You know as a web developer there are many ways to create websites today. They range from open source software, to web templates, and platforms that make it as simple as drag and drop, plug and play. But if your a Front End Web Developer you find joy in creating a site yourself from the code up.
But what if your not a developer and your looking for a way to get a website. Let’s say your a business owner and want to promote your business, or you want to create a portfolio for your work and skills. Who should you go with. What’s the best route to take.
Well I’m glad you stopped by : ). The Wong is going to give some perspective and my experience on these platforms more specifically Wix.
So Is Wix A Good Platform To Use?
Becoming a front end web developer was a route I chose to take because I felt some of these platforms limited me from my creativity and the capabilities of what and how I wanted to manipulate elements on the web or a website. It was really working with WordPress that lead me down this road, but were here to talk about Wix not WordPress.
Oh Wix. For me Wix is a touchy subject, I say that because I have issues when it comes to the design aspect of Wix. There are pros and cons to using a site like Wix.
So let’s get into shall we?
The Cons
Let’s begin with the veggies before we get to the dessert. I will do my best as to not be so biased.
My biggest problem with Wix is the load time. Regardless of who I may be helping build a site with wix the load times just seem to be unbearably long. Now that could be due to the fact of the size of files the user may be uploading, but even on the backend it seems it will take quite some time before the page loads before you can even get to the admin panel of editing the content of your site.
It’s a bit frustrating especially if you want to make a minor quick adjustment for a typo.
The Navigation.
Within wix navigation is something you have to really learn to navigate through lol. I’m a simple guy and I think I’m pretty clever too, but trying to find something within the admin panel can be quite daunting.
Of course with some time and playing around you will get the gist of it, but for me I am not trying to become a master of Wix. Wix is known for getting a simple site up quick and easy, yet sometimes its not that easy. Plus your only working with what they give you, maybe they made changes and revisions since I last been on but I’m not trying to dive deep into finding out all the upgrades, maybe later.
The Pros
Ok now that I’ve cleared that out the way here are some of the pros. Wix really answers the question of who is this platform for. I think Wix is for those do it yourselfers who are really just trying to get started. Literally its perfect if you want to just get up and running and you have no design skills or coding skill at all.
With Wix you literally can use one of their templates and drop your content in. As simple as that. If you want to move some text to the other side, just grab and slide, lol, to where you want it to go. Just don’t get too fancy : ).
Its your perfect starter kit.
A recommendation though, as a I said, its a starter kit. So overtime, as in any business or endeavor, improvements and updates should be made. My recommendation is if you don’t hire a web developer or a web designer, transition to WordPress where I believe can give you greater results when it comes to presentation and capabilities.
Now I’m not saying you can not become successful with using Wix but when I usually come across a site that is made with Wix it really looks basic, nothing really stands out. Even though I am a firm believer that simplicity is great design, but its when you can take the simplicity and create great content behind it.
Content to me is not only how you say it, but the way you present it as well. We live in a time where visual design is key and the old adage of a picture is worth a thousand words how your representing your story through your website says a lot.
So if you are going to use Wix my few suggestions are: question what are your priorities, are you willing to invest in your website in time, and if you can hire a developer or designer to at least guide you in some best practices for your site, do it. Do your research and I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed.