Why I chose Wix - 3 years later

My name is Michael Marshall and I build Wix Websites. I have built sites for Disney, Coca-Cola, Suzuki and over 100 mentionable brands and I have done all of that in the last three years and all of it has been using Wix.

Most people are shocked at that point. They usually don't believe me when I show them a virtual art gallery that I made, like this one (click the link to visit the gallery shown in the image below)

Absa Art Hot Spot - Virtual Gallery Experience

I have built everything from Video on Demand sites to Ecommerce stores that make thousands per month and I have to say, Wix has performed exceptionally well on all my projects.

So I made the right choice, but I made that choice 3 years ago and I wondered if my reasons for choosing Wix would be different if I were to be just starting out now.

Why I chose Wix three years ago:

1. Hosting. Unlimited bandwidth and video storage space are an amazing offering. Yes, everyone offers unlimited hosting, but it was vital to me that Wix offered these two services.

2. Impeccable website security. Every heard of someone hacking a wix Website... ? Go on, Google it. I'll wait for you in the comments. In the meantime, I'll tell you that when I googled WordPress hacks three years ago, the results were frightening. So unlimited bandwidth and video storage with great security and I was ready to offer my clients something unique.

3. Ability to use code and embed iFrames. These should maybe be two separate points - and I should also talk about API's but I'm just going to boil it all down and say that being able to do some coding was super important as I knew I would need inevitably need some feature that Wix doesn't provide. With the the ability to use external API's, a bit of JavaScript and a lot of iFrames, I know I can do anything.

4. Analytics - I knew Wix offered analytics and that is hugely important tool in my business.

5. Wix was built by designers for designers. At least that is how it feels. Because I have worked in Photoshop, Canva, Mobirise, illustrator, and Final Cut Pro, learning Wix was actually super easy because it feel intuitive for a designer. The templates are also beautiful and the whole platform feels easy to use, quick to navigate and enables me to design what I want.

6. Everything above was included in one simple price that was easy to understand. I am an Apple user all round. I have the Watch, Phone, Air Pods and Macbook. Wix feels like Apple sometimes. Everything works and it is all from one supplier. Yes, I learned all about the Wix App Market and that is a great place, but for me it was really important that everything I needed my website to do was catered for in one price and that price was going to Wix. In contrast, on Wordpress I must pay a million different app providers for each and every app that i want on my site. I must have a Woo commerce account and Yoast SEO account and that all felt cumbersome and annoying. Wix took care of all the essential features I needed.

So, would my list be any different if I had to chose Wix now. My website builder priorities now would be:

1. Can it build responsive sites?

2. Does it have features that allow me to edit and write code?

3. Is it user friendly and can I "design" what I want?

4. Is it a well priced, all in one package?

5. Does it have good analytics?

6. Unlimited Hosting and storage

Honestly, my needs haven't changed much. These are still THE most important things. Wix does them all. Webflow, Wordpress, Squarespace, Google Sites just cant do everything on that list. Wix is still the only platform that delivers all of the above. So for me it is a no brainer, I am choosing Wix for next 3 years at least and I'll update this blog and let you know if anything changes.

Hire a developer: Marshall Arts

Out of this world web development. Click here to view our portfolio.

Marshall Arts builds websites, apps and digital content for marketing and brand realisation. Our rates are super affordable and working with us is easy. If you are looking for someone to build your website, you should definitely click the button at the top of this page and book a call.

We build websites using a platform called Wix. You've probably heard of it before. Wix is an incredible website building solution that allows us to build any kind of website be it an Ecommerce site, a portfolio website, blog, livestream event site, VOD website or otherwise. Wix is versatile enough to achieve all of the above with ease. Wix also allows developers to use their coding language, called Velo, to do even more complex tasks allowing Wix to truly build any kind of website.

Wix is also amazing because they provide free web hosting and take care of all the website security once you pay for their "premium" subscription. Because Wix is a multi national, mulit billion dollar company they have a lot of resources dedicated to making sure their entire infrastructure is secure. With a Wix website you have the autonomy of building a custom site with the security infrastructure of a billion dollar company. That's one of the best reasons to use them. But that is not all... Wix is always up and always fast, reliable and efficient. Wix is also constantly being updated and improved with useful new features.

So enough about Wix, let's talk about hiring a developer. Is someone who builds Wix websites a "developer". No, not in the traditional sense. But do developers use Wix to get rapid website development off the ground, yes - absolutely.

Building a website on Wix is the difference between two weeks and two months of development in most cases. It makes the entire process cheaper and more efficient for the client and the developer. Paying someone to code an HTML website for something like an online store is a waste of time, money and energy and the project will likely fail because it is not a cost effective was to run an online business - especially if volume of trade is low.

So hiring a developer to build you an ecommerce site on Wix is the right idea because if you cant afford to pay the developer you can literally step in and within a couple of hours be able to take over the development of your site yourself - it really is that easy.

Once you have decided to hire a developer there are some things you should know:

1. It helps tremendously when you know what you want to do. Do your research. Learn about what type of site you want to build and how you want it to work. Know what your goal is with the website. The more clearly you can express your goal, the greater the chance of the developer being able to achieve it.

2. Get your branding ready before you build your website. A website is Two things: UI and UX. Your branding forms most of the UI elements of your site. Having a logo, pictures and the brand voice written in clear website copy is half the battle won. At Marshall we help our clients develop this material. Once this is in place the website building begins.

3. Have a realistic and solid marketing plan for your website. Nothing hurts more than building a site that gets neglected after is built. Make sure you are ready to create Facebook, Instagram and YouTube accounts. You will also need other accounts like Google My Business and Marketing integrations like Google Analytics and Google Search Console. A website doesn't "need" all of these things but they are among some of the essentials if you want your website to be findable across the web.

4. Know your budget and work with your developer to create a staged approach rather than an all-in push to get everything done at once. The internet rewards businesses that are in it for the long haul. Building a website that gets neglected is pointless because Google can tell when a website is not being updated. Facebook knows when a page is not being interactive with its audience. Have a staged approach to your development strategy to you can update regularly and stay on Google's watchlist.

5. Be prepared to put in the work. A website owner is not a job without hard work. You have to be prepared to put in the time to make sure your website provides the experience that it says it does, in a way that makes every single customer feel amazing. Be prepared for the work it takes to do that.

If you are ready to hire a developer, why not book a call with us by the clicking the link at the top of this page.

Want to know why Marshall Arts is considered one of the best developer agencies in the world, click here.

Feel like you want to build a site yourself? Check this out, it really is easy!

Is building a Wix Website easy? (2022 Update)

The short answer is yes but the longer answer is "it depends".

Looking for someone to build your website?

What does it depend on? Well, it depends on what you are trying to achieve really. Wix is a really easy to learn and intuitive website builder that has limitless possibilities. This means that you can create any kind of website on Wix but knowing how to create any kind of website is where many people get stuck. If you simply want a basic site that looks like a template with your pictures in it, then Wix is by far the easiest tool out there to get your business online. But if you want a custom site that has specific features and functionality, it may be a little more difficult for the first time Wix user. That's why Wix has created the Wix Partner programme and the Wix MarketPlace. Through the Wix MarketPlace, users can find a Wix professional to assist them in building their websites. Some partners specialise in doing the basics very well, while other partners specialise in things like adding custom code to Wix sites to unlock extra functionality.

No matter your experience level, working with a Wix partner is a great option and makes the Wix platform very competitive in comparison to Wordpress or Squarespace which have no such programme to help their struggling users.

Can you learn Wix on your own?

Absolutely, but you also don't have to because Wix has a bunch of really good training and tutorials with my favourite one being on the Codecademy Website. If you are just getting into Wix and want to learn how to code Javascript, then this is the tutorial for you. Wix also has so many independent users making awesome YOUTUBE CONTENT THAT TEACHES OTHER USERS HOW TO USE WIX. So that is really great too!

Is Wix expensive?

This is one of the questions i get asked all the time. The short answer is no. The longer answer is, it depends. It depends on what you need. If you need an e-commerce platform, Wix is way cheaper than the alternatives and has way more functionality. If all you need is a simple one pager, then you can definitely build that cheaper on other platforms. I see Wix kind of like how I see Apple because Wix is one eco-system that has many components, where as Wordpress for example is a more open source platform that has people from around the world making components. This means you end u paying per feature on Wordpress, whereas on Wix you pay one fee and get all the features. In the long run, this makes Wix the cheaper option.

Here is a "short" list of just 115 of Wix's most sought after features:

1. Activity Dashboard
   

2. Activity Tracking
   

3. Alerts/Notifications
   

4. Appointment Management
   

5. Attendance Management
   

6. Attendance Tracking
   

7. Attendee Management
   

8. Availability Management
   

9. Backlink Monitoring
   

10. Billing & Invoicing
    

11. Booking Management
    

12. Calendar Management
    

13. Campaign Management
    

14. Catalog Creation
    

15. Cataloging/Categorization
    

16. Categorization/Grouping
    

17. Chat/Messaging
    

18. Class Management
    

19. Class Scheduling
    

20. Collaboration Tools
    

21. Commenting/Notes
    

22. Communication Management
    

23. Confirmation/Reminders
    

24. Contact Management
    

25. Content Management
    

26. Content Publishing Options
    

27. Content Sharing
    

28. Credit Card Processing
    

29. Customer Accounts
    

30. Customer History
    

31. Customizable Branding
    

32. Customizable Fields
    

33. Customizable Forms
    

34. Customizable Templates
    

35. Dashboard
    

36. Data Security
    

37. Design Management
    

38. Document Management
    

39. Drag & Drop
    

40. Email Management
    

41. Email Marketing
    

42. Employee Management
    

43. Event Calendar
    

44. Event Management
    

45. Event Scheduling
    

46. Event Triggered Actions
    

47. For Small Businesses
    

48. Form Builder
    

49. Forms Management
    

50. Full Text Search
    

51. HTML5 Technology
    

52. Image Editing
    

53. Image Library
    

54. Instructor Management
    

55. Inventory Management
    

56. Invoice Management
    

57. Keyword Rank Tracking
    

58. Kitting
    

59. Knowledge Base Management
    

60. Landing Pages/Web Forms
    

61. Membership Management
    

62. Multi-Channel Campaigns
    

63. Multi-Channel Communication
    

64. Multi-Language
    

65. Multi-Location
    

66. Multi-Store
    

67. Online Booking
    

68. Online Booking Tools
    

69. Online Forums
    

70. Online Store Builder
    

71. Order Management
    

72. Order Tracking
    

73. Payment Processing
    

74. Point of Sale (POS)
    

75. Post Management
    

76. Post Scheduling
    

77. Pre-built Templates
    

78. Preview Functionality
    

79. Product Catalog
    

80. Promotions Management
    

81. Publishing Options
    

82. ROI Tracking
    

83. Ratings / Reviews
    

84. Real Time Editing
    

85. Real Time Notifications
    

86. Real-time Updates
    

87. Recurring/Subscription Billing
    

88. Registration Management
    

89. Reminders
    

90. Reporting & Statistics
    

91. Reporting/Analytics
    

92. Reservations Management
    

93. Responsive
    

94. SEO Management
    

95. SMS Messaging
    

96. SSL Security
    

97. Search/Filter
    

98. Shipping Management
    

99. Shopping Cart
    

100. Social Media Integration
     

101. Support Ticket Management
     

102. Survey Builder
     

103. Template Management
     

104. Templates
     

105. Third Party Integrations
     

106. Video Management
     

107. Visitor Tracking
     

108. WYSIWYG Editor
     

109. Wait List Management
     

110. Website Analytics
     

111. Website Hosting
     

112. Website Integration
     

113. Website Management
     

114. eCommerce Management

115. Wix Partner Programme

Still not convinced? Why not give us a call and we can chat you through the decision making process. We do not "sell" wix plans or get commission for getting you on Wix and you have no obligation to work with us once you get on Wix. We are simply a dedicated Wix Partner agency that believes in the platform we use for our clients