Creating your website to sell products can be a great way to promote your business. You can share information about your products or services, post photos, videos, etc. But before you can start sharing your content with the world, you need to create a website. And that begins with choosing the right platform.
There are many different website builders, and Wix is one of the most popular. The platform is user-friendly, has a wide range of features, and is very affordable. However, the question is, how much does a Wix website cost?
In this article, I'll break down the different price points for Wix websites, so you can decide if this platform is right for you. I'll also discuss the various factors you need to consider when it comes to building your website.
The Wix Pricing Plans
First off, when it comes to Wix, you need to consider they offer two plans:
Knowing how much a Wix website costs starts with understanding which plan is right for you.
If you need a simple website to share information with your audience or generally promote your business, the Website plan may be all you need. However, if you're looking to sell products or services online, you'll need to sign up for a Business and eCommerce plan.
Let's look a bit more in-depth at each plan.
The Website Plans
There are four Wix premium plans found within this first tier. These are:
All of these are paid on a monthly basis. On the highest-priced plan, you get the following features:
As you go lower down the pricing plans, some of the features are removed or have limits placed on them. For example, you don't get a free domain name on the Connect Domain plan and have limits on the amount of bandwidth and storage space you can use.
All this means that having a rough idea of your needs can help you choose the right Wix plan (at the right price point) for your website builder.
Business And Ecommerce Plans
On the other hand, when building an eCommerce store, these are the pricing plans on hand:
With these plans, you get similar features as the website plans but have additional items related to commerce included.
These plans feature:
As with the Website plans, the features and pricing will differ slightly as you move up and down the different eCommerce plans.
Understanding what a Wix site will cost you also depends on the type of site you're looking to build.
The Primary Elements Of A Website
If you want to build your own site yourself, the packages on offer will cater to many of your needs.
Apart from that, you should consider the design and development of your site. This is the process of creating the look and feel of your website and developing any functionality it might need. If you're doing this yourself, it will cost you time rather than money.
If you want to add any additional features or functionality to your site and need to hire additional developers to help with this, this will add to the cost.
Should You Hire A Web Designer To Build A Website?
This is a difficult question to answer. If you are comfortable building a website yourself and are confident in your ability to do so, hiring a web designer might not be necessary.
However, if you feel like you need help with the design or development of your site, then it might be worth hiring someone to help with this.
The cost of hiring a web designer will depend on their level of experience and the complexity of the work you need them to do. As a general rule of thumb, the more complex the work, the more it will cost.
The Wix website builder can get you to a point where you have a fully functioning website without hiring a web designer.
What Can A Wix Website Do?
There are a lot of use cases that a Wix premium plan (or even a free plan) can cater for.
Let's have a look at some of them.
Ecommerce Website
Selling products online is a great way to reach a larger audience compared to selling through brick-and-mortar stores. It can also be a more cost-effective way to run your business, as you don't have the overhead costs of running a physical store.
Wix's eCommerce plans give you everything you need to create a professional online store, which means that you can start accepting online payments and shipping orders in no time.
Event Website
Organizing an event can be a lot of work, but it's worth it when everything comes together on the day.
A big part of making your event successful is promoting it effectively.
A Wix event website is a great way to do this, as it gives you a central place to list all the essential information about your events, such as the date, time, location, and ticket prices.
The platform also provides a platform for you to sell tickets and promote any special offers or discounts that you might be running.
Design Portfolio
If you're a designer, then having an online portfolio is essential.
Your portfolio is a great way to showcase your work to potential clients and employers, and it can also help you attract new opportunities as well.
Wix's Portfolio options give you everything you need to create a professional online portfolio, which means that you can start showcasing your work and attracting new clients in no time.
SEO Ranking Website
Ensuring your site is SEO-friendly is essential if you want it to rank well on search engine results pages.
While not the most SEO-friendly platform (compared to sites hosted on platforms such as WordPress), Wix's SEO Wiz tool can help you ensure your site is as search engine optimized as possible.This is a great way to improve your site's visibility and get more traffic.
Online Bookings Platform
Having an online booking system is essential if you offer any service that requires appointments or bookings.
It saves your customers the hassle of having to call or email you to make a booking, and it also means that they can do it at a time that suits them.
Wix Bookings is a great way to add an online booking system to your site, and it integrates seamlessly with the rest of the Wix platform.
Ticket Management
If you're selling tickets for an event, you'll need a way to manage them effectively.
Wix's Ticketing Management system is a great way to do this, as it gives you everything you need to sell, manage, and promote your tickets.It also integrates seamlessly with the Wix platform so that you can manage your whole event from one central location.
Take Online Orders
If you're running a restaurant or takeaway business, taking orders online is a great way to boost your sales.
It saves your customers the hassle of having to call or email you to place an order, and it also means that they can do it at a time that suits them.
Wix's Online Orders system is a great way to add an online ordering system to your site, and it integrates seamlessly with the rest of the Wix platform.
Manage Hotel Reservations
Managing reservations effectively is essential if you're running a hotel or accommodation business.
Wix's Hotel Reservations system is a great way to do this, as it gives you everything you need to manage your bookings and promotions.
Complete Solution For Fitness Pros
If you're a fitness professional, then having an all-in-one solution that manages your bookings, payments, and promotions is essential.
Wix's Fitness Pro solution gives you everything you need to run your fitness business, featuring all the tools you need. If you want to focus on delivering value to your clients without worrying about the technical side of things, this could be the right solution.Analytics Tools
Making informed decisions about your website is essential to improving its performance.
Wix's analytics tools give you insights into how your site is performing, who your visitors are, and what they're doing on your site.
This information is invaluable for making changes and improvements to your site.
It is also essential to stay updated with your key metrics and track your traffic as it changes. Wix's analytics tools give you this information in an easy-to-understand format to make the most of it.
Having the confidence to use the data provided to make decisions that improve your website is a valuable skill and will increase your bottom line.
This means that you will not only not have to pay for additional third-party tools, but you can also be confident that you're increasing your bottom line with every decision you make.
Additional Website Features And Premium Apps
The Wix marketplace offers a vast range of features and apps that you can add to your website.
These include everything from social media integration to eCommerce platforms.
Adding these features to your site is a great way to improve its functionality and appeal to a broader audience.
The Wix App marketplace is constantly expanding, so new features and apps are always being added. Many of the apps offered are free or offer a free plan, so that is another cost that you won't have to worry about.In addition, adding features and apps to your site without any coding is also a considerable advantage. This means that you can add new functionality to your site without hiring a developer or learning how to code yourself.
Wix Templates
Another factor that one should consider is that Wix offers tons of free templates to use on your site.
These templates are designed by professional designers and are a great way to give your site a unique look and feel.
The wide range of templates available means that there's something for everyone, regardless of their industry or niche.
It also means that you don't need to pay for a custom design, as you can use one of the many templates available.
Should You Go For A Wix-Free Plan?
If you wanted to go super cheap, you could have your website hosted on Wix utterly free of charge.
However, several features are limited to users on a free Wix plan.
You Can't Use Your Own Domain Name
One of the most significant issues with having a free Wix site is that you can't use your domain name. Instead, you have to use a subdomain, which will look something like this:
yourname.wixsite.com/siteaddress
This not only looks unprofessional, but it also makes it harder for people to find your site. If you're serious about having a professional website, using your domain name is essential.
Luckily, if you upgrade to one of the paid plans, you can connect a custom domain name.
You'll Have Wix Adverts Displayed On Your Site
If you opt for a free plan with Wix, you'll have adverts displayed on your website. These adverts are usually in the form of banner ads, which can be intrusive and off-putting for visitors.
What's more, having ads on your site makes it look less professional, damaging your brand. If you want to avoid ads on your site, you need to upgrade to a paid plan.
You Can't Sell Online
Another big downside of using a free Wix plan is that you can't sell online.
If you want to add an eCommerce store to your website, you need to upgrade to one business or eCommerce plan.
You Only Get Limited Features
When you use a free Wix plan, you're also limited in terms of the features that you can use.
For example, you won't have access to Google Analytics, making it hard to track your business site traffic and analyze your marketing efforts.
You're also limited in storage space and bandwidth, so your website could load slowly or crash if you get too much traffic.
If you want to avoid these limitations, you need to upgrade to a paid plan.
You Receive Only Essential Customer Support
Another downside of using a free Wix plan is that you only receive essential customer support.
If you have any problems with your website, you'll need to wait in line behind all other free users. You also won't have access to priority support options, such as live chat or phone support.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are several reasons a paid plan on Wix might be worthwhile to consider if you have an online business.
If you decide to go for one of the paid plans, you will also be avoiding the pain that comes with setting up your site on another content management system that involves a lot more work to get started.
When it comes to other platforms, consider that the initial costs might not be as high as with Wix, but you will probably pay more in the long run.
Since you will need to hire a web designer, a developer, buy additional plugins and themes, and more, this will all add up and might become very costly.
In a nutshell, if you want an easy-to-use platform that doesn't break the bank, then Wix is worth considering.