Wix is well-known for being an affordable, easy-to-use platform with ecommerce functionality. You can set up a beautiful, fast loading website without any coding or web design skills.
If you want to sell online, and thinking of using Wix, my Wix ecommerce review will help you cut through the fluff. You can also read Wix reviews from other users at the end of this article.
So what’s the deal with Wix?
Wix is one of the most recognizable platforms in the industry, thanks in part to Wix’s branding success. When I first started writing ecommerce review software in 2017, Wix wasn’t even on my top 10 list. When they did finally make it, they were rated near the bottom of the list and I told my readers to avoid it like the plague. It wasn’t a legit ecommerce platform then.
Over the past few years, Wix has blown me away with their commitment to truly creating a great ecommerce platform. Now, I gladly recommend Wix for certain types of e-commerce businesses. Read on to see exactly which ecommerce business models work great on Wix.
To build this review, I relied on objective studies and an in-depth analysis of all of the important ecommerce platforms on the market. While I do earn income from affiliate links, rankings can not be bought and my reviews are purely editorially based. In this Wix review, we’ll dive deep to help you decide if this is the right platform for your needs.
Wix Overview
Wix makes it easy to build your ecommerce shop and get online with a genuine, attractive site that will impress your customers. It is also very easy to use SaaS platforms. The editor is one of the most affordable ways to create gorgeous websites.
These features make this platform a highly attractive option for any smaller online stores or boutiques. It is also perfect for brick and mortar stores that are trying to establish an online presence.
From the time it first launched in 2006, Wix has made it their mission to make it possible for anyone to defy the odds and get online with a highly effective site. Coding-free website design has been their fearless mission. They’ve gone further than practically every other platform to make it effortless for you to get online.
Wix Highlights
- Wide range of gorgeous themes that meet a variety of needs
- Extremely easy for you to customize your theme and get online with an easy site builder
- Some marketing automation
- Great Google page speed scores
- Affordable, even for a full-feature package
Wix Drawbacks
- May not have the kind of advanced sales features that your growing business may come to need
- Simplicity of the drag and drop interface also means that coding and the customization that it offers aren’t available to you
- Fewer integrations and apps than other platforms
- No options for Wix ads or some other functions that you’ll need third-party apps for.
- SEO is good and getting better, but not quite on par with WordPress
Wix provides the ideal ecommerce plan for smaller ecommerce business and solo business. If you want a gorgeous online store at a reasonable price with an easy drag and drop interface, Wix has you covered.
Wix Website Examples
- Wallaroo
- Awaken Studio
- Little Legacy Portaits
- Totally Codable
- Animal Music
- Wendy Ju
- Ravin
- Mane
- Better Read Events
- Farmer’s Fridge
- Nir Slakman
How Does Wix Compare?
Before we dive deep, I think it’s crucial that you understand the playing field. It will give you context to understand how Wix compares to other platforms before getting into the nitty-gritty. Check out the head to heads below:
When choosing a platform for your ecommerce shop, you have two types of platforms to choose from: Open Source and SaaS. Wix is a SaaS ecommerce platform.
SaaS
SaaS stands for “Software as a Service.” You have access to the software via a subscription. The software is hosted online by a third party.
You won’t have to install anything, and you’re not “buying” the license, only the ability to use the software for a time. There is less flexibility for you to make changes to this software, but more will be taken care of by the service. This includes security concerns like the SSL certificate. Wix is an SaaS platform. A popular SaaS Wix alternative is Shopify.
Open Source
Open source ecommerce platforms give you the capability to make significant changes to the software. You can change the source code and even distribute it for your own uses. If anything is missing from Open source software, you can build it yourself by writing your own code.
There are also plenty of communities that have been built around developing the open source platforms available. You won’t have to do all of the code changes from scratch. WooCommerce is probably the most popular Open source Wix competitor.
SaaS or Open Source: Which is Right for You?
For the vast majority of ecommerce stores, quality SaaS software will do the job. Most ecommerce companies just starting out don’t want to make a substantial initial investment into building a site and integrating apps for open-source software. Few companies need to make more significant changes than are offered by a SaaS plan.
You can find a SaaS platform that offers a great deal of customization and platforms that come out of the box tailored to your type of ecommerce. It may also take care of security and provide a free domain. However, if you want total control over your code and don’t mind paying for it upfront, open Source could be the best option for you.
Price
Perhaps one of the most attractive features compared to other platforms is the price point. Wix caps out around $60 for all features. Compare that price to Shopify and BigCommerce, both of which cap out at around $300. You want to invest in yourself with a great site, but overpaying or features from the beginning is a recipe for disaster.
Other platforms, like PrestaShop and Magento (now Adobe Commerce), are free to use but you’ll pay for web hosting and apps. Depending on how many apps you need, you may end up paying much more for the features that come in the box for other platforms.
Performance
Expect your store to have wicked fast mobile and desktop speeds, although it leaves something to be desired in load times and SEO.
Wix beats out many contenders in overall website speed, including SquareSpace, WooCommerce, and Adobe Commerce. It isn’t as fast as Shopify or BigCommerce, though. In general, if you’re looking for a fast site that won’t lose you customers, Wix is a good choice.
When it comes to SEO, Wix doesn’t necessarily have everything that you need. It doesn’t have nearly the kind of SEO that some of its competitors have. WooCommerce’s SEO is about 2X better. There are a lot of variables in this calculation.
Still, based on a sample of 100 sites on each platform, WooCommerce came out well above. BigCommerce also outcompetes Wix, and even 3dcart does better. Wix is comparable to Shopify when it comes to SEO.
You better realize before you sign up that some more advanced Wix ecommerce stores may find that it doesn’t support or offer solutions for some options that they want. Coding is more limited than most other SaaS platforms and much more limited than Open Source.
Ease of Use
Wix is, hands down, one of the easiest to use platforms out there. That is until you need help or want to do something complex. The platform is tested to be sure-fire for all the basics, but if you want a legit site that stands above the ho-hum, you might find that it is challenging to make changes that aren’t as common.
The website builder makes it very easy to create a great site without slaving away with technical skills. Wix ADI gives your sites a customized site with the look of having a human touch, automatically. They give you access to 24/7 phone Wix support with each ecommerce plan, but users aren’t always happy with the support they get.
Chat support leaves much to be desired. With only a couple hundred apps and plugins compared to many more from Shopify, you’ll find yourself limited in what you can do.
You won’t be able to integrate with Amazon as easily, and advanced email marketing automation may not be an option for you. Don’t get played into thinking that it’s easy to use Wix from a self-starter store on up. You’ll get a reality check when you hit a roadblock customizing your store down the road.
Overall, BigCommerce and Shopify win out in ease of use, even though it may be a bit harder to make a gorgeous site on these platforms. Flat out, those platforms were built for ecommerce from the ground up.
The Wix editor offers a visual drag and drop website builder out of the box. In contrast, you’ll have to pay extra for this feature with Shopify. It is much easier to use than WooCommerce, PrestaShop, and Adobe Commerce.
Design and Themes
Each stunning template makes it easy to up your game with a visually amazing site. The ecommerce website builder makes it effortless to make them yours. Wix template options create more attractive sites than pretty much any other platform, including Shopify and BigCommerce.
However, when you compare the number of themes available for Wix vs WordPress or Shopify, you’ll quickly notice that you have fewer themes overall to choose from.
You might be able to build equally attractive sites on Squarespace or 3dcart, but you won’t be able to do it nearly as easily. WooCommerce creates beautiful sites too, but you’ll need to do a fair amount of coding or using an app like Elementor to build a gorgeous site.
Wix Pricing Plans
Wix ecommerce has some of the most competitive paid plan options in the industry, as well as a free plan. You can get the same sorts of features paying $20 as you’d get paying $100s with another platform. Looking at all what Wix does for the price, I had to give it a 5 overall score here.
Features that cost extra on other platforms, like the Wix website builder, come standard. Wix ecommerce bases its pricing on the support, features, and storage offered in the plan. Most of the plans have unlimited bandwidth, and storage limitations is something you’ll have to deal with in regards to web hosting on any platform.
Every Wix plan comes with 24-hour customer support. However, many customers find that if they do need a lot of help from the company, the Business VIP support plan is necessary. Eccomerce support for other plans appears to be less than prompt.
You may be happy with the features and storage offered in the basic plan, but as you grow, you’re likely to find you struggle to get everything done that you need. You may need to ramp up your package into a more advanced combo plan.
Business Basic Plan
- Payment collection. Customers pay securely right from the platform.
- Customize payments. Customer accounts allow you to smooth out any roadblocks in your customers’ checkout process with tools like collecting recurring payments.
- Free custom domain for a year. Choose a custom domain and keep it for free for a year with a popular extension like.com, .org, or .net.
- Storage space: 20 GB
- Video time: 5 hours
- 24-hour customer support
- Unlimited plan for product limits. Put as many products as you want in your store. Sort and filter them as you like to make them easy for customers to find and avoid a blown opportunity when your customers fail to find a product they’d love.
- Abandoned cart recovery. Real time automated emails remind customers when they leave things in the cart.
- Social channel selling. Your customers are already following you on Facebook and Instagram, so sell there too.
Business Unlimited
- Everything offered by the Basic Plan.
- 35 GB of storage space.
- 10 hours of video.
- Subscriptions. Take recurring payments and allow clients to sign up for subscriptions.
- Support multiple currencies. Display the pricing of your products in whatever currency your customer chooses.
- Automate sales tax. Take care of sales tax calculations across the US, Europe, and worldwide for up to 100 transactions per month.
- Shipping. Manage order fulfillment, connect whatever shipping apps you want to get advanced features, and print shipping labels.
- USPS discounts. Reduce the cost of USPS by up to 60%.
- Expand to marketplaces. Sell on huge online marketplaces to expand your reach.
- Drop Shipping. Sell products without any risks for inventories up to 250 products.
- Product reviews. Collect content from your customers. Post up to 1,000 a month to build more connections and loyalty with your customers.
Business VIP plan
- Everything offered by Basic and Business Unlimited.
- 50 GB of storage space.
- Unlimited plan for Video hours.
- Priority customer care.
- Automated sales tax for 500 transactions per month.
- 70% USPS discounts possible.
- No limit on the products that you can sell through dropshipping.
- Support up to 3000 reviews of your products.
- Establish a loyalty program by connecting with third-party apps.
Transaction Fees
As you’re making pricing decisions, keep in mind that you’ll also need to pay transaction fees on every transaction that occurs, regardless of which ecommerce platform you choose. How these fees accumulate as you level up might astonish you.
Wix ecommerce offers its own payment gateway with very reasonable rates. Still, you’ll need to be sure that the countries that you want to work with are supported.
If you want to work with an app payment gateway, you can expect to pay around 2-3% transaction fees. Wix ecommerce won’t charge anything on top of these fees.
Wix Ecommerce Features
Wix ecommerce features are pretty incredible right out of the box, even with basic plans. The Wix editor gives you the power to build gorgeous pages with a simple drag and drop landing page builder at no additional cost. Zoomable images make your customers feel like they’re shopping in a physical store, a slam dunk way to encourage browsing.
However, you may find yourself wanting some features that aren’t as easy to get with Wix ecommerce.
Here’s what you need to know about the features Wix offers.
Wix Features and Plans
Landing Page Builder
Arguably the most life-changing feature for many people about Wix is how it enables users to create a beautiful website with practically no technical skills. An incredibly intuitive landing page builder comes standard with all subscriptions.
Choose a stunning website template and make a website without skills in website building or coding. Success isn’t overnight, no matter what tool you use. Still, if lack of coding and tech skills are the primary reasons you’re stuck, the ridiculous ease of the website builders can be a game changer for you.
In fact, you may find that creating a website isn’t just possible with minimal experience: it’s actually fun. A powerful landing page builder enables decent customization. You can bank on it looking good across different kinds of screens.
With the Wix dashboard, you’re in control of a data-driven, foolproof way to highlight your products and create an online store that your customers will love to browse through.
Robust SEO Features
This is the bottom line: Wix has a bad reputation with SEO for a reason. Tons of Wix sites are out there in the wild with sloppy urls and low SEO traffic. It used to have weird hashbangs in the URL, like “/#!/” that it didn’t make sense we couldn’t change.
Thankfully, they stopped that. The problem they have now is that the blog URL is not completely customizable. However, overall, Wix is looking more hopeful when it comes to SEO.
Since years ago, when Wix was only a good option for stores that don’t need great SEO, they’ve updated their platform with a better practical focus on SEO. The Wix SEO Wiz is a pretty cool feature that guides novices through implementing basic SEO on your online store. With a little bit of hard work, you can get valid SEO results on Wix with essential edits:
- Customize your title tags and metadata
- Customize the slug (not full url)
- Customize indexation and sitemaps
I’d expect better SEO performance for sites built with the updated platform from here on out.
Rewards Program Integration
Customer loyalty programs are a powerful way to build a loyal client base that will stay with you through good times and bad. One of the strongest customer loyalty programs is the use of reward points.
This is a resourceful way to reward your clients every time they make a purchase. Reward points incentivize customers to continue shopping, both to use and continue to earn points.
Unfortunately, Wix does not offer you a way to provide any kind of loyalty plan to your customers within your subscription. Instead, you will need to utilize a third-party paid app known as Smile.
The Smile app works like a standard loyalty reward program. Customers accumulate and redeem points on purchases. This is a great low-key way to incentivize customers to spend more and stick around for the long-term game.
Wix Performance
Wix offers a mixed bag when it comes to performance. It is super fast on desktop and mobile devices, but load times can be slowed down quickly with lots of apps.
Platform | Performance | Load Time | Mobile Speed | Desktop Speed | Avg SEO Traffic |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Shopify | 3.9 | 1.3 | 63 | 75 | 11717 |
Sellfy | 3.1 | 1.4 | 46.8 | 72 | 134 |
Zyro | 3.3 | 2.1 | 51 | 89 | 128 |
Nexcess StoreBuilder | 4.0 | 1.93 | 53 | 72 | 58,645 |
ShopWired | 4.3 | 1.38 | 56 | 80 | 717 |
Pixpa | 2.3 | 1.6 | 22.66 | 65.5 | 72 |
Freewebstore | 3.5 | 1.89 | 53 | 79 | 927 |
Ecwid | 3.5 | 5.0 | 50 | 82 | 15,517 |
Square Online | 2.8 | 2.03 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 65,317 |
BigCommerce | 4.5 | 2.2 | 63 | 80 | 33626 |
Woocommerce | 3.1 | 3.4 | 42 | 52 | 72968 |
Shift4Shop | 3.0 | 2.8 | 50 | 58 | 9703 |
Volusion | 2.9 | 3.5 | 48 | 56 | 15779 |
Adobe Commerce | 2.8 | 4.8 | 39 | 43 | 19408 |
Prestashop | 2.9 | 4.62 | 50 | 52 | 33851 |
SquareSpace | 3.5 | 3.5 | 42 | 63 | 5678 |
Wix | 3.9 | 3.2 | 69 | 81 | 543 |
Weebly | 2.6 | 3 | 49 | 59 | 186 |
Where Wix Excels: Speed
While load time on Wix is in the middle of the pack, the Google pagespeed scores are higher than average. That indicates that Wix sites are built with lean code and a quick time to first meaningful paint.
Whether your customers are using a desktop or mobile device, Wix is one of the fastest options for site speed. They beat out other big brands like BigCommerce and Shopify in their mobile and desktop loading speeds. In fact, Wix outperforms the slowest platform almost twice in desktop speed and nearly as much in Wix mobile speed. If you love Shopify but want a faster platform, Wix is an excellent Shopify alternative.
If you need a wicked fast platform so you will never again lose a customer because it takes too long for your pages to load, Wix is the one for you. If you want to load up your Wix page with lots of apps and files, remember that your load time will be pulled down.
Wix Integration and Apps
There are few things you can’t do with Wix using the right apps and integrations. The Wix app market has dramatically improved integrations since it first came out.
You can run a robust Wix ecommerce enterprise with real time shipping, multiple payment options, and the power to sell physical and digital products. However, you may find that integrations are somewhat lacking compared to the next ecommerce platform on your list, especially when it comes to Amazon.
Wix Integrations and Plans
Selling Online With Wix
Wix is a great way to establish an online store and start selling physical and digital goods. The gorgeous pages that can easily be created on Wix are ideal for highlighting your products. Since Wix is so easy to use, it is extremely attractive for brick and mortar stores who are trying to get online for the first time.
Selling from a Facebook Shop with Wix
Is part of your marketing challenge getting customers from your social media pages to your shop platform? You need an ecommerce shop to attract traffic from search engines and to legitimize your online business.
However, that doesn’t mean that you need to pass up on sales from Facebook. For many small businesses, social media is a better avenue for sale than their Wix ecommerce shop. Wix enables you to integrate your Facebook shop page and your online store inventory, making managing your shops effortless.
If you think selling on social media makes your business look sketchy or fake, think again. Overlooking social media in your ecommerce sales is a serious mistake. More and more people trust social media and respect it for many kinds of transactions. Passing up on it is not to your advantage.
Google Product Data Won’t Integrate with Wix
Wix does not integrate with Google product categories. Therefore, when you add online store products to a Facebook catalog, the catalog products will not end up on Google’s category.
This may be one of several reasons why Wix does not excel in SEO. It is possible to make changes in the future. Still, for right now, this is an important shortcoming in their integration.
Solid eBay Integration
Ebay has been a tremendously popular channel for ecommerce since the beginning. Lots of ecommerce had their beginnings on eBay. They aren’t willing to give up eBay sales now.
If you’re thinking of making the switch to primarily managing sales in your ecommerce store, don’t panic. You can connect your Wix store to an eBay shop very effectively. You’ll need to have either the business unlimited or business VIP Wix Premium plan to integrate with your eBay shop.
Accepts Paypal Payments
Many small businesses choose to utilize PayPal rather than opening up a credit card account. Wix integrates fully with PayPal as a provider of payment. You can accept Paypal payments, debit cards, and credit cards.
Customers will go straight through PayPal when they make the purchase. You can easily add a PayPal button to your site to make it easier for your customers.
Supports Multichannel Sales
Until recently, Wix did not offer support for other ecommerce platforms. However, they have now added a robust app known as MultiOrders to make it easier for you to integrate with whatever sales channels you want to use. MultiOrders provides more powerful control than has been previously available through Wix.
You can handle your suppliers, shipping, orders, and inventory, all through this app. However, keep in mind that you’ll need to pay extra for the capacity to stretch yourself across different ecommerce platforms. You may find that the extra cost is well worth what you get for your online store options.
Many aspects of inventory and ordering are automated with this platform. All of the sales channels report back to one central inventory database, so you’ll never oversell. You can also automate ordering for individual products so that you’ll never run out of stock.
Plenty of specificity in product listings helps you keep track of the hodgepodge of goods you have available in your online store. You can also customize convenient features like listing a different available amount in your online store than what is in your warehouse. MultiChannel enables you to pair with Etsy, FedEx, eBay, and many more.
Lacks In-Depth Amazon Integration
Wix doesn’t have its own way to integrate with Amazon. Still, it does offer a fool-proof integration system through MultiOrders. MultiOrders lets you dominate on most big platforms, including Amazon.
Amazon’s fulfillment program has taken the anxiety out of online shopping for thousands of people. You’ll be glad to know that MultiOrders supports Amazon fulfillment. However, you’ll have to pay extra for MultiOrders with Wix. Other platforms, like BigCommerce and Shopify, have integration for Amazon right out of the box.
Amazon may seem like just one more channel that Wix can support utilizing MultiOrders. Of course, Amazon isn’t like any other ecommerce channel.
Amazon is a bigtime baller in the ecommerce world, so integrating well with Amazon may be more critical than other integrations. This is especially true if you’re already on Amazon. If you want to make your side hustle your real hustle, you want to be on Amazon.
You can connect all of the Amazon accounts that you want to through MultiOrders. All of the inventory will sync automatically. You can manage it conveniently in one dashboard.
Your shoppers may not even know or care whether they’re buying from you or Amazon. Their checkout and fulfillment will be the same process.
Wix Bookings
Are you thinking about using Wix to offer your high-quality services? Wix Bookings allows customers to book online, provides multiple payment options, and remembers customers, all in one easy to use platform. You can get Bookings on a free plan, but you’ll need the Busines Premium Plan to actually book customers.
Fulfillment Center Integration
Managing shipping is one of the most frustrating parts of maintaining an online store for many people. Selling your inventory is only half the battle.
After that, you need to get it packaged and sent off to the customer. By connecting your online store to a fulfillment center, you can make it much easier to handle automated shipping.
Selling Features
If you’re doing Wix ecommerce, selling is a priority for you. Wix offers some features that help you to sell. They also have some critical downsides in selling. Here’s what you should know about the selling features that Wix does and does not provide:
Abandoned Cart Recovery
Years ago, Wix didn’t have abandoned cart recovery. For ecommerce businesses, cart abandonment can be a significant cause of lost revenue. Customers who are distracted from their cart having intended to make a purchase are lost when the company does nothing to communicate with them.
Therefore, it should be no surprise that customers were clamoring for abandoned cart recovery. Wix gave them what they wanted. Your customers will be sent an email if they leave their cart unfinished in every Wix pricing plan.
Automated Response
Wix enables you to choose a custom trigger that will result in an automated response from your store. For instance, if your customer makes a purchase, they may automatically receive an email or chat message. This is a great way to give your customer a more customized experience without wasting more manpower.
Weak Upselling and Cross-Selling Apps
You won’t find one click post purchase upsells, order bumps or any other highly effective selling apps on Wix. And that’s one of the biggest downsides.
The best Wix has to offer as far as cross-selling is a section for related products at the bottom of the page or the option to create a customized pop up when you want to.
As far as intuitive software to offer specialized discounts when customers buy particular products? Look elsewhere. Wix still has a far way to go as far as cross-selling and up-selling.
Adding Ratings and User Generated Content Could be a Pain
Wix does provide a way for you to put your user reviews on your site, but it’s definitely not straightforward or easy. You’ll need to add a fair amount of coding to make reviews work on your page.
One of the primary advantages of using Wix is that you don’t need to use coding or have advanced technical skills to create a beautiful website. Therefore, the necessity for coding to enable user reviews is a real downside.
Limited Automated Email Campaigns
Email campaigns are one of the best tactics for marketing automation. They enable you to build customer loyalty, connect with your audience in new ways, and generate more sales.
Unfortunately, this is not a function currently supported by Wix. They may offer it in the future, but right now, there aren’t any email marketing automation options.
Wix App Store
The Wix store is sturdy, but far from expansive, with just over 250 apps designed to integrate with your site. You get extensive customization without coding, but you can’t do everything through the Wix app store. Check to see if Wix integrates with the software that you’re using or want to use.
If you find it lacking, look into Shopify or BigCommerce. These platforms have many more options in integrations. It is crucial to keep in mind that the more apps and plug-ins you’re running, the slower load times might be.
Here are some popular apps that you might appreciate:
- QuickBooks. Save time with your bookkeeping and tax preparation buy integrating with QuickBooks Online.
- Smile. Enable a high-quality rewards program utilizing Smile
- MailChimp. Build a robust email list through the landing pages and pop-ups offered by MailChimp
- Printful. Allow customers to sell print on demand products.
- Site search. Wix site search lets your visitors search through your site, making it easier for them to find the products they are looking for. However, it appears that the search features leave many customers wanting more.
- Wix shared gallery. Enable greater customer feedback and interaction with a shared photo and video gallery that customers can access. However, don’t think you can count on a lot of customization.
- Quick analytics. Gather more useful information about your site usage data gathered by embedding a tracking code on your site.
- MultiOrders. Possibly the most important app, MultiOrders is essential if you want to take care of multiple ecommerce stores as well as your Wix online store without losing your mind.
Wix Templates and Design
Wix offers some of the most visually stunning website designs with the least amount of expertise required in coding or technology looming over your experience. Each template is designed to be easy to customize and let you soar into success.
There is a template for just about any kind of Wix ecommerce. Perhaps most impressively, every template is available to you at the same low price.
You won’t have to pay more for premium themes, which sets Wix aside among ecommerce platforms. They are second only to WooCommerce in the number of free themes that they offer.
Platform | Design & Themes | Visual Design | Mobile UX | Cost Of Premium Themes | # of Free Themes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Shopify | 4.0 | 5.0 | 97 | $140 | 9 |
Sellfy | 5.0 | 5 | 93 | $0 | 5 |
Zyro | 5.0 | 5.0 | 92 | $0 | 50+ |
Nexcess StoreBuilder | 4.3 | 3.0 | 94 | $20-$100 | 4 |
ShopWired | 4.3 | 5 | 93 | $3495+ | 20 |
Pixpa | 4.3 | 5 | 94 | 0 | 131 |
Freewebstore | 4.3 | 5 | 92 | 0 | 100+ |
Ecwid | 4.3 | 5.0 | 93 | $60 | 1 |
Square Online | 3.7 | 5.0 | 92 | $0 | 1 |
BigCommerce | 3.8 | 5.0 | 94 | $150 | 12 |
Woocommerce | 4.3 | 3.0 | 97 | $39 | 1000+ |
Shift4Shop | 4.3 | 4.0 | 95 | $200+ | 50+ |
Volusion | 3.7 | 4 | 92 | $180 | 18 |
Adobe Commerce | 3.7 | 5.0 | 5 | $300+ | 1 |
Prestashop | 3.2 | 4 | 94 | $29+ | 0 |
SquareSpace | 4.3 | 5.0 | 5 | 100.00% | 14 |
Wix | 4.7 | 5.0 | 92 | 0 | 72 |
Weebly | 4.3 | 5 | 97 | $45 | 15 |
Platform | Ease of Use | Phone Support | 24/7 Support | Chat Support | Community Rating | # of Apps/ Plugins |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Shopify | 4.9 | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 | 5,000 |
Sellfy | 3.5 | No | Yes | No | 4 | 4 |
Zyro | 3.7 | No | Yes | Yes | 4.7 | 30 |
Nexcess StoreBuilder | 4.5 | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3.6 | 50,000+ |
ShopWired | 4.5 | No | No | Yes | 4.9 | 72 |
Pixpa | 3.7 | Yes | No | Yes | 4.7 | 103 |
Freewebstore | 3.4 | No | No | Yes | None | 25+ |
Ecwid | 3.6 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 100+ |
Square Online | 4.0 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 25+ |
BigCommerce | 4.8 | Yes | Yes | Yes | 4.0 | 1000 |
Woocommerce | 3.3 | No | No | Yes | 4.0 | 250+ |
Shift4Shop | 4.3 | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3.0 | ~250 |
Volusion | 4.1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | 2 | ~20 |
Adobe Commerce | 2.2 | No | No | No | 4 | 3000+ |
Prestashop | 2.9 | Yes | No | No | 3 | 3000+ |
SquareSpace | 3.8 | No | Yes | Yes | 3.0 | 10+ |
Wix | 4.2 | Yes | Yes | No | 4.5 | 700 |
Weebly | 3.6 | Yes | No | Yes | 2 | ~350 |
Across-the-board, for the attractiveness of the themes, the number of quality themes available at a reasonable cost, and the ease of incorporating themes, the Wix editor is truly a winner in templates and design. They make it easy for you to make your site shine.
Minor Flaws in Wix Templates and Design
Wix offers excellent design, but there is no such thing as a perfect platform. Wix’s great asset is also a downside in their templates and design. The drag and drop interface is straightforward to use, but it may not allow as much fine-tuning as some other designs. You may find that your plans grind suddenly to a stop when you find that Wix doesn’t support something that you need.
Your site looks significantly different on different browsers in a way that you can’t predict by just using the preview. Most of the time, it still looks good. Still, perfectionist website builders will be bothered by these variations lurking in the interface.
Wix Ease Of Use
The Wix ecommerce platform is one of the easiest to use available. It is generally extremely intuitive and user-friendly. However, there are some areas where it seems clear that Wix could improve the user experience.
Platform | Ease of Use | Phone Support | 24/7 Support | Chat Support | Community Rating | # of Apps/ Plugins |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Shopify | 4.9 | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 | 5,000 |
Sellfy | 3.5 | No | Yes | No | 4 | 4 |
Zyro | 3.7 | No | Yes | Yes | 4.7 | 30 |
Nexcess StoreBuilder | 4.5 | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3.6 | 50,000+ |
ShopWired | 4.5 | No | No | Yes | 4.9 | 72 |
Pixpa | 3.7 | Yes | No | Yes | 4.7 | 103 |
Freewebstore | 3.4 | No | No | Yes | None | 25+ |
Ecwid | 3.6 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 100+ |
Square Online | 4.0 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 25+ |
BigCommerce | 4.8 | Yes | Yes | Yes | 4.0 | 1000 |
Woocommerce | 3.3 | No | No | Yes | 4.0 | 250+ |
Shift4Shop | 4.3 | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3.0 | ~250 |
Volusion | 4.1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | 2 | ~20 |
Adobe Commerce | 2.2 | No | No | No | 4 | 3000+ |
Prestashop | 2.9 | Yes | No | No | 3 | 3000+ |
SquareSpace | 3.8 | No | Yes | Yes | 3.0 | 10+ |
Wix | 4.2 | Yes | Yes | No | 4.5 | 700 |
Weebly | 3.6 | Yes | No | Yes | 2 | ~350 |
Extremely Easy Web Design
If there’s one thing that Wix ecommerce has going for them above their beautiful designs, it’s how easy it is to make them. Hands down, this is one of the easiest to use drag and drop interfaces available.
You can make a great website on Wix without knowing any coding and with extremely basic skills. It is intuitive, easy to learn, and even fun. You can build all of your pages and even maintain a blog without ever needing skills in graphic design or Wix code.
A Wix Theme May Not be as Customizable as other Options
The natural downside of a site that can be developed without technical skills is that it may not be as customizable as a site that relies on a lot of changeable code. Do you want a high degree of customization and specificity in how your site looks? You may be frustrated by the limited degree to which you can customize your Wix site, and how difficult it is to escape the drag and drop interface.
What may cripple your site the most is the failure of Wix to enable checkout page customization. For many Wix ecommerce business owners, this is the page you most want to customize. You can add some checkout fields and select which ones are mandatory. Still, you can’t customize many aspects of the checkout page, which seems like a senseless oversight.
Customer Service Could be Slow
Most people can use Wix for everything they need without ever running into a hang-up. If you do run into trouble using Wix, you might have some difficulty getting help. Many users seem pretty unhappy with the customer service that they have gotten from Wix. It’s hard to get traction building your site when you have to sweat to get the help you need.
While people seem to be pretty happy with the company itself, when they do run into a problem, it seems that the company doesn’t do very much to support them, especially on lower-paying plans.
Wix Alternatives
Wix is a solid choice for many ecommerce companies, but it isn’t for everyone. If you think that Wix’s integrations or customization are too slim for your needs, consider one of their competitors. Other platforms may cost more and require more technical skills to utilize fully, but they may also provide massive elevation in the features you need.
Shopify is a great alternative that isn’t much harder to use but offers a lot more customization. BigCommerce can meet the needs of ecommerce that wants to grow big fast. For ecommerce that wants full control, WooCommerce is right for you.
Shopify
Shopify is a good ecommerce platform for smaller online stores and boutiques. They offer a wide range of pricing options to meet your needs as you grow.
Shopify offers a powerful platform that gives you a lot of options with the capacity to edit CSS and HTML right in the interface. Sites hosted on Shopify have epic fast load times. If you’re anxious about losing customers due to a slow site, Shopify can set your mind at ease.
Shopify’s SEO, on the other hand, could be beefed up a bit. It is comparable to Wix SEO. While beautiful ecommerce stores are absolutely built on Shopify, it isn’t quite as simple to squeeze stunning results from Shopify as with some other platforms.
When comparing the ease of use and availability of beautiful themes by Wix vs Shopify, you’re likely to find that Wix wins out. If you want to use a drag and drop builder on Shopify, you’ll pay $40 per month for an app like Shogun (which is great) – but might not be worth it for you.
Spending a lot more for a drag and drop interface before you’ve even gotten your business off the concrete can be an anxiety-pumping way to kickstart your business. Wix can get your website and bring it online with a lot less financial sting.
Overall, Shopify is a robust platform perfect for smaller ecommerce sites. It has been growing steadily since 2012. More people have been using Shopify steadily since it was introduced. Their revenue has also increased until it reached nearly four hundred million by 2020. Read this Shopify vs. Wix comparison to see what theye look like head-to-head.
BigCommerce
If you have dreams to scale your online store to greatness, BigCommerce might be the platform for you. It’s ideal for business-to-consumer ecommerce with extensive inventories. Pricing starts out very affordably, but advanced plans are also offered.
Start out small and grow with BigCommerce. BigCommerce has excellent SEO, some of the best in the industry. If getting new traffic from search results is an essential priority for you, Bigcommerce might be your pick.
Bigcommerce is pretty fast across the board. Desktop speed is especially good.
Bigcommerce may not offer as many features at an affordable price as some other options. If you’re not thrilled with what you get out of the package, you might find that costs increase quickly. This is a serious platform with a lot to offer companies with growth in mind–that’s no smoke and mirrors–but for a small company without enough lift, the initial cost kills success.
BigCommerce experienced a dramatic climb in users from their beginnings in 2011 until about 2014. They plateaued for a while until 2017, but they appear to be in an upward trend again.
WooCommerce
Do you want more control over your content than some of these other options provide? The open source platform WooCommerce may be exactly the customizable engine you need. This platform is ideal for small and medium-sized online stores that put a lot of emphasis on their content. It is a very affordable option, provided you can handle the coding required to work on it.
WooComerce is free, but you pay for apps and hosting. WooCommerce isn’t the fastest option, but for businesses with a customer base willing to wait for excellent content, WooCommerce can provide it. They offer superb SEO, which makes them ideal for ecommerce that is heavily reliant on gaining customers from search results.
Leave Your Wix Review
Do you have experience with Wix? Do you think I glazed over something essential or missed the purpose of a feature I downplayed? Please, leave a Wix review to let me know what you think. I strive to build objective, unbiased reviews. My rating system is built on all of the data available and is as objective as possible.
It can be very helpful for potential Wix users to read through the experiences of other people who have used Wix. Every Wix review is different and helps to inform users differently. That said, I encourage you to refer back to the objective data and the reviews I’ve built based on the data to make your final decision about what platform is best for you.
Is a Wix Store Right For You?
Wix is the ideal ecommerce solution for some users who want a gorgeous website but don’t want to put a lot of resources into technical aspects of building a website, like coding.
For small ecommerce businesses and soloprenuers who need to get online fast and look great, Wix is a good solution. I reccomend Wix for print on demand,
Wix is one of the easiest platforms to use and offers some of the most attractive templates and most accessible site builders in the business.
If you need to get online now and make your site look great for a very reasonable price, Wix has you covered. If the standard business plans aren’t enough for you, Wix Ascend offers some custom options to meet your needs.
Just make sure you understand the limitations and your potential needs in the next few years. I’d hate you to set up a Wix store, get some sales, and then hit a wall when you want to do advanced email automation.
If you’re confident that the time is right for you to get online and you believe that Wix is the right platform for you, get started. If you’re not sure, be sure to check out the alternatives.