Is a Wix Website the Right Solution for Small Businesses? The pros and cons of Wix websites

Every business needs a solid web presence, but for small businesses in particular, having a strong website can make or break their future success. Customers need to find you, and once they do, the should be able to easily purchase your products or services.

Wix is a website builder tool that allows users to create simple websites, but is it the right solution for your small business?

As a small business owner, you're faced with a vast number of website builder solutions. It's critical you choose one that gives you freedom to incorporate valuable e-commerce features and is also built to grow as technologies change.

So, how does Wix stack up?

The Pros

Wix users have a great number of website designs at their fingertips, and can customize the look and feel of their website. Wix offers a number of different apps through third-party vendors that users can integrate into their websites that provide e-commerce functionality

The Cons

The customizations available to Wix users can create a complicated staging ground for novice website builders. These folks may want to hire a developer to handle more difficult tasks like integrating and updating third-party vendor apps -- which can be costly.

Wix users are responsible for keeping their website updated with the latest technology. This means your website could become obsolete in a few years' time, as technologies change. Making sure a site is updated and working across all new and emerging technology (like smart phones and other mobile devices) can become a headache for people new to the world of website building.

Unfortunately, Wix users also won't have immediate access to popular -- and valuable -- tools like a built-in map builder, newsletter manager, or public-facing calendar. Users will have to rely on third-party apps for this.

Perhaps more importantly, Wix showcases your business -- it's not meant to sell goods. Commerce offerings you'd likely want, like the ability to accept customer deposits, discount codes, and providing price quotes prior to payment are not available. Again, you'll have to use third-party apps.

Finally, the ability to work with other businesses through affiliate partnerships does not exist.

The Solution

Building a website using a platform, like Ocoos, is a more robust alternative to a simple website builder like Wix. More than a series of website templates, Ocoos allows you to directly accept payments, schedule, appointments, create maps, manage customers, use an interactive calendar, and more, without relying on third-party apps.

Because Ocoos's technology is built on the same core platform, it can be adapted to new and ever-changing devices and platforms. This compatibility is handled by us -- behind the scenes -- so you never have to worry or hire a developer to make changes for you.

Also, Ocoos's patented B2B recommendations engine links the websites of partner businesses automatically, creating opportunities for sending traffic back and forth between businesses.

If you feel uncertain handling the technology of website building, not to worry. Ocoos also offers a concierge service with 24-hour, US-based support that handles building and maintaining your website for you.