Wix Review: Is It the Best Website Builder for Small Businesses?
Should you use Wix to build your website? Is it the best solution for your company?
To start, lets talk about what makes a typical small business website "good." It has to be visually appealing, of course, but it also has to do more than that. There are a range of tools that most companies need from their site; things such as being able to accept for payments, schedule appointments, and track of customers/clients.
So, how well does Wix handle all this? On the design front, it succeeds. The company is one of the pioneers of do-it-yourself web development and its tools are indeed intuitive. Using a combination of Wix's templates and simple editor you can build a good-looking website in two to three hours.
Wix says they will give you a "gorgeous website" and the company largely delivers on this promise. If you use the platform you'll get an attractive initial splash page for your business.
However, if your company needs more than a superficial site—as most do—Wix has some serious drawbacks. In particular, the platform fails in these five key areas:
Lack of Integrated Tools - Unfortunately, the Wix platform is missing many functionalities—such as the ability to schedule appointments and segment customers—that are essential for day-to-day operations. Wix tries to address these problems with its app store, where third-party vendors provide tools that integrate with the platform. This adds cost and time up front. Moreover, it means more complexity and headaches down the road. With third-party tools you need to continually ensure they are up to date and working properly with the core website.
Static Technology - Speaking of headaches down the road, a Wix website may look good right now, but it may not perform as well on new devices and browsers in a few months or years. The downside of DIY templates is that they tend to be static—you pick one and then are responsible for making sure it remains effective as technology changes. That, of course, is a major issue since most businesses don't have the time to keep track of constant evolutions in consumer behavior.
Limited Content Options - Wix provides a good starting point for the basics of a website—images and text—but what if you want more? As with its business tools, Wix's content tools are limited. There is no built-in map builder, newsletter manager, or public-facing calendar. This means you must again turn to the third-party apps.
Ecommerce Limitations - The Wix platform is made to showcase, not to sell. That means that it does not integrate more nuanced commerce offerings, such as the ability to accept deposits from customers, the option to generate discount codes, or the functionality to provide a price quote now and take payment later. These limitations are a major drawback for businesses that want a true e-commerce solution—yet again you'll need to turn to third-party apps to handle essential tasks.
Lack of Partnership Options - Finally, it's important to remember that no business is an island. One of the most powerful tools available to any company is the ability to partner with other businesses. Wix provides limited opportunities to work with other organizations on affiliate partnerships, thereby cutting off access to potential customers.
Given all these limitations, Wix is by no means the best website builder for most businesses.
So, what is? We are biased, of course, but we believe Ocoos is a much better solution.
What is Ocoos? It's a next-generation platform launched by Harvard/Kellogg alums that focuses on solving sales/marketing problems for small businesses in a more holistic manner.
The key idea here is "platform." Ocoos is a robust integrated solution, not just a set of website templates—this means you are not reliant on third-party apps. Our platform allows you to directly accept payments, schedule appointments, manage customers, create maps, provide an interactive calendar, and much more.
Also, because all of our sites are built on the same core platform, they are adaptable to new devices and platforms. Our Technology Insurance means that compatibility occurs behind-the-scenes—you never have to worry about a thing.
The shared platform also makes it much easier to send traffic back and forth between businesses, opening up many opportunities. Ocoos provides a unique (patented) B2B recommendations engine which links the websites of partners automatically. With these recommendations, a small business can cooperate with complementary companies to broaden the circle of trust, crowdsource marketing efforts, or simply offer customers more options.
Finally, the biggest difference: We do it all for you. Our affordable concierge service takes the hassle out of building and maintaining your website. It's truly no-stress and no-worry on your part. We also provide 24/7 US-based customer support, as well as online support, so you can have your questions answered anytime by a real person.
To recap: Wix offers shallow splash pages that you have to build yourself; Ocoos offers a powerful website platform that we set-up for you. Given that stark difference, the better solution for businesses is clear.
Want to learn more? Click here for a free Ocoos demonstration or call us at (844) 669-3366 to chat.
