Wix Review: Is Wix the Answer for Small Business Websites?
"Design is not what it looks like or feels like. Design is how it works." Steve Jobs.
An advertisement for the online website builder, Wix.com, tells you to, "“Build Gorgeous Websites.” Great idea, right?
Everyone wants an attractive website, and the idea of website as work of art is reinforced by web designers who'd love nothing more than to have you pay them to design your small business website.
But too many small businesses forget to ask: What lies beneath the exterior?
A pretty website isn't useful for your business if it doesn't function in the following ways:
Communicate Basic Business Information: This includes everything from your business, name, location, contact information, and hours of operation to your value statement and background story.
Engages Customers: Your website should offer e-commerce for products and services, appointment scheduling abilities, and consumer-specific information updates.
Analyzes Data: You'll want the ability to track website data to better understand your customers' behavior.
Front-End of Business Operations: Integrated customer address book and sales information, coupled with a front-end that can drive future marketing and sales initiatives from this database.
How does Wix.com stack up?
Wix offers thousands of home page design templates, which is great for professional designers, but not necessarily for the average small business owner. While Wix offers ample design choices, the actual website might not be user friendly.
You'll be responsible for time-consuming tasks, like capturing a domain and figuring out where and how to host your site. Wix also offers independent applications (APPS) that can be added to your website. These APPS are created by outside companies and can have integration issues and additional costs.
In short, Wix provides a toolbox, but it's up to the customer -- you! -- to learn how to work the tools.
Other systems, such as Ocoos, offer an integrated solution that includes all the aforementioned functionalities. The best part? For a small feel, users can have Ocoos set up their entire website infrastructure through the platform's concierge services.
A more detailed review of Wix is available in this in-depth article.
