Wix vs. Web.com: Best Business Website Builder Review
Wix and Web.com are two of the most popular website builders in the industry, and both have been around for quite a few years. If you’re trying to decide between these two options, there are a few things you should know.
Building a website for your small business requires picking a platform that will meet your needs— in this review, we will offer a side-by-side comparison to help you decide which of these platforms can do that.
Recommended: For our money, Web.com comes out on top in terms of ease of use and affordability.
Wix vs. Web.com Review
Wix and Web.com use the same type of technology to help users build websites through their platforms. Drag-and-drop is inherently simple, but implementation can make or break how easy it is to use with a specific website builder.
This review aims to give you a side-by-side comparison of these two platforms to see how they measure up and pick our favorite for small business owners. We will cover pros and cons, pricing, ease of use, and more. At the end you will know if Wix or Web.com is right for you and your small business.
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Wix
Ease of Use
The Wix website builder has been around a while and continually rates as one of the easiest website builders available on the market today. Users can get their website up and running in just hours using this platform— from start to a fully-customized, high-performance final product.
Wix is a drag-and-drop website builder, which makes it easy for users to click and point when adding elements. Another benefit is the autosave feature that prevents you from losing your hard work. Some users complain that there is no option to change templates on Wix once you have made your selection, which can cost extra hours for users who chose the wrong template when setting up their websites.
Pricing
Wix pricing is divided into 3 levels— the first is Website Building, the second is Business & Ecommerce and the third is Enterprise, which is priced by the quote and is primarily for customers looking for more broad-spectrum services. Wix ecommerce plans provide all of the services of the equivalent tier website building plan.
Website Plans – Pricing and Features
Business & Ecommerce Plans – Pricing and Features
Pros
- Simple, drag-and-drop technology
- Affordable pricing
- A free version is available
- Hundreds of beautifully designed, fully customizable templates
- Ecommerce plans are available for small business owners
Cons
- Ecommerce plans may be limited for larger companies
- Large pricing hike for upper-tier plans
- Data heavy sites may have slower load times
Ecommerce
Wix offers ecommerce services through its Business & Ecommerce plans. Members of these services can take payments, create accounts for their customers, and access other ecommerce tools. A nice bonus here is no transaction fees on in-house payments. Though setting up your site is simple with Wix, the final product is just that— simple. Users looking for more full-service ecommerce may be disappointed. To learn more, read our Wix review.
Templates and Themes
Wix offers hundreds of beautifully designed, modern templates. These are sorted by industry and can be browsed using a few different filter options. Templates appeal to a wide variety of users, with a lot of different options to choose from depending on your industry. Each can be fully customized using the Wix template editing software to create an on-brand final product.
The big issue with these templates is the way they display on mobile. Users can easily toggle between desktop and mobile editing modes but have to pay special attention to make sure they don’t end up with a glitchy site on phones and tablets. There are ways to work around this issue, but it requires an extra dose of effort.
Apps and Plugins
With the Wix website builder, you can choose from a wide variety of apps using the site’s proprietary app market. These include calendar and marketing tools, analytics, social media integrations, and more. Some of these are designed by Wix, others are third-party apps that make it easy to work with external partners. Many of these are available free of charge, but some require the purchase of a subscription at an additional cost.
See if Wix is right for you. Read our Wix Review and then get started with a Wix free trial.
Web.com
Ease of Use
Like Wix, Web.com has also been around for a while. Both companies are veterans of the website building industry and incorporate simple, drag-and-drop functionality for users to build websites quickly and without the need for code. In a general sense, Web.com’s template editor provides all of the tools that beginners will need to create a functional website in an afternoon. It can be a great option for users looking to create a basic website for their business quickly.
The problem is that, unlike Wix, the Web.com website builder hasn’t quite moved in step with its industry and is showing its age in some areas. Users may feel that the editing suite seems clunky, limiting, and all-around outdated. As far as the impact on its ease of use, Web.com would certainly benefit from some updates in this area.
Pricing
This is where things get a little tricky. Web.com’s website building and ecommerce plans immediately appear affordable— but its pricing isn’t transparent. We’ll spoil the ending for you: pricing on these plans skyrockets after 30 days, hitting roughly ten times the advertised “first-month rate.” The final pricing on plans is $22.95 a month for the Starter plan, $32.95 a month for the Marketing plan, and $42.95 for the Ecommerce plan, which includes all the features of the previous two plans, plus ecommerce functionality.
Website Plans – Pricing and Features
Pros
- Intro offer is ultra-affordable
- Relatively simple, drag-and-drop format
- Fast setup
- 24/7 customer support
- Quick uptime
Cons
- Templates are very basic
- The editing tool is outdated
- Prices skyrocket after the first 30 days
Ecommerce
Web.com offers a basic ecommerce plan with a few handy features, including the ability to accept in-house credit card payments. Neither Wix nor Web.com offers extensive ecommerce services, but Web.com’s plan is particularly pared down. For those looking to run the most basic and straightforward online store, this may be a good fit. For users looking for an extensive ecommerce suite with a range of integrations, neither Wix nor Web.com are probably going to be your go-to.
Templates and Themes
Web.com offers hundreds of templates, all of which are separated by industry categories. These can be searched by keyword and color scheme, making it easy to find the one you’re looking for. Another helpful Web.com benefit that Wix is missing is that users can easily switch between different templates even after they’ve begun working on their website, providing an extra level of flexibility.
The problem is that Web.com is once again showing its age in this area. Templates feel very basic, and although there are technically many options to choose from, they are largely only slight variations of just a few themes. This will be fine for users looking to create the most basic website, but users looking for extensive customization will be disappointed.
Apps and Plugins
At this time, Web.com does not offer apps or plugins through its website building platform. However, Web.com does offer hosting services, through which users can install a program like WordPress, which comes with an impressive range of plugins— in the tens of thousands! Those looking for an all-in-one website builder that features a wide range of apps will have to look elsewhere.
Our Pick for Best Website Builder: Web.com
Web.com squarely beats Wix as the better option for small business owners. Though both employ a similar framework and have both been major players in the industry for a long time, Web.com has managed to update with the times, keeping its features modern and easy to use.
Users looking to build business websites can accomplish this with Web.com— it is not expensive and offers quite a bit of features.
Get Started With Web.com
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