The 9 Best Wix Alternatives to Consider in 2024 (And Why They Are Better)

It’s never been easier to build a website. In the past, some knowledge of coding was essential to create a website. Now, not so much. Drag and drop website builders like Wix have made building and launching websites about as easy for the average person as, well, dragging and dropping. Most Wix alternatives also have this functionality built-in.

Wix is an Israeli software company that launched in Tel Aviv back in 2006. With Wix, the average user could create a HTML5 website and launch it using a range of drag and drop tools. And they could also add a plethora of social plugins and contact forms to customize their website to their liking. What’s more, Wix’s basic features are free to use, making it accessible to just about anyone with an internet connection.

However, Wix’s freemium business model doesn’t quite lend itself to companies looking to grow and expand without burning a hole in your pocket for upgrades. Thankfully, Wix is not the only website builder in town.

Obviously, apart from the website builder, you will require other ecommerce tools for managing your store as well, so it’s important to keep a check on your expenses on a monthly basis. There are several Wix alternatives with similar functionalities, and unique advantages that you may want to look at.

Here are the most popular Wix alternatives you should seriously consider:

• WordPress – Suitable for all blogging, stores, and portfolio websites.
• Magento – Suitable for larger ecommerce stores.
• Squarespace – Suitable for new ecommerce stores.
• SITE123 – Ideal for portfolio websites
• Shopify – Suitable for larger (20,000+ products) ecommerce stores.
• Weebly – Ideal for basic websites.
• Divi – Can be used for added customization on your WordPress website.
• BigCommerce – Suitable for mid-range ecommerce stores.
• Pixpa – Ideal for portfolio websites.

The following table will give you a better idea about the comparison between different Wix alternatives and how they stack up to each other:

*These values are taken from G2.com

Why Should You Consider Looking for a Wix Alternative?

More and more people have begun to move towards Wix alternatives instead of staying with the platform. That’s partially because there are now more players in the game than there were when Wix started. And of course, no website builder can call itself a “one size fits all” solution, including Wix.

Wix is a suitable choice if you want to build a website for:

• Online forums
• An appointment booking website
• Setting up contact forms
• Creating a simple online store
• Blogging

Wix can work well for these purposes because they don’t have advanced technical requirements.  Most of the functionality offered out of the box is barebones at best. In order to really get the best out of Wix, you will have to pay for several features, and that’s where your costs increase sharply.

There are a host of plans that Wix offers, some of which might be confusing for an average user. Here’s a screenshot of their pricing page:

Source: Wix

As you can see, it can be confusing to find the best package based on your needs, especially if you’re looking to avoid Wix ads on your website.

That’s not the only reason you should consider a Wix alternative. Here are a few others.

Your Website is Only Hosted on Wix

Arguably the biggest gripe that most entrepreneurs have with Wix is the fact that your website can only be hosted on Wix.

If you choose another content management system like WordPress, you can easily host your website with any company you want. However, if you build your website on Wix, you can only choose to host it on their platform. It’s the company’s way of offering “convenience,” but it can pose serious limitations to a growing business. After all, as you expand, you’ll probably be on the hunt for better hosting options or opt for some similar solutions for your website. If you build your website using Wix, you can’t really go anywhere else.

You Can’t Migrate Your Data

Even if you get lucky and your website performs well, you can’t migrate your data from Wix. It’s one of the reasons why so many people look for Wix alternatives.

So what if you want to add some features that Wix doesn’t support, or just want to overhaul your website? Well, moving your content away from Wix is a serious pain. If you were using WordPress, you could just add a new theme to your website. All of your content would be in place. But if you want to move away from Wix, you will have to manually enter your content on your website all over again.

As you can imagine, it’s quite a bit of hassle. When it comes to scalability, Wix might not be the best choice out there. There are other alternatives to Wix that do a better job of migration.

Wix Might be More Expensive Than You Might Realize

The base offering from Wi is free, which is why so many people love this platform. However, its freemium model can cause prices to skyrocket depending upon the features you want.

Arguably the largest cost you might suffer comes from a loss of revenue. Think of it as the cost of a website built by someone who doesn’t know what makes a website tick. As a result, the website can’t be discovered or doesn’t work as well as it should.

Ultimately, you lose money in the process. Wix alternatives like WordPress, on the other hand, cost nothing to install.

So What Should You Look For in a Wix Alternative?

There are a number of things that you should look for in different alternatives to Wix. Here’s a look at some of the key factors to consider when evaluating different Wix competitors.

Pricing

This one is fairly obvious; choose an affordable platform that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to build and host your website. Compare the prices charged by different platforms before you decide to go ahead.

Remember, it’s not always a wise idea to compare the “price starts from” option. In most cases, you will pay a lot more than that.

Responsive Design

Wix is fairly good at creating responsive websites. Google rewards websites that are responsive and mobile-friendly, which makes a responsive website design critically important. Any website builder you choose should also give you a preview of how your website is going to look when it loads up on mobile.

Drag and Drop Editing Tools

One of the major draws for Wix is the fact that it allows you to create websites using a simple drag and drop editor – no coding required. Almost any kind of website can be created this way; and it’s one of the reasons why so many entrepreneurs prefer Wix over other website builders.

Needless to say, the alternative you choose must have that capability as well. This will give you the freedom and flexibility that you need to build the website that you want. However, for ecommerce store owners, there are other important factors to consider, such as security,  SEO functionality, shopping cart management tools, and others.

Scalability

A major reason so many people want to switch from Wix is the lack of scalability options. This is just not suitable for larger online stores. You need to choose a platform that allows you to grow your store and makes it easy for you to migrate your data when you want.

As your store grows, Wix limits you in terms of templates and themes, which essentially means that you can’t switch to another template once your website goes live.

Luckily, there are quite a few website builders like Wix which give you better functionality and are also scalable. Here are some of the best builders that you can use instead of Wix.

The 9 Best Wix Alternatives

You don’t want to make a habit of switching website builders, so it’s important that you select the right from the get-go. Here are eight of the best alternatives to Wix.

1. WordPress

Source: WordPress

Used by over 40% of websites, including sites like TechCrunch and The New Yorker, WordPress.org is by far one of the best alternatives to Wix.

At its core, WordPress is a content management system, and it excels in almost all departments. Whether you want to create a custom blog or an online store, WordPress can handle it all. It’s incredibly intuitive and comes with an array of themes that you can use in order to customize your website.

One factor behind WordPress’s popularity is that it allows you to integrate as many plugins as you want, and tailor your website according to your liking. At the same time, it’s extremely easy to use.

You also don’t have to limit yourself to one host. With this CMS, you can choose reliable WordPress hosting for your website and deploy it. This gives you complete freedom to scale with whichever hosting provider you choose. You can also check out Siteground alternative if you are looking for a fast hosting.

The best thing about WordPress is its flexibility and scalability. If you choose WooCommerce, you could easily create a phenomenal store. WooCommerce allows you to add a bunch of different extensions as well to further optimize store performance.

At Cloudways, we offer the WooCommerce Starter Bundle. This bundle is ideal for people looking to launch their own store, and comes with a select range of plugins already integrated. These include Stripe Gateway, PayPal Checkout, Kadence Email Designer, and many others.

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It’s also important to note that there is a difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com. The latter offers its own hosting as well, which begins from $4 a month.

Pros 

• Highly scalable and flexible
• Free to use (you can pay for plugins or add-ons)
• Intuitive and easy to understand
• Allows you to make any kind of website you want

Cons

• Installation is a pain unless you use a managed platform like Cloudways
• Separate plugins for security need to be installed
• Lack of dedicated support

2. Magento 2

Source: Magento

If you want to build an online store, Magento is one of the most powerful best options when it comes to ecommerce stores. The only reason why it’s down on this list is because it’s primarily geared for ecommerce store owners and requires more a bit of coding knowledge than the others, and as such, the functionality and features are limited for people who want to host a store. Even so, it’s one of the most best Wix alternatives.

Magento allows you to create an ecommerce website, but you need some special editing and coding skills. You will have to deal with the HTML elements as well as the design elements simultaneously. Magento is an open-source platform, so you can customize it however you like.

Currently, Magento has around 13 ecommerce themes, though you can always customize and create your own. The biggest advantage Magento has over Wix is that it allows you to host your website on other platforms with ease, whereas Wix limits your hosting options.

Pros

• Open-source
• Geared for ecommerce store owners
• Free to use

Cons

• Requires coding knowledge
• Template choice is limited
• Learning curve is a bit steep

3. Squarespace

Source: Squarespace

If you listen to podcasts, chances are you already know about Squarespace. They sponsor probably around a million podcasts and videos, and have a dominant online presence.

Squarespace is one of the best alternatives to Wix  and is ideal for blogs, portfolio websites and online stores. If you were to launch an online store using Squarespace, prices begin from $26 a month. This allows you to sell whatever you want without having to worry about any transaction fees. However, this is one of the pricier Wix alternatives on this list.

For $40, you can opt for their advanced package, which unlocks an array of ecommerce options that you can use to optimize your website. Thanks to their $0 transaction fee, this is an ideal choice for SMBs and ecommerce store owners that are simply looking to grow.

Every Squarespace package comes with hosting, though you can migrate to WordPress or other platforms with relative ease.

Pros:

• A range of fantastic designs and templates
• Ideal for blogs
• Fantastic support

Cons 

• It’s a bit pricey
• There’s no free plan
• Not the fastest

4. SITE123

Source: Site123

If you want to launch a website without all the bells and whistles, you can’t go wrong with SITE123. It has more than 200 templates to choose from, so unlike Wix, you won’t feel let down by the choice of options available here.

SITE123 has a much more basic interface as compared to other website builders on this list, but it still does an excellent job of holding its own against other alternatives on this list. It’s best suited for personal websites or small-scale business sites, and is incredibly easy to use.

You don’t even have to tinker with rearranging basic elements like you have to with WordPress. If I had to describe SITE123 in one word, I’d say; it’s functional. It’s got everything that you could want from a basic website builder.

Pros 

• Beginner-friendly
• Excellent support; forums are filled with information
• Support for over 75 apps

Cons

• Not the prettiest
• Not suitable for larger online stores

5. Shopify

Source: Shopify

Shopify is another popular name in the website building niche and one of the biggest Wix competitors in the market. Unlike Wix a, they don’t have a free plan; they only have a two week trial period.

In terms of quality, both have a pretty streamlined and professional interface that allows you to create an ecommerce store with ease. As you can probably expect, the themes from Shopify are focused primarily for ecommerce store owners.

You can also filter templates with ease, and optimize your website however you please. Shopify is an incredibly popular platform that gives you full access to CSS and the HTML code for your website (Wix doesn’t offer this unless you choose the developer version). You can also use a variety of upselling techniques and incorporate them on your website with Shopify.

Pros

• Range of professional templates
• Ideal for POS applications
• Automatic tax calculation features in Shopify

Cons

• No free version
• No transaction fees to worry about in Wix if you use a third-party payment gateway
• Ideal for general purpose websites

6. Weebly

Source: Weebly.com

Weebly comes from modest beginnings, but grew to new heights after it was acquired by Square, Inc. Today, more than 40 million websites are built and hosted on Weebly, making it a strong contender for people searching for Wix alternatives. It offers more in-house features than Wix, and you even get greater storage space than on Wix.

Unlike Wix, all of the features in Weebly are built into the interface. Wix uses third-party apps for adding more features, and this hikes up your overall cost. By providing an array of in-house features, Weebly helps you keep your costs down. This includes email marketing campaign designers, photo galleries, and an array of contact forms.

However, the learning curve here is slightly steeper; you might find it a tad bit more complicated than Wix. Don’t worry though; it’s still geared for people who don’t know much about code.

Pros

• Free trial; no credit card required
• Built-in ecommerce features
• IFTTT (If This, Then That) automation features

Cons 

• The platform might glitch, requiring a refresh from time to time
• The formatting and placement options are not as customizable as WordPress or other builders

7. Divi

Source: Elegant Themes

This is where WordPress’s flexibility really begins to shine. Divi is essentially a drag and drop page builder designed for use with WordPress. It has more than 100+ layout packs that you can use to customize your website according to your business niche. As a result, it’s one of the best Wix alternatives you can choose for customizing your site.

That’s not all; there are more than 800 pre-made designs and page templates that you can customize to your heart’s liking. With hundreds of web elements, you can easily create a custom website that looks and feels different.

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Divi also has advanced editing features like bulk editing, which makes it an ideal choice for people who want to set up their online store the way they like it.

The pricing is a bit steep; it starts from $89 a year, or you could pay $240 as a one-time fee and get all the benefits. However, the company offers a 30-day money back guarantee that allows you to try it out without any worry.

Pros

• Very intuitive interface; easy to use
• You don’t need any design experience
• Add as many plugins as you want

Cons

• Custom design edits require a bit of HTML experience
• It’s not exactly a CRM
• The range of tools working underneath may make the interface seem a bit cluttered

8. BigCommerce

Source: BigCommerce

BigCommerce is an excellent ecommerce website builder that gives you a one-stop solution for creating a robust store. It’s fully scalable, but the only downside is that it is a hosted platform like Wix. Naturally, if you are looking for similar Wix alternatives with a hosted platform, you should consider this one.

BigCommerce integrates very well with WordPress so you can combine the ecommerce functionality of one of the most powerful CMS platforms out there and grow your store quickly. BigCommerce also supports payments through multiple gateways like Stripe, PayPal, Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, and many others.

Oh, and the company doesn’t charge any transaction fee.

Pros 

• Range of product variants
• Scalable
• No transaction fees

Cons 

• Annual sales threshold; if you exceed the threshold, you will be bumped to a more expensive plan
• Hosted platform
• Multi-language support

9. Pixpa

Source: Pixpa

Pixpa is the perfect Wix alternative for you if you are looking to create professional portfolio websites, complete with ecommerce store, client galleries and blog, without touching a single line of code. 

Pixpa comes with a range of beautiful, mobile-friendly, and responsive templates which can be fully-customized using the simple and intuitive visual editor and drag and drop page builder. This makes it particularly well suited for people who are beginners to website building and do not have coding knowledge. For users who are more technically advanced, Pixpa does offer the option for using custom HTML and CSS code for further customization. Additionally, if you sign up for the Expert or Business tier plans, you can get a Pixpa expert to build your website for you as a free, one-time service.

The main selling points for Pixpa are the extremely responsive and proactive customer support, as well as its affordable price point. The pricing plans start at as low as $3 a month making it one of the most affordable website builders on the market. If you are looking for an affordable, accessible, all-in-one website building solution, Pixpa is perfect for you.

Pros

• Beginner friendly and intuitive. No coding required.
• Professional, mobile-optimized and responsive templates.
• Free, website set-up service with Expert and Business tier plans.
• Extensive SEO and built-in marketing tools.
• Free SSL security on all websites.
• 24×7 customer support through email and live chat

Cons

• Custom domain names must be purchased from a third-party.
• Paid service. No freemium model is available.

Conclusion

And, there you have it! These are the best Wix alternatives that you should seriously consider if you are planning to move your website from Wix. Of course, you will also need an array of ecommerce tools to improve your company’s operational performance, so this is just the first step.

To sum up, the 9 best alternatives to Wix are:

1. WordPress
2. Magento 2
3. Squarespace
4. SITE123
5. Shopify
6. Weebly
7. Divi
8. BigCommerce
9. Pixpa

WordPress is arguably the best option when you consider the sheer variety of options that it offers and the flexibility that it provides. However, ecommerce store owners who are serious about growth and performance cannot go wrong with Magento, even if it means shelling out some extra bucks for help from a website developer.

Here are more blogs from our alternative series that you will find interesting:

• Squarespace Alternatives
• Shopify Alternatives
• Oberlo Alternatives
• Etsy Alternatives
• Magento Alternatives
• Wix vs. Shopify – Which One Suits Your Ecommerce Store?