When it comes to powerful site-building solutions, Wix easily leads the pack with not one, not two, but FIVE dynamic options catering to different needs. Which one of them is the best Wix website builder for you, though?
No worries; we’re here to make it easy! This guide will explore the unique features, strengths, and drawbacks of each Wix site builder, including:
Without further ado, let’s get started!
Wix Website Builder Comparison: A Quick Summary
Overall, the five Wix website builders are clearly designed to suit varying users, budgets, and preferences, which also explains the notable differences in their capabilities. Check out this comparison table for a more comprehensive overview:
Builder | Best for | Key Features | Pros | Cons |
Wix ADI | Early concepts, ideas | AI-driven site generation | + Fast idea generation + Beginner-friendly | + Limited editing |
Wix Editor | Beginners | Drag-and-drop editor, presets | + Easy to use | + Limited creative freedom for experts |
Wix Editor X | Freelancer, SMBs | Advanced grids, animations | + Responsive design | + Performance issues with large projects |
Wix Studio | Teams, agencies | Collaboration tools, reusable assets | + Real-time collaboration | + Steeper learning curve |
Velo by Wix | Advanced developers | Custom coding, full server-side runtime | + Endless customization | + Very steep learning curve + Time-consuming |
We will discuss each builder in more detail in the remaining sections of this article. And on another note, for those interested in Wix's other features beyond site-building, be sure to look into our full Wix eCommerce review here.
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Wix ADI: A Quick Tool for Ideas and Early Concepts
First up is Wix ADI (short for Artificial Design Intelligence). As the name suggests, this tool relies mostly on AI to handle the concept-defining procedure. There are only three basic steps:
- First, answer a few simple questions about your business and goals, then click “Generate Site” so the AI can create a personalized dashboard for you.
- From here, you can either regenerate the site if you'd like a different look or customize specific areas, such as site profile, theme, layout, etc.
- Once you're generally happy with the design, click “Continue with this site” and proceed directly to the Wix Editor to customize text, images, widgets, etc.
In our opinion, Wix ADI is an excellent tool for generating ideas and visualizing your website concept. Nevertheless, its editing features and initial results are terribly limited. Not to mention, later during the process, you still need to use the Wix Editor (another Wix website builder that we will discuss shortly) for a more polished outlook anyway.
Wix ADI Pros | Wix ADI Cons |
+ AI-driven for quick site generation + Help visualize website concepts | + Limited editing features + Basic design results + Requires Wix Editor for further customization |
In summary, Wix ADI should only serve as your assistant for brainstorming ideas or getting started in the very early stages of the site-building process. If you're looking for more editing features while still keeping everything beginner-friendly, stay tuned — we'll cover the Wix Editor next.
Wix Editor: The Go-To Choice for Beginners
As the classic, standard Wix website builder, Wix Editor offers preset settings and a drag-and-drop interface to help you arrange and fine-tune your site's layout. Here's exactly what you can do:
- Add elements: Click the “Add elements” panel on the left, then drag an element of your choice (strip, shape, image, text, etc.) anywhere on the site. Then, use the icons Animate, Layout, Design, and Settings to modify their effects and alignment.
- Site theme: The “Site Design” panel lets you adjust your site's overall theme, including color palettes and typography. Also, feel free to customize the background of each page with images, solid colors, and even videos!
- Page transitions: Even better, you can decide on the transition effects for navigation between pages. Simply choose from Wix's available options (such as slide effects, fading, etc.), and you're set!
As you can see, all the essential design elements are already built into the settings. Even complete beginners can get started in minutes without feeling overwhelmed! However, since these features are designed with utmost simplicity in mind, most advanced designers may find the options quite limiting.
Wix Editor Pros | Wix Editor Cons |
+ Intuitive drag-and-drop interface. + Minimal effort required. + Variety of design elements (text, images, shapes, etc.) + Built-in page transition effects | + Limited creative freedom for advanced designers. |
Overall, the Wix Editor is the best choice for beginners (with little to no design or coding experience) looking for the fastest and most frictionless way to create a website. On the other hand, for those looking for more modern features, keep reading to explore the other three editors that Wix offers.
Wix Editor X: More Control Without The Complexity
A huge step up from the classic Wix Editor, Wix Editor X aims to offer a wider range of design options. Hence, in addition to the basic features already available in the standard Wix Editor, this Wix website builder lets you experiment with:
- Intuitive grid: Here's your chance to work directly with a visual grid to create more dynamic and organized layouts! You can split, resize, swap cells, etc., in seconds without needing any coding skills.
- Code-free animations: Bring your site to life with more animation options, including hover effects, loop motions, mouse parallax, and more. Better yet, there's the option to use advanced features (like scrolly-telling) to create engaging, interactive stories about your brand or particular products.
- Responsive design: Unlike with the Wix Editor, all the elements can now be adjusted in pixels. Plus, the platform will automatically optimize itself for all screen sizes and devices, thanks to built-in responsive modes like “Wrap” or “Scale Proportionally.”
- Custom CSS: Want to take your designs further? Use customizable CSS to create unique animations and visuals! Furthermore, with the help of the media queries, you may adapt your design for specific breakpoints while maintaining consistency with reusable custom classes.
Needless to say, all these diverse features give users significantly more flexibility for both code-free and code-based site-building.
However, Editor X does face immense challenges when handling large-scale websites. Once our team incorporated heavy multimedia content or dynamic elements, the slow loading times and constant lags became almost impossible to ignore.
Wix Editor X Pros | Wix Editor X Cons |
+ Combines no-code and code-based options + Automatic optimization to different screen sizes + Pixel adjustments | + Slows down with heavy multimedia. + Noticeable delays on large-scale projects. |
All in all, Wix Editor X works amazingly for freelancers, solo entrepreneurs, or medium-sized businesses with some decent design experience. The tool still caters to beginners (much like the standard Wix Editor) while offering extra features like grid and custom CSS to provide greater site-building flexibility.
Wix Studio Editor: The Ultimate Builder for Teams and Pros
As mentioned above, the Wix Editor X is mostly ideal for medium-sized projects, preferably managed by freelancers or solo entrepreneurs. So, if you want to take things one step further with more advanced features, Wix Studio Editor is up to the task! You can leverage it to:
- Build more responsive sites for clients: Advanced tools like Flexbox and CSS Grid allow for precise grouping and alignment at every breakpoint. Better yet, you can define responsive behaviors to ensure smooth adjustments across every screen size.
- Utilize reusable designs: There are options to save custom assets (e.g., pre-designed sections or templates) for reuse across multiple projects. This feature will save you lots of valuable time when starting new sites.
- Collaborate in real-time: Unlike other editors, Wix Studio Editor enables collaboration between multiple team members on the same project. Plus, the real-time updates also prevent actions from being overridden to ensure smooth flow.
- Advanced animations: Aside from the dynamic interactions similar to Wix Editor X (hover effects, entrance animations, etc.), you can also customize them to respond to a particular trigger, such as click, scroll, hover, etc.
- Utilize AI for faster design: No more spending hours creating tailored text and images; Wix Studio AI will handle all that for you based on your prompt input!
Long story short, Wix Studio Editor offers significantly better design freedom here, thanks to a powerful suite of advanced tools and capabilities you can never find in Wix Editor or Editor X. The ability to collaborate in real-time (yet another advanced feature missing from traditional editors), also dramatically speeds up your site-building process!
Unfortunately, such amazing freedom comes at a price: this Wix website builder is not as beginner-friendly as the other two options. Sure, some of the platform's features are fairly easy to use (e.g., the AI prompts or code-free animations), but you still need prior experience to fully utilize everything it has to offer.
Wix Studio Editor Pros | Wix Studio Editor Cons |
+ Real-time collaboration + Reusable assets + Custom CSS support + AI-powered design tools | + Steeper learning curve + Higher price |
Overall, Wix Studio Editor truly takes site-building efficiency to the next level, all thanks to its excellent design tools and time-saving features (real-time collaboration, reusable assets, etc.). For these reasons, we strongly recommend this website builder for large-scale companies or agencies managing multiple complex client projects at the same time.
Velo by Wix: Boundless Freedom for Web Development Experts
Still feeling limited by Wix Studio Editor? No worries; Velo by Wix offers the ultimate freedom to create without boundaries! With the following features, you no longer find yourself restricted to any pre-set option or configuration:
- Custom coding with JavaScript: You can now add custom functionality and interactions to your site (with your own JavaScript code) and even integrate advanced functions via Velo's APIs.
- Full server-side runtime: This feature lets you run server-side code with a Node.js-based runtime environment and export backend functions to the front end using ES2016 modules. That way, critical functions are kept private and protected from client-side tampering.
- Functional testing tools: Wix allows you to test backend code directly without triggering it from the front end. You may even define your own customer parameters for these processes to ensure robust, 100% error-free code deployment.
- Code reuse: Want to reuse components across multiple projects? Wix Velo has your back! Either choose from pre-built Velo packages or create your custom, reusable package using Wix blocks.
- A/B testing: Last but not least, Wix Velo gives you the option to create test versions of your site for a subset of visitors. The changes will only be rolled out to all users once you have decided which version to go for.
Needless to say, the possibilities for customization and advanced functionality are nearly limitless here. However, this level of boundless freedom comes at a cost: it is neither beginner- nor budget-friendly. To truly unlock ALL its potential, you must be an advanced developer or have enough resources to hire one (a whole team is even better)!
Wix Velo Pros | Wix Velo Cons |
+ Custom coding with JavaScript + Full server-side runtime + Functional testing tools + Code reuse with Velo packages + Robust security for backend operations | + VERY steep learning curve + High cost for development resources + Time-intensive setup for complex projects |
Overall, Velo by Wix provides boundless, unprecedented site-building freedom. However, it's certainly not for inexperienced developers, small businesses, or startups struggling to optimize their budgets! Instead, this Wix website builder only works best in the hands of large-scale companies or agencies, who have generous resources to leverage its advanced features for intricate, multi-layered projects.
Wix Website Builder: FAQs
Is Wix website builder really free?
Yes, Wix allows you to create fully functional websites without any cost using its builders.
What are the cons of using a Wix website builder?
Once your site is live, switching templates isn't possible. Plus, most plans have storage limits, so you will need to upgrade your plan for more space.
How much does it cost to have someone build you a Wix website?
Basic websites may start at around $300, while more advanced, feature-rich sites can cost more than $3,000. It's advisable to obtain quotes from multiple professionals to find a service that fits your budget and needs.
Final Words
We’ve provided a detailed and very comprehensive review of all five Wix Editors, each designed for different demographics. Take the time to find the best Wix website builder for your business! And if you still need further assistance, check out our additional Wix guides or join our Facebook Community.