Wix is a powerful website builder that helps businesses make great responsive websites without the need to code anything.
But, the question is; is it any good for Blogging?
No, Wix is not a good option for blogging. Wix is primarily for people who wants to start a business website, portfolio website, build landing pages etc. You can use it for blogging but it lacks some features and is not the best place for you to start. The better option for you would be WordPress.
I bought a Wix site some time ago and this post is completely based on what I observed while trying to build a blog on the platform.
What is Wix?
Wix is an Israeli-based company that provides web development tools and allows you to build websites by using their simple drag and drop builder.
They are one of the best platforms to start a website.
Wix is for those people who want to build a business website for their services, a portfolio website or even build landing pages to collect leads.
They also do have an integrated email marketing tool and other digital marketing tools that help you manage your business.
Related Article – Is Blogging Still Profitable in 2021?
Why is Wix not good for Blogging?
Wix has the ability to let you start a blog on their platform however, there are a number of reasons why you shouldn’t:-
1. Speed
One of the most important things about blogging and that which affects SEO is speed. If you have a slow and sluggish website, it would be harder for you to rank on top of Google.
In Wix, speed mainly affects the mobile version of the website rather than the desktop version. And I have found it to be extremely slow for some sites on Google Pagespeed Insights.
This is really bad!
Because Google has officially stated this :-
“Google predominantly uses the mobile version of the content for indexing and ranking”
– Google Search Central
So, It’s not probably a great idea to start a blog with Wix.
2. Usability
I have found it a bit hard to navigate through the Wix dashboard and at times it does feel so sluggish and unresponsive.
I don’t know if this is just me or if there are other people with the same problem.
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3. Wix Subscription Fees
This is one of the huge reasons why I hate Wix and I why I would never use it even they improve the other parts of their platform.
Wix is free to start but in order for you to even connect your custom domain, you will need to pay for their subscription plan which starts at $4.5/month.
And the most basic plan will only give you about 1GB bandwidth, 500MB of storage space and the worst of all – they won’t remove their Wix ads on your site.
Here’s an overview of their pricing plans:-
On top of this, if you ever intend to sell anything in the future, you will have to upgrade to a more expensive eCommerce plan.
When this is compared with a WordPress hosting from Bluehost, you could save a lot of money. On top of that, Bluehost also gives you a free domain and an SSL certificate
4. Plugins and Themes
Wix does have a variety of themes on its platform. However, when compared to that of WordPress, it’s just too low, especially for bloggers.
They also do have an app market which is pretty much like plugins on WordPress. But there is only a handful of apps for you to choose from when compared with WordPress.
Wix already comes with a marketing tool integrated. However, you will have to pay a monthly subscription fee for it.
Related Article – 8 Best WordPress Themes For SEO and Speed
My Experience with Wix
I had a website on Wix which I bought when I saw a huge sale. I got for like under $5 for an entire year with a free domain. It was so cheap that even I couldn’t believe it.
I bought it and tried setting up the website. The setting up part was very easy. However, I couldn’t actually enjoy it more than WordPress. The platform was a bit sluggish and I hated using it.
I also couldn’t increase the website speed. I tried some themes, removed a lot of elements, etc but none of this seemed to fix the problem. That’s when I realized that I won’t be touching Wix ever again.
Since it was just a $5 investment, I did not regret it much.
This might not be the case for everyone. If you are someone who likes to design and create beautiful-looking websites, Wix would be the right choice for you. It has one of the most advanced drag-and-drop builders of any other platform.
Best Alternative To Wix: WordPress
WordPress is surely the best platform for Bloggers. I say this because I have been a WordPress user for more than 2 years and haven’t had any problem using it.
Moreover, about 41% of the internet is powered by WordPress. That’s how powerful and awesome it is.
By WordPress, I mean is the self-hosted one(WordPress.org) and not WordPress.com (Which is a complete waste of money).
The only place I believe WordPress needs an improvement would be a completely flexible drag and drop builder. Elementor, Thrive architects are great builders but you can’t actually drag it anywhere like Wix’s builder.
Related Article – Is WordPress a Hosting Site? Or Is it Just a CMS?
How to Start a WordPress Blog?
Building a blog with WordPress is simple. Even if you are complete nobody, you can start creating and designing a website with no technical skills.
In order to build this website, hosting and a domain are needed. You can get both of them together for as cheap as $2.95/month on Bluehost.
I recommend Bluehost because it has proven to be fast, reliable, and cheap. Moreover, you get a free domain and an SSL certificate along with it (Which saves around $20 together).
SSSHHH – A small Tip – When you are on the checkout page of Bluehost. After the page loads completely, Move your cursor to the top, a pop-up will appear which will give you a discount. Click on “Claim savings” and buy it.
Once you buy the hosting and domain from Bluehost, you will go through a setup wizard. Follow the instructions correctly and finally, you can login into your dashboard from your Bluehost account.
Once you log in to your dashboard, it might look somewhat like this.
That’s all there! If you want to know more about blogging and how I find content and publish articles, you can check out my free training here. (Don’t worry, it is completely free and there aren’t any upsells).
Related Article – Is Squarespace Good for Blogging?
Conclusion
So, If your sole purpose is to start a blog, WordPress is your best choice. It is the best and will always be until and unless a true competitor arises.
Hope I have helped you with this article. Have a good day!
Peace!
