary, Usability and User Experience (UX) take center stage as the most highly regarded aspect, highlighting Wix users' appreciation for a seamless and user-friendly experience. Additionally, the flexibility in design is another aspect that many Wix users find appealing. On the flip side, the limitations in customization options are frequently mentioned as a drawback of Wix, indicating that more seasoned website developers may desire greater control over the website code.

The reviews overwhelmingly showcase more praise than criticism, suggesting that users are generally more satisfied than dissatisfied. It is important to keep in mind that individuals who usually rate products on review platforms are either satisfied customers or extremely disappointed ones. This reminder is crucial when conducting a critical review, as it means that the voices of those who may have tried the product but ultimately opted for another service for various reasons may go unheard.

• Number of Wix reviews on G2: 1619 (as of September 2023)

• Number of reviews used in the analysis: 200

• Overall Rating on G2: 4.2/5

• Advantages found: 35

• Disadvantages found: 43

• Advantage mentions: 569

• Disadvantage mentions: 324

What are the benefits of Wix?

Wix stands out among its competitors with a range of impressive advantages. After analyzing 200 user reviews, it became clear that the platform's ease of use is at the forefront of its appeal.

From hundreds of customizable templates to a user-friendly drag-and-drop editor, Wix prioritizes simplicity and usability, making it an ideal choice for beginners. Affordability, a wide selection of extensions, and many built-in features further contribute to its popularity.

Data source: G2

The row chart above provides a comprehensive list of the attributes that users have mentioned as benefits of using Wix, organized based on their frequency of mentions.

Data source: G2

The pie chart above provides an overview of Wix's advantages, organized into different categories.

Usability and User Experience

The bubble chart provides a visual representation of the significance of different attributes within the Usability and User Experience category. It is evident from both the chart and the table that the six most mentioned attributes stand out, capturing more attention than the other attributes in this category. These six attributes also exhibit a level of similarity and synergy among them. For instance, attributes like Ease of use, Intuitive UI, and Beginner-friendly all contribute to the same value experience. The same can be observed for Drag-and-Drop Editor and No-code, highlighting their interconnectedness.

Data source: G2

Wix's overall user satisfaction is primarily influenced by attributes related to usability and user experience, as indicated by the highest total number of mentions (251) in this category. The attributes most frequently mentioned by users, such as "Ease of use," "Intuitive UI," and "Drag and drop editor," show that they value a platform that is simple and doesn't require extensive technical knowledge or training. The fact that users appreciate the "No-code" feature reinforces the idea that they value the ability to create websites without needing to have coding skills.

Even non-technical beginners can easily utilize Wix's editor thanks to its drag-and-drop building capabilities. You have a lot of creative freedom and flexibility because your template is easily customizable to look precisely as you want it to.

It is evident that a platform's usability is closely linked to its user interface. A simple and intuitive interface can significantly enhance the overall user experience, which is crucial for platforms aiming to cater to a diverse user base ranging from beginners to seasoned professionals.

Wix allowed me to build a website in a matter of a few hours because of its very easy-to-use interface and other functions.

Design and Customization

The bubble chart visually represents the significance of different attributes in the Design and Customization category. According to the chart and the table below, Wix users highly value Templates, with 36% of reviews mentioning its importance. It can be inferred that templates positively influence various factors in the Usability and User Experience category, particularly in terms of enabling a fast website-building process.

Data source: G2

In total, the Design and Customization category racks up 138 mentions. As mentioned, the attribute leading this category is Wix's Template library. With over 800 templates catering to various needs of business, e-commerce, and creative sites, Wix removes the need to start everything from scratch, emphasizing the importance of providing users a fast track to start their website-building journey.

The best thing about Wix is that it has the option to customize a website in many ways and it has a large collection of templates to make your work simple.

Furthermore, users appreciate the flexibility to tailor their sites according to their brand or personal preferences. Customizability, branding, and aesthetics play pivotal roles in this. For example, the mentions of "Stock images and graphics" suggest that users value having a library of design elements at their disposal.

Functionality and Features

The bubble chart shows the relative importance of individual attributes within the Functionality and Features category. As the chart and the table below reveal, mentions of attributes in this category are clearly more scattered.

However, we can identify certain themes within a category. First, "All-in-one" could include all the attributes listed below the category. We kept it as a separate attribute to make the analysis more detailed. Second, commerce tools, payments, and CRM could form a subcategory, indicating a comprehensive offering for online businesses. SEO tools, analytics, and domain hosting are relevant for all kinds of website owners (without underestimating their importance for businesses).

Data source: G2

With 118 mentions, this category underlines the importance of versatility. Users are looking for all-in-one solutions that offer a plethora of features to build a comprehensive website catering to their unique needs.

What I like the most about Wix is that it's so easy to use. It already has everything you need to start an online business. A pre-made shop, integrated payment processor tools, etc.

In general, Wix's features and extensions allow to build and manage a wide range of different types of websites in one place. It seems that for a large portion of users, great design capabilities are not enough anymore, especially for those aiming to run businesses online. And for a simpler operation, many people prefer a platform that covers all their needs rather than using multiple tools.

Moreover, attributes such as "Responsiveness and mobile-optimized websites" and "SEO tools" highlight the users' awareness of modern web standards and best practices.

Support and resources

Data source: G2

Accumulating 13 mentions, support, and resources emphasizes the importance of a supportive ecosystem surrounding a platform. Users value platforms that provide comprehensive and fast support, helping them to overcome their issues.

It (Wix) has first-class customer support. You can contact them through the knowledge base on their website, live chat or by phone. In case any problem arises, you can get assistance quickly this way.

Several reviews also mention updates as an important advantage of Wix, suggesting that users appreciate Wix's commitment to continuous improvement.

Affordability

Data source: G2

With 32 mentions in total, Wix's affordability highlights the significance of cost-effectiveness for users. While users are keen on leveraging a feature-rich platform, they also want it to be economically viable. Affordability often goes hand-in-hand with perceived value; users are willing to invest in a platform if they perceive it offers substantial value for its price.

I was thinking for other non code options but found this application affordable compared to them.

Wix offers a Free plan with limited features, which makes it risk-free to get started. However, as the website owner's needs grow, premium plan prices start at $10 per month. Wix's Core plan costs $20 per month and already includes a comprehensive set of functionalities to run a business, which is not a bad deal at all in relation to what it includes.

Misc

Data source: G2

What are the disadvantages of Wix?

Although Wix users are, on average, more satisfied than dissatisfied, the platform is not perfect either. It is noteworthy that the number of positive reviews is higher, but the reviews are more concentrated on specific aspects of the product. In contrast, the negative reviews are spread over a wider range of areas. Of course, this is subject to my subjective view on the categorization of the different features.

Data source: G2

The row chart above provides a comprehensive list of the attributes that users have mentioned as disadvantages of using Wix, organized based on their frequency of mentions.

Data source: G2

The pie chart above provides an overview of Wix's disadvantages, organized into different categories.

Limited Customization Flexibility

The bubble chart shows the relative importance of individual attributes within the Limited Customization Flexibility category.

A significant chunk of user dissatisfaction stems from the perceived lack of customization and flexibility that Wix offers, although many users see this as one of the biggest advantages of Wix. This shows that finding a balance and serving several customer personas at the same time is sometimes a challenge, even for a company as big as Wix. If I had to guess, the customers who find the customization options limited are either more experienced website developers or are not willing to pay for certain features found in Wix's premium plans.

Data source: G2

Being able to tailor a website to specific needs and preferences is obviously crucial for most users. 91 reviews mention the limited customization options stand out as the most prominent concern. This might indicate that while Wix may have a variety of templates, they might not be as adjustable or varied as some users desire. For example, more experienced website developers would appreciate better control over the website code (8%).

When using the templates, some fields can be challenging to customize. There are some limits.

Furthermore, the difficulty in switching templates once the site is live suggests that even when users attempt to customize or change the direction of their website design, the process might not be as smooth or intuitive. The interplay of these attributes paints a picture where users are seeking more freedom and ease in crafting their websites.

Usability and User Experience

The bubble chart shows the relative importance of individual attributes within the Usability and User Experience category. As we can notice, the replies are quite scattered, indicating that there's no single clear usability problem, but users face friction around several areas of the product.

Data source: G2

The ease of use and overall user experience are paramount for any digital platform. In total, Usability and User Experience was mentioned 69 times as a disadvantage which is significantly less than it was mentioned as an advantage (251).

The reviews reveal several potential friction points, as evidenced by mentions of a laggy editor, inconvenient mobile design, and troubles when trying to upload media content. Unexpected problems are always frustrating, but the actual incidence of these problems is difficult to verify on the basis of subjective reviews.

While usability and ease of use are the most recognized advantages of Wix, some users consider the backend UI confusing, which is likely to complicate the editing process. The possible reason for the perception of a complicated editing process is the overwhelming number of choices. While this increases customization and versatility, it also lengthens the learning curve.

It does take quite some time to learn your way around Wix, and some of it is not as intuitive as it could be. Sometimes, I wish there was a bit more detailed explanation for the smaller things that would seem easy to some.

Here too, we are faced with a double-edged sword. While some are more willing to spend more time learning the tools, others just want to get going quickly.

Cost and Pricing

The bubble chart shows the relative importance of individual attributes within the Cost and Pricing category. While affordability is considered one of Wix's main advantages, more reviews (68) mention cost-related attributes on the negative side. However, this is quite typical.

Data source: G2

Financial considerations are always paramount, and for Wix users, concerns around costs are evident. Additional fees and features behind a paywall suggest that users might feel they're not getting complete value from their initial subscription and are being asked to pay more for features they deem essential.

High costs are also mentioned in satisfied reviews, such as this one, which gave Wix 4.5 stars out of 5:

The cost of premium plans is high, and we also have to pay additional costs such as security and domain fees. Wix branding is present in free plans.

SEO and website performance

Data source: G2

For many, especially businesses, the visibility of their website on search engines is crucial. Concerns like SEO performance and SEO tool limitations imply that users might be finding it challenging to optimize their Wix sites for search engines effectively. On the other hand, many third-party reviews specifically praise Wix as the best website builder for search engine optimization. Check out, for example, Cybernews's and Website Builder Expert's reviews.

When it comes to SEO, yes, the website builder can have a small impact, but most of the work should be done by the users themselves by creating quality content, making sure that the site is user-friendly and technically well-designed, and answering users' queries. I would therefore have reservations about claims that Wix is somehow a bad alternative to capturing organic traffic.

Functionality and features

While Wix offers a host of features, some users feel constrained by what's available. However, where 118 reviews are happy with Wix's features and functionalities, only 33 reviews express it as a downside. This gives a perspective on the significance of missing features for an average user.

The attributes like a limited number of built-in features and lack of plugins/integrations suggest that some users are seeking a broader range of tools and functionalities. The desire for more e-commerce capabilities and better third-party app integrations further highlights this need.

Data source: G2

There are some features that are not available on Wix, and those are the features that are required very commonly and coding the entire thing will take time

It is not clear from the reviews whether the lack of features is a general lack of features across the platform or a lack of features in lower-price planes. Some users are clearly frustrated that some features are behind a paywall, but this does not mean that the feature does not exist. Moreover, Wix is a for-profit company, so the use of paywalls is natural. In addition, there are over 300 integrations in the Wix App Market, which sounds like a lot. Of course, WordPress, for example, has almost 60,000 plugins, but as an open platform, the quality of all plugins cannot be guaranteed.

Wix needs to improve their plugins library to improve the features of websites created using it.

Support and service

As the bubble chart and table reveal, the main problem with Wix's support is slow response times. When you think about the situations where customer support is called upon, most of them are small problems for which you would like a quick answer. However, it is unrealistic to expect a company with millions of users to be able to serve every customer in real-time, no matter how large their customer support organization is.

Data source: G2

Quality customer support can often make or break a user's experience with a platform. The mention of slow response times from support and support not answering questions directly indicates potential areas of improvement for Wix's customer service.

Some users find it frustrating that they are asked to read through the product documentation instead of getting a direct answer from a support rep. This is very typical with online platforms, where customer support has limited resources to serve each customer individually. In my experience, Wix's customer support is at least on par with its competitors.

The help desk just sends you documents to read instead of answering any questions.

Some users, on the other hand, would find it valuable to have tutorial content in different formats, as this quote illustrates:

The only issue I have with Wix is that they don't have enough tutorial content on YouTube to help me learn more about website building and explore their platform to its full extent. Other than that, I'm very happy with the product!

Reliability

Data source: G2

Trust in a platform's reliability is essential. Mentions of occasional bugs and glitches and problems with payments are, of course, concerning. These issues can deter potential users, especially if they're looking for a stable platform to host business websites or e-commerce platforms.

However, for a company the size of Wix, these types of problems are probably super rare. After all, Wix is the leading website builder in the world with a 43% market share and hosts over 250 million websites. If problems like these were recurring, Wix would certainly not be as popular as it is.

Misc

Data source: G2

Who is Wix best for?

Based on the numerous benefits highlighted by Wix users, it is evident that Wix is an ideal platform for beginners, non-technical users, and small to medium business owners. Thanks to the hundreds of premade templates, it is extremely fast to get a Wix site up and running. Moreover, if you don't have the time or desire to look for a specific tool for every need or figure out how to integrate it with your other tools, Wix offers a lot of features under one roof.

The focus on attributes like "Ease of use," "No-code," "Beginner friendly," and "Drag and drop editor" indicates that Wix is very user-friendly, even for those without technical expertise. Even beginners can effortlessly create a Wix website without the need for coding knowledge.

Business, SEO, and other "All-in-one" features further confirm that Wix is a great solution for businesses looking to establish an online presence, sell products, and efficiently manage their operations.

Wix is a great platform for any business. The setup process is easy and the interface is clear and user-friendly. The best thing about Wix is that it does not require any knowledge of coding or web development skills, which means it's very accessible for small businesses or start-ups without a lot of resources. I would highly recommend to anyone who wants to start a website but has no technical skills.

Conclusion: When should you choose or pass Wix?

Choose Wix if you're looking for a website builder that is easy to use, allows you to launch your site quickly, and offers a wide range of features all in one place.

However, if you have a strong desire for personalization and flexibility in terms of design and functionality, you may encounter some limitations with Wix. Those who want to create a unique website and have access to the code may find better alternatives elsewhere.

In addition, if you have a tight budget, you may be disappointed by the potential for additional fees and features that are behind paywalls. Although Wix's paid plans include many useful features, it's important to thoroughly understand all potential costs before committing.