Why i am leaving wix.com 😮

[liam10]

THIS IS A SLIGHTLY LONG READ, BUT TRUST, ITS WORTH IT IF YOU LIKE CREATING WEBSITES!

For the past 5 years I have been using Wix to create my websites and projects. Simply I love Wix. It is like a canvas, and I can paint my ideas onto it with minimal limitations. No other platform allows such detail in editing their websites. However, it is time to say goodbye.

For years now, Wix has stayed at the top of website builders for creators, entrepreneurs and business owners, but other alternatives are popping up left, right and center and some are outdoing Wix. Webflow is a prime example of a platform that outdoes Wix. This platform allows users to create their website via a visual editor, but then generates amazing code. Webflow writes clean, W3C compliant, semantic code for you. Without all the messy inline classes you’ve come to expect from drag-and-drop site builders. You can even export your HTML, CSS, and images in a handy ZIP file you can use however you like. What a brilliant idea! Webflow also have advanced Content management systems and the ability to add a whole new dimension to your website designs with tools that lets you create 3D CSS transforms — without writing code (like on the Apple website ).

Now this is NOT an Ad for Webflow but I am merely pointing out this platform and the many other advanced platforms that work better, and come at a cheaper price too!

Wix Corvid (Code) does not compare to this. Corvid is a poor alternative for those who like to code. I dont know any professional developer, with a intellectual amount of knowledge, that would choose to use Wix. It is just substandard. Simple things cannot be done. I can’t integrate login with Facebook and Google etc into my custom login and signup pages. Just to customize my Site Search is an absolute pain using code. Everything takes double the time to code into Wix - if it works at all! If the code isn’t broken, its is sooooo slow.

Don’t even get me started on the sites responsiveness!!!
Everything about Wix is SLOW. From page transitions to loading of pages to loading of apps to loading of lightboxes to loading OF THE WIX EDITOR. Everything is slow and buggy. Wix chugs the RAM on my computer and makes Google Chrome take up 60% of my CPU. Firstly the editor is super buggy. I can barely drag items and add elements without it lagging. When I scroll in the mini setting menus for each element, it scrolls right to the bottom and doesn’t work properly. Secondly, the website are so slow. Just load any Wix site. It takes 5-15 seconds longer than any other professional website to fully load. Even when moving from one page to the next, the transitions are so jittery and laggy that it looks bad. And once you build your page up with information, elements and images… good luck. Why do the lightboxes take SO LONG to load??? My site visitors clicks the lightbox menu button and then they repeatedly clicks it again because they think it didn’t work…no, its still loading. That’s the problem. The photo editing software is also broken. It crashes my browser. Wix emailed me after a week of communication saying they are “fixing” the problem…

Wix is running on old code. It is outdated. Unresponsive. Editor X is a mediocre improvement to the Wix Editor but still lacks the basic necessities of a good website.

Wix makes it easy to jump right in, throw together a web page and publish it. Before you do that you need to stop and think, and work out what your business needs for your online presence.

Wix makes it easy to design websites like brochures and they’re not. What you see isn’t what Google sees. Although Google does take user experience into account it’s mostly around content and mobile friendliness and things like that. One of the most basic elements Google cares about are how your page titles are structured and what they tell about the page, yet for a few Wix websites I’ve seen, there is no attention paid to this despite Wix supporting SEO settings for pages.

Wix is the jack off all trades, master of none website builder. Wix has their hand in the pie in ALL online website categories. I’m building an online store and the drought of features is killing me. I can’t even add a comments section below the products without having to code it in. Like seriously Wix. You guys get distracted and keep creating more platforms (Wix Corvid, Wix Editor X, Wix Answers, Wix ADI, Wix Ascend, Wix Logo maker etc) but you never master any of them and add necessary features. By the way, whats with creating a Custom Sign Up form but no Custom Login page…??? Simple things like these anger me. I don’t want to waste time coding simple things like this that should have already been built by Wix Devs. The Plans & Pricing app is so broken btw. Features like Wishlist and abandoned carts has only JUST been added to Wix. These should have been added 5 years ago with every other eCommerce platform

This is why Shopify is nailing it in the eCommerce sector. Their software is so powerful. Who needs a “stunning” website when you can build a powerful Shopify website that gets the job done. Its impossible to scale you business with Wix. The best Wix can do is that $22 Million business called Ruby Love that Wix is promoting on their eCommerce school . If you didnt see the video you can click here . $22 million dollars in revenue!? Thats how much Shopify does in half an hour. And there’s a reason why. Just visit any Shopify website. Its super responsive. Loads like magic. Amazing integration and features. Over 2400 apps on their app market. And then there’s Wix… (with 400 apps). Not even Afterpay

I’m sure alot of you Wix fans are angry with this post. Wix is incredible in some demenour. Technology has empowered us to be able to create, share and inspire with the world. Wix was the first ever web tool I used and I am, as much as i hate to be, disappointed. It’s time for Wix to evolve. But till then, its time I move on. Goodbye Wix.com!

[Please leave your thought below.]

#wixstores #featurerequest #wixeditor

[eduardog]

If this isn’t an advertisement or plug for another platform why did you copy / paste their marketing language? Here is a screen grab from their page:

It’s verbatim. Very odd. Thank you for not being an ad, though!

Your other points are very thought out and I appreciate the time you took to write this. I don’t want to nitpick everything, but it’s worth mentioning that there is a lot of inaccurate statements or just things I didn’t understand.

• Regarding the page title structure - are you familiar with the SEO wizard? It basically walks you through how to structure your page titles.

• You claim you can’t create a custom member signup form with google/fb. You can - it just requires a little corvid touch. You can read the thread on how to do it here .

• You claim Wix is slow. Over the past year I have seen the load times for Wix sites get better and better; and now we have something else we are working on that will be the best thus far. Speed is one of our top priorities and we are constantly improving.

• You are complaining that abandon cart was only added recently - it’s been out for over a year, and you are just upset that it didn’t come sooner ? I don’t understand.

• What’s so “broken” about the plans and pricing? Can you be more specific?

I think in the coming weeks you will see and hear some really great things… so don’t go too far. Wix is constantly improving and it just keeps getting better.

[dee4charlotte]

Every one has an opinion about everything. After reading this “essay of a message”… i just smiled , agreed and got myself back to doing what i was going to do anyway - design sites on my WIX editor… it keeps on getting better…

[liam10]

Hi @brett . Thank you for your detailed reply. I am not angry at any one particular person, I am merely voicing my frustrations about Wix and why, as a designer, i choose not to use Wix.

I copied that paragraph because it explained exactly what Webflow provided using the exact terminology and in a brief manner. I’ve only really experimented with Webflow recently. I have been using Wix the entire time.

I believe i can create some amazing sites because of Wix. I learnt how to use the Wix Editor by heart.
Speaking of the mobile editor, it is lacking alot of features. I would appreciate the same amount of detail as the regular Wix editor in the Mobile editor.

I will try the corvid method of adding in google and Facebook. There should be more supported platforms such as Twitter, Github, Apple etc login . Wix needs to make it easier to find these tools. I searched the forum and couldn’t find this article. It should also be inbuilt. If Wix decides to change their API in the future, it will break. Thats the only problem.

I am complaining about the release of such features are taking so long to get on Wix. Abandoned carts was an example. Look at wishlists and “Buy Now” buttons and add to cart buttons on stores gallery which were only added recently. Such popular features for all ecommerce stores to have yet it took so long to Wix to support it. Again, i repeat, still no support for Comments below each product. I dont want to have to pay for another third-party apps for comments integration. No support for Afterpay or Zippay. These payments methods have become so popular in the past year but Wix still refuses to acknowledge it. I emailed Afterpay support and they said:

"Disclosing why we aren’t able to currently integrate with Wix has to do with the way our plugin works, which I’m unable to do. I know it’s very frustrating and hopefully we’re able to integrate with Wix in future. "

Obviously there is a problem with integration on their end. Can Wix please address this.

For problems with the Plans and Pricing app, just take a look at the reviews. It will enlighten you on the many features that are missing and the problems users encounter daily, like after a member cancels, they still have access to the paid pages etc. There needs to be a button in each members account that allows the plan to be canceled by clicking the button instead having to contact the site owner.

There is no justification for how slow Wix is. I have not witnessed any improved speeds, even after the launch of Turbo. Whatever code Wix uses, its extremely slow. Just check out my site that i linked above. Go from page to page. Even loading the home page. The animations and transitions are very sloppy. (If someone open a page from the footer of my website, it always scrolls from the bottom to the top. I want to top of the page to just appear. Click the link for my site to see what i mean.) Go to a Shopify site. https://www.jbhifi.com.au/ The website is super snappy. The amount of images and elements it loads in incredible for its speed. Even clicking and viewing products is super fast. Wix needs to catch up…

Whenever i ask anybody about which platform to pick for eCommerce, people always say Shopify. No professional has EVER recommend to use Wix Stores. That’s because you can’t properly scale your business with Wix Stores. Its not viable or feasible. There is no advanced Google Analytics on Wix.

[liam10]

@dee4charlotte that’s a bit rich and biased when your whole business relies on Wix… Your always going to be limited to creating sites for small and medium business and thus have a limited income.

[support66]

It is not what we get…but who we become, what we contribute … that gives meaning to our lives - Thank You Wix!

[dee4charlotte]

With limited power comes limited responsibility. I love to work light. And plenty of SMEs out there who pays well…
In the end I respect your opinion. It’s totally up to you how you do your business. All the best!

[liam10]

By working with Wix, your always going to be limited to their capabilities. Your a developer. You don’t want to be creating Wix websites for the rest of your life, do you!? You should want to learn how to code properly and build your own sites. Wix is a good start, but over a long term, its not amazing…

Wix.com states:

“Wix does not claim any intellectual property rights over the User Submissions. However, under the Wix.com Terms of Use, you grant Wix worldwide, royalty-free and non-exclusive license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publicly perform and publicly display such User Submissions.”

That is scary. By signing up for Wix web services, you are allowing Wix to modify your site and your site’s content simply by agreeing to the Terms of Use.

You should always have control over your website and your content.

[bestofdenis]

Hi Liam,
Your post is really good because clear, precise, and you took the time to write it. Basically, you remind me of me but less clayey lol. When we post a post like that we are necessarily passionate and I am sure that you are basically… The you express your disappointment to leave this platform … disappointed to go elsewhere, disappointed that Wix is not put the package on the velocity of its content, disappointed that it is not set up other things to fill the holes …

I agree with you with some points, but not all, and honestly my clients tell me that their sites are too long … it is for me THE negative point, however for all the rest, I find that Wix offers great and adapted solutions to small businesses . I think the is all the difference with other platforms .

Wix is ​​a solution whose target is the company of 1 to 100 people. Beyond that, the solution will be frustrating. Personally our agency has only clients of less than 100 people whose Wix is ​​perfect, and when they want APIs, I know it’s lost, I direct them to Wordpress because I don’t understand the code of Corvid.

Regarding intellectual property, all SAAS solutions have general sales conditions for crazy people. Look at Google with gmail, they read in your emails … so that doesn’t shock me anymore

On the other hand, it is a pleasure to have a platform translated into several languages ​​with assistance, to have prepackaged modules, out of the box solutions, prefabricated templates, a rich mobile app, integrated web marketing tools … in short many uses beyond the website are included in a simple subscription, I find it really fun and good for the end customer

For me Wix is ​​the best solution for small businesses, beyond that, it is no longer suitable . So it’s all a matter of perspective, but thanks for this post.

You could have just told Wix what it would have to change for you to stay … Maybe a certain number of elements are in their roadmap.
Take care of yourself

PS: on the other hand “liking” your own comments it is not done too much in general

[liam10]

@bestofdenis thank you for this comment. Its good to see i’m not the only one who thinks Wix isn’t “amazing” anymore. As you say, I’am very passionate about web design and Wix has been a big part of that.

I think you phrase it perfectly, and I quote “Wix is ​​the best solution for small businesses, beyond that, it is no longer suitable”. I just wish Wix would address the few points i’ve made above. Such simple but necessary things for a website to run properly. When I make something, I want to create it to the best of its ability. Mostly everything about the editor is perfect. I love it flexibility. Other editors don’t compare to the complexity of the Wix Editor. 95% of website makers online have the capabilities equal to Wix ADI (pure drag and drop).

But what is also necessary is support for elements that make a website user friendly. The responsivity of sites and speed needs to be improved drastically. There some features imperative for an eCommerce store that are simply not their, buggy, or not sophisticated enough.

I agree with your statement about the UI being excellent for Wix users, clear, stunning and a value for money proposition. However everything looks nice on the surface, you dig deeper to find that Wix lacks the necessary tools to scale a business. Wix is fine for small business but it become a pain when you want to expand and plug your back-end into your manufacturers data base, for example, or need advanced analytics, Wix just doesn’t have that capabilities.

How do you think big companies like Google and Amazon become amazing. Its not because of their “stunning design” (Amazon looks pretty average, to be honest). Its there back end analysis of users data. Where they clicked. What products they like. What websites they visit. That is the gold-mine to success.

I really hate following the stereotype, but I will probably have to build my store with Shopify because… it just works. Everything is there to scale my business when needed.

Whenever i try to convey a feature request, it always gets sent to the “vote for this feature” pages. It will end up sitting there for months and only then will someone actually review an idea. This process is long and frustrating and I can’t be bothered trying to change a billion dollar company. Why should I be tirelessly writing these forum posts when nothing is going to happen. It’s time i move on to a platform that is actually worth the time and effort and will make my business prosper in the future.

You take care too!

P.S. I need them likes

[ride360org]

I used a few alternative solutions and if purely for e-commerce I’d likely use those again.

However, I’ve been with Wix for around 10yrs, while not a master at web building, I’m quite competent, more than that I’m competent in knowing what my business requires to succeed and grow year after year.

No doubt wix has changed, but no other platform has allowed me to build a fully customisable solution with all the features I have.

A leading web company quoted me in excess of 30K to replicate what I have built myself, and still they wanted a 15% safety net in case something was overlooked.

Another wanted 8K up front and 10K pa to maintain it, but they still couldn’t automate 2 important features.

There’s certainly some areas I’d like to customise further, maybe it doesn’t rank as well as some other platforms, maybe at times its slower or clunky, but for the price and flexibilty it provides, I seriously doubt another platform does as much.

Wix does exactly what it says on the wrapper, and as any business knows, only having one channel for sales and marketing is ridiculous, use many and use them to their potential, not their limitations.

[dee4charlotte]

" use them to their potential, not their limitations"
Really Sends a deep message!

[liam10]

@ride360org Sounds like Wix suits your business model. I am happy that you are happy with Wix. I am just voicing my opinion on the limitations that Wix has and problems. I am not sure how much revenue your business make but Wix is alright for small to medium business. There are so many ways of improving sales and marketing through analytics. Analytics that are very brief when it comes to Wix. Read my other comments for more details.

I dont want to sound like i’m promoting them, but have you heard of Shopify? Its a much affordable alternative than compared to what your were describing from the “leading web company” you mentioned. there is so much proof of concept with SHopify. A large majority of large eCommerce sites use Shopify or Woocomerce.

[ride360org]

I use shopify also. But it can’t do the customizations that can be done on WIX.

[ride360org]

Also active on 3d cart, big commerce and 2 others, 3d has been the most powerful by far, 10k line items since around 08, same result, can’t create what’s needed for this activity and customer base over there. You’re spot on, wix suits this part of the business, not the others and vice-versa.

It’s all about compromise, but if this business wasn’t doing as well as it could, I’d look at the way I use the tools, not just the tools available.

[liam10]

@ride360org what customizations does wix do that cant be done on shopify?

[ride360org]

It does the ecommerce requirements, but can not handle all the customised user data, upload/download of specific file types and map data we use. They turned down building it because it was too complex.

Obviously I’m not about to divulge or discuss specifics here.

[missjosephinebernade]

I was going to move to webflow as well but last time I looked they didn’t have their functions for pricing plans/subscriptions finished yet? I think it will be better than wix when it is actually up and running. I am just waiting to see if they update their features more quickly than wix does.

[liam10]

@ride360org and you were able to build this on Wix code!? wow. good job. I dont really understand what you said and how it relates to ecommerce but it sounds intricate.

[liam10]

Webflow is developing really fast. You should check out the YouTube channel Flux . The channel focuses on the best of the best web designs and how to build it on Webflow. Its pretty cool.