Building websites from scratch is an old fad already. Most entrepreneurs and startups don’t have the time to dedicate weeks to their business’s website nor the money to pay a team of professionals to build it for them.
However, if there’s anything we’ve learned in 2020 in terms of running a successful business is how important it is to be present online. Luckily, there are some amazing website building platforms that will do the job much quicker and for a fraction of what a coding team would cost.
That said, we have a quite few favorites that we often use to build new websites. One of them is Wix – a platform acclaimed for its capability in building multi-purpose websites. But, like every product, it’s not perfect and we totally understand that it might not be the best option for everyone.
That’s why we created this article – to provide you with more variety regarding similar services where you can find the most suitable option to match your idea and budget.
The Wix alternatives that you’ll read about in this list are all tried-and-true options, populating the top rankings when it comes to website building services.
Let’s start by reviewing Wix in more detail.
Wix’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Since Wix’s foundation in 2006, the platform has been steadily growing and attracting new users every day. However, it gained real momentum about 8 years ago and its impact in the industry soared to what it is today – a leader in the website creation space, providing innovative technologies and serving over 180 million users.
Pros
With Wix, you can build your website in a simple and easy way, but at the same time, it can be flexible and sophisticated. While Wix is amazing since it gives you the utmost creative control, the platform recently launched its Wix ADI – an artificial intelligence design tool that creates your entire website based on your requirements.
To simplify things, Wix offers over 800 preset templates to help you start from the one that’s most appealing to you.
One of Wix’s strongest assets is its fully-fledged CRM tool – Wix Ascend. With it, you’d get everything you need to promote your brand, attract new leads, and increase revenue. Wix Ascend works great alongside Wix Stores – an app you can integrate to create an eCommerce store.
When it comes to conversion and content optimization, Wix offers a great SEO asset – Wix SEO Wiz. This tool will outline some weak points you may have and show you how to improve them in order to increase your brand’s visibility. It’s also great for discovering the right keywords so you can target your preferred audience and rank higher on Google.
Cons
Even though Wix is great for creating beautifully-designed online stores, it’s not fully optimized to handle large-scale stores. There are limitations when it comes to eCommerce, so entrepreneurs looking to build a substantial selling business might want to check some other alternatives.
Wix’s prices aren’t really easy to swallow either. It’s one of the more expensive options on the market and it can become even costlier if you want to scale up. Most apps in its marketplace will add to your monthly subscription if you wish to use any of them.
The real bummer with Wix is its template policy. If you choose a certain template and later in the process wish to switch to another one, you can’t do so without losing your existing content. This annoyed us in the past, so we’re giving you a heads up here.
Lastly, most of the templates offered by Wix aren’t fully responsive. They won’t look great on mobile devices and you need to hire a professional to fix this oversight which will result in more money coming out of your pocket.
Pricing
Wix’s pricing plans are optimized for multi-purpose websites and eCommerce websites.
There are four paid plans which you can use to build a professional website with Wix:
- Connect Domain – $4.50/month;
- Combo – $8.50/month;
- Unlimited – $12.50/month;
- VIP – $24.50/month.
Those who wish to sell online, need to opt for one of the three business plans:
- Business Basic – $17/month;
- Business Unlimited – $25/month;
- Business VIP – $35/month.
Top 7 Wix Alternatives
Above, you’ve noticed how Wix has its share of liabilities. It’s quite expensive, doesn’t cater to large-scale eStores, doesn’t handle template replacements very well, and it’s not fully responsive.
If those aspects are important to you, you might want to explore more options. Here, we’ll provide you with a detailed overview of 7 amazing Wix alternatives. They are all special in their own way and offer different features that could be a better choice for you.
- WordPress.com
- Duda
- Shopify
- BigCommerce
- Squarespace
- Weebly
- Jimdo
Let’s dive in!
WordPress.com
Let’s start with the most prominent website creator out there. With WordPress, building a portfolio site, starting a blog, or selling your stuff online is so easy and streamlined that over 41% of the web is built with it. It received such status for providing comprehensive tools that allow for incredible website building that requires little to no prior coding knowledge.
Pros
Most of WordPress’s success is due to its template system and plugins implementation that many other builders drew examples from and built their own platforms in a similar way.
The service has its block editor which is great in its own regard, however, the real site-building power of WordPress is unleashed when using some of the top plugins for visual design editing such as Elementor Pro, Beaver Builder, WPBakery, etc.
Templates are called themes over at WordPress and there are over 30,000 of those available in repositories such as TemplateMonster and ThemeForest. That is the most extensive collection of templates for any website builder, ever.
Additionally, you can pick from over 55,000 plugins with which you can build landing pages, implement payment methods, add caching and security, and so much more.
In terms of SEO, you can use plugins such as Yoast SEO or Rank Math to improve your search ranking position to the highest extent.
Cons
WordPress’s learning curve is a bit moderate and using the tool might be a little confusing for beginners. While users get familiar with its interface rather quickly, other website builders, like Wix, put more effort into this area and are simpler to use.
Being the most popular content management system means that it’s also the most susceptible to cyber-attacks.
WordPress’s weakest point is the high dependency on plugins and, in most cases, it has no control over the direction they take over time. Also, the more plugins you use, the slower your website becomes.
Pricing
Besides the four paid plans that WordPress offers, there’s a free option that you can use to test the platform. With it, you get 3 GB of free storage, but limited functionality.
Depending on how much you want to scale your business, you need to opt for one of the paid plans:
- Personal – $4/month (6 GB storage);
- Premium – $8/month (13 GB storage);
- Business – $25/month (200 GB storage);
- eCommerce – $45/month (200 GB storage + selling tools).
Duda
Duda is a younger platform among its competitors but still a very successful one. It’s favorable among users who don’t want to bother with having too many options and appreciate having no coding at all.
Pros
The best thing about Duda is its drag-and-drop editor. It’s very intuitive and extremely straightforward, allowing you to build your website in a matter of hours.
The platform does have fewer features than other builders in the industry, but what’s on the table with Duda it’s more than enough for users who look for a simple solution.
Their templates might be few, but they’re all modern, elegant, and what matters the most – they’re fully responsive.
Additionally, the platform is hosted on AWS (Amazon Web Services) and provides a free content delivery network which results in extra-layered security and high-speed page loading.
If you’re interested in selling online, Duda offers wonderful features such as inventory management, shopper loyalty programs, fulfillment channels, etc.
Having said that, you probably noticed how different Duda is from WordPress. To get insight into the full comparison between the two, head over to the article we dedicated on that subject – Duda vs WordPress: Where Should You Build Your Website?
Cons
While Duda’s eCommerce features are plentiful, you need to pay extra for each that you decide to use. And that’s on top of the monthly price which, to begin with, is quite hefty as well.
As we mentioned above, Duda does offer every essential tool for running an online business, however, some aspects of it lack more expertise, such as SEO and email marketing integration.
Ultimately, Duda isn’t a suitable option for those who often like to migrate their websites to different hosts. Duda simply doesn’t offer that capability.
Pricing
Duda lacks a completely free plan, but you can try what it has to offer on a 14-day free trial. After that period, you’d need to subscribe to one of its four paid plans:
- Basic – $19/month (one website with Duda’s branding);
- Team – $29/month (one website with your branding + collaboration features);
- Agency – $59/month (four websites + a widget builder);
- Custom – a custom plan for accessing advanced features.
Shopify
Let’s start by saying that Shopify is a website builder entirely optimized for creating only eCommerce websites. As a matter of fact, it’s the best eCommerce builder in our opinion.
Pros
Online stores built with Shopify’s help are fully responsive and packed with high-end marketing and point of sale features.
With Shopify, you can ensure to give your customers an effective and seamless shopping experience by employing amazing product display features. Some of them include an increased zoom functionality and product demonstration using augmented reality.
Depending on your plan, Shopify’s selling features are endless – integrated shipping options, abandoned cart recovery, automatic tax calculation, donating and tipping at checkout, etc.
Shopify enables integration with third-party apps to provide you with options to expand your business even further. By connecting with services such as Oberlo, to leverage dropshipping, and Judge.me, to encourage your customers to leave reviews about your website and products, you can scale your business and boost revenue.
To see how Shopify compares to Wix, read our in-depth comparison article – Wix vs Shopify for 2021 – Which One is Better?
Cons
Even though Shopify is one of the few platforms that can successfully handle large-scale eCommerce websites, it’s also pretty expensive compared to the other Wix alternatives on this list.
While you can sell in over 130 currencies with Shopify, your website will be quite limited with language options. There’s no option for a multilingual site in the Basic plan, and the other two plans offer support for only 2-5 extra languages.
Pricing
The three main packages included with Shopify are:
- Basic Shopify – $29/month;
- Shopify – $79/month;
- Advanced Shopify – $299/month.
Businesses that need additional options might look into these two Shopify offers:
- Shopify Lite – $9/month (incorporates on an existing website);
- Shopify Plus – starting at $2000/month (an enterprise-level eCommerce solution catering to large companies and corporations).
BigCommerce
While we’re still warmed up talking about eCommerce, let’s tackle one more awesome online store builder – BigCommerce.
Pros
Compared to Wix, BigCommerce is definitely better at creating eCommerce sites. Just like Shopify, it has everything you need to boost sales – checkout customization, coupon and discount creation, merchandising, digital wallets, and much more.
There are also a few key aspects where BigCommerce surpasses Shopify’s prowess – it integrates with WordPress to unlock even more possibilities.
Even though BigCommerce costs the same as Shopify on a monthly basis, you can get it for less if you opt for annual billing.
With Shopify, unless you use Shopify’s payments, you need to pay transaction fees, which is never the case with BigCommerce. That is another win over Shopify.
Another advantage of BigCommerce is its cross-channel commerce capabilities. With BigCommerce, you can integrate with popular marketplaces such as eBay, Facebook, Amazon, and Google Shopping.
Localization in any language is also a huge plus for BigCommerce.
Cons
As expected, BigCommerce is optimized for creating the ultimate online store, so it doesn’t perform that well with content creation. Its editor is a bit confusing, so if you’re incorporating a blog on your site, you might want to look into some WordPress plugin meant for that purpose.
We mentioned that there are no transaction fees with BigCommerce, however, there’s a catch. Depending on your plan, you will be charged a commission if you sell above your selling threshold.
Pricing
You can start using BigCommerce for free for 15 days. After the trial period, if you wish to continue with the platform, you should subscribe to one of the following plans:
- Standard – $29.95/month;
- Plus – $79.95/month;
- Pro – $299.95/month;
- Enterprise – Contact BigCommerce’s sales team to get a quote about the price of this plan.
The Plus and Pro plans have a 10% discount if you sign up for an annual subscription.
Squarespace
Squarespace is another amazing multi-purpose website builder, great for designing blogs and portfolios, but also for opening small to medium-sized eCommerce stores.
Pros
If you’re soft on design, Squarespace might be the solution for you. The website builder offers the most gorgeous palette of page elements, colors, and styles to make your portfolio shine and stand out. That makes it a favorite among creatives.
Besides making your site look slick, elegant, and modern, Squarespace takes care of all the back-end work for you. It makes sure your website looks great across all types of devices.
Running a blog is also a piece of cake with Squarespace. The platform offers features such as publishing schedule, contributor settings, and analytics tools.
Squarespace is also suitable for running a modest online store. It offers all the basic features that come with Shopify and BigCommerce and imposes no transaction fees.
Cons
Squarespace is not the best option if you plan to scale and grow your business. Integration with third-party apps is largely limited and that can interrupt the expansion of your site’s functionality.
To try it, you can sign up for a free trial, but there’s no free option. Its paid plans aren’t the cheapest among its competitors either.
Pricing
To build a website with Squarespace, you need to pick one of the four plans they offer:
- Personal – $16/month ($144/year);
- Business – $26/month ($216/year);
- Basic Commerce – $30/month ($312/year);
- Advanced Commerce – $46/month ($480/year).
Weebly
Weebly is a relatively young but very serious website-building platform. It continually improves the technology behind its services and today it represents an all-in-one solution for maintaining a successful online presence.
Pros
Besides the amazing features for creating stunning blogs and online stores, Weebly caters best to small businesses and startups. It has its own email marketing service, Weebly Promote, crafted with the purpose to convert casual visitors into customers, design and manage engaging newsletters, and launch sales.
Weebly Promote is also packed with email performance analytics with which you can learn all about the success of your campaigns to make important, data-driven decisions.
Weebly is incredibly easy to use, even with the hundreds of third-party apps that it integrates with.
Creating an eCommerce site with Weebly comes with valuable features such as inventory tracking, bulk import and export options, convenient search filtering, safe shipping and payment tools, comprehensive product management capabilities, etc.
Cons
For online stores, Weebly charges a 3% commission on every transaction on all their plans, except for the top tier. That’s pretty high compared to the rest of the platforms on this list.
When it comes to design, Weebly isn’t too invested in the area. It offers under 60 templates that aren’t fully customizable. You’re pretty much stuck with how they genuinely look like.
Pricing
Besides the free plan, Weebly offers four paid plans:
- Connect – $5.00/month;
- Pro – $12.00/month;
- Business – $25.00/month;
- Business Plus – $38.00/month.
Jimdo
Last on our list is Jimdo. We decided it’s a worthy contender mainly because of its AI approach in building websites and business-oriented features.
Pros
Jimdo Dolphin is one of the best website creators for absolute non-techies. It’s an AI-powered tool that asks you questions and builds a professionally-looking website based on your answers. The result is a stunning end-product – a website that matches your industry and portrays the essence of your brand.
The ease of creating a website with Jimdo is on another level. You can do so even on the move – the platform offers apps for iOS and Android with which you can launch your website in minutes.
Jimdo even throws in a free logo maker to make the process of online branding even simpler.
Local businesses can find Jimdo most suitable for their websites since the platform automatically lists local businesses with the most prominent web directories such as Google My Business, Yelp, Foursquare, Facebook, etc.
Cons
While Jimdo offers support for creating eCommerce sites, it lacks some serious product functionalities like exporting CSV files.
Other than that, unlike Wix and WordPress, Jimdo’s templates aren’t flexible enough to be modified and adapted to your requirements – an issue that’s present with Weebly as well.
Pricing
There are four pricing plans for creating multi-purpose websites with Jimdo:
- Play – Free;
- Start – $9/month;
- Grow – $15/month;
- Unlimited – $39/month.
And three more dedicated for the creation of eCommerce stores:
- Basic – $15/month;
- Business – $19/month;
- VIP – $39/month.
Conclusion
Before we go, let’s sum up what we learned.
Wix is a sophisticated website building solution packed with important features to improve your website functionality and grow your business. However, it has its share of disadvantages, especially when it comes to online stores, mobile responsiveness, and affordability. That’s why we curated a list of the top Wix alternatives:
- WordPress.com – An incredible resource of website building tools and features suitable for any type of business;
- Duda – A solution for a fast and reliable website requiring no prior coding knowledge;
- Shopify – The most popular eCommerce building platform;
- BigCommerce – Another eCommerce builder that shines where Shopify doesn’t;
- Squarespace – A web-building tool that’s big on design and great for artists and creatives;
- Weebly – A business-oriented website builder packed with wonderful email marketing features;
- Jimdo – The fastest solution that provides businesses with a website + a logo in a matter of minutes.
To conclude – picking the right option is all about what works best for your business. Decide which direction you’re willing to take and one of the above options will surely match your requirements.