Introduction - What is Wix?
Wix is a popular website building platform that has become one of the top-ranked options within its category due to the advanced level of customizability it offers as well as its innovative ADI. The Wix ADI or Artificial Design Intelligence is a sophisticated platform that allows users to create a tailored website automatically with the use of AI. For users who want more customization than the ADI, the Wix Editor offers an endless scope of customization and design freedom. With all of these amazing features, good looks and functionality, why would anyone want to look for Wix alternatives?
Despite being a top performer in the website building industry, Wix has its limitations which can be a dealbreaker for some users. High cost, a rather steep learning curve, inability to change templates once your site has gone live etc can be some major limitations of using Wix as your website builder. These drawbacks are why many users may want to look at alternatives to Wix.
In this article, we try to look at some of the best Wix alternatives in terms of price, ease of use, templates, features, and customizability. Let us take a quick look!
Here are the features that we looked for while selecting the best Wix alternatives
1. Affordability
2. Ease of use
3. Customizability
4. Features
5. Template
Affordability
Wix does offer free options for website building. However, free websites cannot have a custom domain or favicon, they have limited storage and bandwidth and have to display ads for Wix. Wix’s paid plans start from $14 a month and can cost up to $49 for their most expensive plans. Therefore, in looking for the best Wix alternatives, affordability is definitely something we have kept in mind because the price of Wix’s paid plans is one of the main reasons why users often look for alternatives to Wix. We have included some of the best cheap alternatives to Wix in this list, including Pixpa and Jimdo. Also, check out our article on how much does it cost to build a website for a more detailed look at the actual costs of website building!
Do check out these articles
- Best Website Builder for 2022- Top 12 Reviewed.
- How to Design a Website - A Step-by-Step Guide.
- Why choose Pixpa to build your portfolio website - 25 Top Reasons.
- Best Alternatives to Squarespace You Can Use in 2022.
Ease of use
The drag and drop mechanism used by the Wix Editor also requires a rather steep learning curve and may not be the most beginner-friendly. While you can use the Wix ADI to do the design work for you, it offers little in terms of personalization and design freedom. You would have to go back to the Editor for further customization which brings us back to the problem of the learning curve. Therefore ease of use and an easier learning curve are some of the most important features we have considered when looking for the best Wix alternatives for this list.
Customizability
Although the Wix Editor provides an amazing amount of flexibility while you are in the process of building your website, once the website is published you cannot switch your website’s template. So, while Wix offers you endless customization options when you are building your website, with your finished website, the options are limited. We try to keep this limitation in mind and remedy that through the alternatives to Wix suggested here.
Features
Wix comes with a good range of functions and features including blogging tools, media galleries, online store building options and bookings tools and more. The Wix app market allows users to install various third-party plug-ins and apps to add more functionality. Third-party apps can make your website clunky and can result in additional costs. For our alternatives to Wix, we have looked at platforms that offer equivalent or better features than Wix. We have also tried to look for alternative website builders that offer as many built-in options as possible to avoid the clunkiness and extra costs of plug-ins.
Templates
Wix comes with over 800+ designer-made templates suitable for a variety of different website needs. The plethora of templates offered by Wix is one of its more attractive features. Alongside a host of pre-designed templates, Wix offers blank templates for users who want to design their website from scratch without the use of pre-built templates. Wix templates, although numerous, can be a bit on the bland side for some users. Therefore, in our search for the best Wix alternatives, we have tried to look for website builders that offer a similar or equivalent range of templates as well as modern, professional design options.
For more options when it comes to the best website builders, you may also want to look at some of our picks for the best website builders of 2022!
Here are our top picks for the best Wix alternatives:
Pixpa - Easy to use, Feature-rich & Affordable
Introduction
Pixpa is an all-in-one, DIY website builder platform designed to help photographers, creative professionals and businesses in building feature-rich, professional websites effortlessly, affordably and without touching a single line of code.
Pixpa offers a range of pixel-perfect, mobile-friendly, and responsive templates that are perfect for all kinds of websites. All Pixpa templates can be effortlessly customized to match your style and requirements. The simple but powerful visual editor and drag and drop page builder make website building extremely easy and intuitive.
Apart from being easy to use, this Wix alternative is also extremely feature-rich and offers extensive e-commerce tools, a comprehensive blogging platform, integrated SEO and marketing tools, client proofing tools and more. Pixpa can help you showcase, share, sell and market your work easily– all in one place.
Take a look at some of the best examples of websites built on Pixpa to see the full range of the website builder’s features and templates.
Why choose Pixpa as your Wix alternative?
Pixpa is an excellent Wix alternative if you are looking for an accessible, easy to use and feature-rich website builder at a much more affordable price point compared to what Wix offers.
Pixpa is extremely easy to use and enables you to customize your entire website without touching a single line of code. The platform uses a combination of a drag and drop interface for page building and a more structured style editor which is available through the Pixpa studio dashboard. This gives users flexibility, like the Wix Editor, while also maintaining a more structured approach that is suitable for beginners. Each Pixpa template also comes with a dedicated guide that can help you customize your website without hassle. You can also use custom CSS and HTML code to further personalize your website.
The Expert and Business tier plans also give you access to a free, one-time website setup service where you can get a Pixpa expert to set up your website for you. If the hands-off approach of the Wix ADI is something you like then Pixpa’s website setup service will be an even better deal for you!
For photographers and creators, in particular, Pixpa is definitely a superior alternative to Wix. This is due to features like e-commerce galleries which can seamlessly meld together creative portfolios and e-commerce. Client galleries and custom mobile gallery apps can work magic in simplifying client proofing and customer management for photographers. Pixpa also supports over 50+ third-party integrations which can be an excellent alternative to Wix’s App market.
Here are the 25 top reasons why Pixpa is the website builder of choice for photographers, creators and businesses.
Limitations
Pixpa’s focus on creative design and providing the best possible platform to showcase photographs and images means that it may not be the best option for text-only websites. Another drawback is that, unlike Wix, Pixpa does not offer any free plans, however the free SSL security and hosting as well as a guaranteed ad-free experience more than make up for this limitation.
Pricing
You can start using Pixpa for free by signing up for a full-featured, 15-day, free trial. No credit card information is required to sign up and Pixpa also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Pixpa offers four tiers of paid plans that you can choose from after the end of your trial period. The Light plan is the most affordable at just $3 a month, making Pixpa one of the most affordable Wix alternatives on this list. The Personal plan costs $7 a month while the Expert and Business plans cost $10 and $16 a month respectively. All pricing plans can be billed annually or monthly but you can save more by opting for annual billing.
The Light plan is best for users who need a relatively basic website without e-commerce. It offers full-customizable and responsive, mobile-friendly templates, free SSL security, blogging tools, basic email marketing tools and 24x7 support. The Personal plan expands these offerings to include e-commerce, client galleries and more marketing tools. The Expert and Business tier plans are the most comprehensive with extensive marketing tools, mobile gallery apps, the ability to create larger online stores and more.
GoDaddy - Website building, Hosting and Domains
Introduction
GoDaddy.com is best known as one of the top most popular domain registrar and web hosting companies, but did you know that they also offer a website building platform? The GoDaddy website builder is a simple and easy to use tool, particularly well suited for beginners. Since GoDaddy has a very strong, pre-existing reputation and background in the web hosting industry, the GoDaddy website builder can offer a three-in-one solution for website building, web hosting and domain name registry for its users.
The GoDaddy website builder is perfect as a Wix alternative for users who want everything, including building, hosting and domain name registry, in one place. Like Wix, GoDaddy also offers its own ADI tools including a Content Creator tool for social media posts and SEO Wiz tool to help you optimize your website.
While it is a little lacking in the themes department, GoDaddy offers a simple, all in one place solution to website building which is perfect for beginners.
Why choose GoDaddy as your Wix alternative?
GoDaddy is an old and well-established brand in internet hosting which adds to its reliability and trustworthiness. Additionally, the three-in-one deal it offers is one of the key advantages of the platform. For users who don’t want to have to go to different platforms and companies for hosting, domain registry and website building, GoDaddy is perfect.
The templates offered by GoDaddy are simple and limited but extremely functional and responsive. The platform also offers its own version of ADI which is geared towards users who want to create a website quickly and go online as soon as possible. It also has an automatic content creation tool to help you easily create content copy for your website without lifting a finger.
GoDaddy is the best Wix alternative for you if you want a website, quickly, easily and without having to involve multiple vendors and platforms. If the lack of customization is not an issue for you, you can go for GoDaddy without a second thought.
Limitations
The main limitation of GoDaddy comes from the fact that it is designed for users who want a website quickly and don’t have a lot of time to spend on customization. The platform is designed to produce fast results and as such can be restrictive for users who want to play around and be creative with the visual aspects of their website.
GoDaddy is also not the most feature-rich alternative to Wix. Features like SEO marketing are only available on the higher pricing tiers which is a major drawback. The platform also does not offer an app store or any other such alternative for adding extra functionality to your website which means you have to work with what you have and that can be a little limiting.
Pricing
GoDaddy offers a freemium model similar to Wix which means they offer the option for building a free website, with limited features and no e-commerce or SEO tools, in return for running banner ads on your published website. If you don’t want to contend with that we recommend going for one of the paid plans.
GoDaddy’s paid plans start at $9.99 per month and go up to $24.99/month. The Basic plan is great for simple websites and blogs but does not offer SEO tools which is a major issue. The Standard and Premium plans are more comprehensive and offer access to the SEO Wiz. The E-commerce plan works well for online stores.
Duda - Simple & Scalable
Introduction
If simplicity, scalability and a focus on clean, professional design aesthetics matter to you then Duda is the professional website builder you have been looking for. With over 100+ responsive, mobile-optimized and scalable templates, Duda is the perfect Wix alternative if you are looking to build a business website.
Duda is quite beginner-friendly because you can let your template do most of the work, however this also means you have to stay within the bounds of the templates and there is not as much room to play around. As a Wix alternative, this can be both a merit or a demerit depending on what you are looking for. The Wix Editor’s drag and drop interface and flexibility can be confusing and overwhelming for beginners and so, Duda’s more structured approach may feel more intuitive and user-friendly. However, for slightly more advanced users or people looking for more options in terms of customization, Duda may feel restrictive and inflexible.
Why choose Duda as your Wix alternative?
Duda has over 100+ templates to choose from which is not as extensive as Wix’s 800 but still nothing to laugh at. All templates are mobile-optimized and responsive and you have the option of previewing your website while building to make sure it looks good on all kinds of devices. Like Pixpa, Duda also offers the option for using custom code to personalize the visual aspects of your website. However, for overall flexibility and customization, we would still recommend Pixpa over Duda as your Wix alternative.
Duda’s website personalization tool is a unique feature which allows you to customize the user experience of your website by controlling elements such as popups, message bars and more. Along with this, you get free SSL security on your website, free hosting with AWS (Amazon Web Services) and reduced load times thanks to Duda’s CDN (Content Delivery Network).
Limitations
Duda is not without limitations. There is no freemium model available which means Duda is a paid service with no free plans. The pricing is also a little on the expensive side with even the cheapest pricing tier starting at $14 a month. This means that Duda is definitely one of the more expensive Wix alternatives on this list.
Duda’s SEO offerings are quite basic which is disappointing. The integrations offered by Duda through its app store are also fairly limited and lackluster. Duda’s pricing plans are pretty limited if you are building a personal website. It is more suitable for agencies and business websites.
Pricing
Duda’s most affordable pricing tier starts from $14 a month billed annually. With this plan you can get a single website hosted on AWS and email support. The Basic plan is pretty limited in its offering so if you want something a little more functional you can opt for the Team plan which offers expanded access and customer support through phone, email and livechat. The Agency plan is designed for web design agencies. Duda also offers custom pricing plans for enterprise level customers which is great for larger businesses.
Jimdo - Affordable ADI Alternative
Introduction
The Wix ADI is one of the most prominent features of the platform. So, if you were looking for an alternative for Wix ADI then Jimdo might be the perfect solution for you.
Jimdo offers AI based tools to enable you to build your website easily and quickly which is great for beginners. While Jimdo’s interface is not the most intuitive, once you’re past the learning curve, it can be an excellent, easy to use, and affordable alternative to Wix
Jimdo is one of the best cheap Wix alternatives if you are looking for something that offers a lot of the same features as Wix at a more affordable price point. While not as versatile and somewhat more limited in terms of scope and scale, Jimdo is definitely an alternative to Wix that you should check out if affordability is your main concern.
Why choose Jimdo as your Wix alternative?
Jimdo is most suitable for users who are looking for an affordable alternative to Wix ADI and Wix Editor. Like Wix, Jimdo offers Jimdo Creator (an alternative to the Wix Editor) and Jimdo Dolphin (alternative to the Wix ADI). With the Creator you can use Jimdo’s full-featured website editing interface to add content, drag and drop elements and customize your website to your requirement. With Dolphin you have to simply provide some information and answers about your organization and the kind of website you want to build, and the ADI will create your website for you in no time!
Jimdo also offers a customizable logo creator which can be useful for users looking to create professional, branded websites.
Limitations
Jimdo’s main drawback is the lack of creative control and limited options for customization as compared to its competitors. Content has to be organized according to pre-designed mini layouts and there isn’t really a lot of room for personalization. This combined with the rather bland templates results in a tendency for Jimdo websites to come out looking a little unimaginative.
The platform is also quite limited in terms of features. The SEO manager does not offer the ability to set alt tags and is also otherwise quite basic. The ads that you are forced to run on your website’s frontend when signing up for a free plan is another major limitation
Pricing
Jimdo makes use of a freemium model and their cheapest plan is actually completely free. The Play plan costs $0 and comes with basic features, a Jimdo subdomain and ads. The paid plans start at $9 (Start) and go up to $39 (Unlimited) which is fairly steep for what you actually get out of the website builder.
Zyro - Quick & Effective
Introduction
If speed and simplicity is something you are looking for in your Wix alternative then you may want to check out Zyro. This website builder platform offers sophisticated tools that are designed to simplify and speed up the website building process. These tools include pre-designed templates, AI-powered content copy generation, AI-driven automatic logo maker and integrations with stock photo website Unsplash, which helps in making everything quick, easy and seamless.
Because Zyro is so focused on speed, it can tend to be a little inflexible in terms of customization. Additionally, like Wix, you cannot change your website’s template once it has gone live. However, for users who are more interested in speed and efficiency in website building than personalization, Zyro is perfect.
Why choose Zyro as your Wix alternative?
Just like other no-code tools, Zyro is designed to help you build your website quickly and easily even when you don’t have coding knowledge or advanced technical skills. It comes with an extensive array of templates tailor-made for different categories of websites.
The best part of Zyro is the extensive array of AI-powered tools that simplify and automate a good chunk of the website building process for users. From automatically creating SEO friendly content copy and logos for your website, to AI-generated heatmaps to identify the parts of your website that get the most clicks, Zyro makes full use of the latest technology to help you build an effective and profitable website.
Limitations
Zyro does not offer the same level of customizability as some of the other Wix alternatives in this list. This is mainly because of the focus on speed over flexibility. Like Wix, with Zyro you cannot change the layout or template once your website is live. This can be a major limitation because it makes parts of your website virtually unchangeable once published.
Zyro is also much more limited when it comes to features. Also for a website builder that values speed and user-friendliness the process of connecting a custom domain to your Zyro website seems needlessly complicated because you have to go in and change the CNAME records. With most other website builders, updating the DNS servers is enough.
Pricing
Zyro offers three pricing tiers beginning at $2.90 per month and going up to $15.90 per month. This makes Zyro one of the best cheap Wix alternatives. The Website plan which is the most affordable offers unlimited bandwidth and storage, AI tools, livechat features and more. The Online Store plan allows you to build efficient online stores, accept online payments and sell up to 100 different products. The Advanced Store plan expands upon this and allows you to sell up to 2500 different products.
WooCommerce - Online Store Builder
Introduction
WooCommerce is slightly different from the other Wix alternatives in this list because it is not a standalone website builder. Instead, it is a plug-in that is designed to be used in tandem with the Wordpress CMS. WooCommerce is a fully-customizable, open source plug-in that can be added to any Wordpress site to expand its functionality and incorporate advanced and extensive e-commerce features.
If you are mainly interested in creating a feature-rich and affordable online store then WooCommerce might be the best alternative to Wix for you. The base plug-in is free and open source although you can add more functions by paying a little extra.
Being a Wordpress plug-in, WooCommerce is not the most user-friendly option out there. However, if you want the most amount of functionality possible at an affordable pricing point, WooCommerce may be the best option for you.
Why choose WooCommerce as your Wix alternative?
WooCommerce is open source and designed to be used with the Wordpress CMS which is also open source. This means that if you have some experience with the Wordpress CMS and suitably advanced coding skills, you can create your e-commerce website practically free of cost.
WooCommerce is also very feature-rich and hugely customizable thanks to the fact that it's open-source. This means that you can customize the plug-in’s code to suit your e-commerce needs. With Wordpress’s active community of developers and other experts, using WooCommerce can be very beneficial and technical issues can be sorted out quickly.
Limitations
Being a Wordpress plug-in is WooCommerce’s main benefit as well as its main downside. Unlike the other Wix alternative’s in this list, WooCommerce is not exactly a DIY website builder. It requires a rather high level of technical expertise and experience with Wordpress. If you are looking for a DIY, point and click or drag and drop website builder like Wix then WooCommerce is definitely not for you.
WooCommerce is also self hosted which means that you have to arrange and pay for hosting by yourself. So while the platform itself is free, hosting, security, domain names etc are still an expense you will have to deal with.
Pricing
The base plug-in is free but being self hosted, you will have to pay for hosting, security, domain name registry and other expenses if you choose WooCommerce. In addition, you may have to pay for extra features like themes, extensions and plug-ins to make your WooCommerce site more attractive and functional.
Webnode - Perfect Multilingual Website Builder
Introduction
First launched in 2008, Webnode is an old name in the website building game, however it is not quite as well known or popular as some of its counterparts like Wix and Squarespace. This is a shame because in terms of building amazing multilingual websites, Webnode is one of the best website builders out there. The platform’s ability to translate your website and its content into multiple languages is both quick and intuitive which can be a true game changer if you are looking to create multilingual websites easily.
Webnode makes website building really easy. In the platform’s own words ‘creating your own site is like playing with building blocks’. The drag and drop interface is designed to make creating your website intuitive and easy. With hundreds of professionally created templates to choose from, Webnode is both simple to use and versatile.
Why choose Webnode as your Wix alternative?
If you are looking to create a business website for an organization with clients and customers across the globe then Webnode is your best option for creating quick and elegant multilingual websites. Webnode can translate your website into upto 20 different languages.
Webnode also offers a freemium model and, uniquely among all website builders, does not bombard your website with ads. So, if you were looking for a free alternative to Wix without the bombardment of ads, then Webnode may be the best choice for your needs.
Limitations
The biggest drawback of using Webnode as your Wix alternative is that the templates are a little dated and bland. Wix is noted for a rich array of over 800 templates and Webnode is not a good alternative for Wix in that sense. Pixpa is perhaps the best alternative to Wix when it comes to templates.
Webnode only offers phone and email support. There is no livechat option which is disappointing because this means that you may experience delays in getting answers and support when you run into issues with your website.
Unlimited bandwidth is only available on the highest pricing tier. Additionally, Webnode’s flagship feature, which is the ability to build multilingual sites in up to 20 different languages, is also only available on the highest pricing tier which is quite disappointing. The second highest pricing tier only offers the option of building sites in 2 languages and the other pricing tiers do not offer the option for multilingual sites.
Pricing
Webnode offers a freemium model and you can build a free website with limited features and a Webnode subdomain and a small Webnode ad. The Limited plan expands on this, offering an ad-free experience but no free domain. The Limited plan costs $3.90 per month. The Mini plan costs $7.50 a month and offers the option for a free custom domain for one year. The Standard plan costs $12.90 and is Webnodes most popular offering the ability to build websites in 2 different languages. The Profi plan is expensive at $22.90 per month but provides unlimited bandwidth and the ability to create multilingual websites in up to 20 different languages!
Conclusion
Wix has become a household name when it comes to website building but when you are building a website of your own, it is best to do your research and pick a website builder that has templates and features tailored to meet your specific needs. We hope this article was helpful in getting you acquainted with some amazing website builders other than Wix which offer the same, if not better, functionality at a much more lucrative price point!
When it comes to the best Wix alternative, Pixpa’s incredibly affordable price point combined with its ease of use make it one of the most accessible and affordable alternatives to Wix in the market right now. You might also want to look at our article on the best Squarespace alternatives to see how, once again, Pixpa checks all the boxes when it comes to being an amazing, all-rounder website building platform!
You can sign up for Pixpa’s full-featured, 15-day free trial now and start creating a stunning website, tailored to meet your exact needs. No credit card is required for sign up and no hidden charges!