Make a website with Wix
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If you’re ready to learn how to make a website with Wix, then we’ve got just the Wix tutorial you need!

We’ll take you through each step of using Wix until you’re ready to create a website in the space of a single afternoon. Don’t believe me? Then check it out.

With a range of innovative tools with a rich out-of-the-box feature set, you can use Wix technology to create an entire website in just a few clicks. In this article, we’ll take you through each and every step of the Wix experience to answer all your questions about how Wix works and how easy it is to use Wix to create a website.

📚 Table of contents – how to make a website with Wix:

FAQs about Wix

“Is Wix free for creating a website?”

Wix does have a free option but your site will have branded “Wix ads.” It will also be published under a subdomain like this: https://USERNAME.wixsite.com/SITE-NAME

“Do I have to worry about hosting and security?”

Because Wix is a fully hosted solution, web hosting, security, and the maintenance of your website are all taken care of for you.

“Does Wix own my domain name?”

No. When you sign up with Wix, you buy the domain name from them. Depending on your subscription, you can get a free year, but ownership of the domain is transferred to you. Wix is just there to negotiate a transaction and register your name in the domain registry on your behalf.

“Does Wix own my content?”

No. When you make a website with Wix, you still own your content. However, if you plan to move from Wix, you’ll need to copy all of your content manually and rebuild the site with a new tool. Unfortunately, Wix doesn’t offer an easy way to export your content.

“I’m not a developer can I still build a professional website on Wix?”

Definitely. Wix comes with over 800 professionally designed templates to help you make something amazing. All you need to do is add your content and publish your site. Still not convinced? Check out our collection of real Wix website examples.

“Can I create an online store on Wix?”

Yes, Wix has excellent options for creating an online store. You can add a store by either specifying you want a store in the welcome steps, or by installing the Wix Stores app. Wix has specific eCommerce plans built for stores of all kinds. Prices are higher than for standard plans, but Wix doesn’t charge additional transaction fees.

“Is Wix bad for SEO?”

No, Wix sites can and do rank well in Google search results. It is true, however, that Wix did have a bad SEO reputation for a while. Flash forward to today, Wix has recovered a lot of ground and improved its SEO options significantly over the years. Not only have they improved, but they continue to do so, Wix has recently added several new SEO tools, which might help to finally put this myth to bed. Read our in depth Wix Review and decide if this is the best option for you.

Create an account with Wix

If you haven’t already, jump over to the Wix website, and click the Get Started button. This is your first step to learn how to make a website with Wix.

The Wix sign up page

You can sign up using all the standard methods. If you’ve used Wix before, you can still sign in with that account. In fact, you can create multiple Wix websites on one account, but Wix pricing doesn’t support multiple websites, so you’ll be charged the full price for each site.

The Wix sign up page to create account with social logins or email

How to make a website with Wix

After creating a Wix account, you’ll answer a few setup questions to launch your site. For instance, you can pick the type of website you plan on creating.

Questions on what type of Wix website you're creating

Before we jump in and start using Wix, we need a website name. You can skip ahead, but tweaking your Wix website is much easier if you have a name in place. If you don’t have the perfect name, take a minute to create a name that’s in the ballpark.

adding a name

It might not even take a minute if you use something like DomainWheel. With DomainWheel, you’ll be able to generate names and immediately purchase the domain. So, let’s hit pause on this Wix tutorial while you generate a name.

picking a name

It’s also important to specify the goals you have for the website. Wix automatically adds relevant features based on your replies. So, you might say you’d like to sell products, then Wix will eventually prompt you to add an online store.

picking the goals for your Wix website

The next step makes adding features a one-click process. Just scroll through the list and select the features you want on your Wix homepage.

Here are some of your choices:

  • Bookings
  • Online Store
  • Chat
  • Blog
  • Events
  • Portfolio
  • Pricing Plans
  • Forms
  • Instagram Feed
  • Video
  • Music
  • Online Programs
Wix ADI will select features based on website goals.

After clicking Next, Wix prompts you to Go To Dashboard.

Go to Dashboard button

Once inside your dashboard, we recommend clicking the Customize Site button to begin designing you Wix website.

Clicking the Customize Site button to use the editor

The customization area presents you with your first tough decision when making a Wix website: choosing between a custom-built site tool (using artificial intelligence; also referred to as the Wix ADI) or picking a theme and customizing it yourself with the Wix editor.

The choice between setting up your own Wix store with a template and getting a custom built site

Which is better between a custom-built site vs choosing a theme and making customizations yourself? In all honesty, it comes down to how much work you want to do.

  • A custom-built site (using the Wix ADI, or artificial intelligence builder) is best when you’re after a fully functioning website that needs a tiny tweak here and there.
  • The Wix Editor and Dashboard is best for anyone interested in building their site from scratch (well, using a template at least).

Still not sure which option is best? Answer these questions:

I just want to upload photos and add a little text

A Wix custom-built site is better equipped to handle this kind of hands-off approach.

I want control over everything - including colors and fonts

Go with the Wix Editor’s variety of colors and fonts.

I need the full range of apps and integrations

The Wix editor has more options for third-party apps.

If you are worried about getting over your head, then be aware that Wix’s custom site building method simply just adds a few questions to the beginning of your design process; both methods use the same dashboard and designer. So, let’s start this Wix tutorial with a custom-built site from Wix (skip ahead to the Wix Editor here).

Make a custom-built website with Wix ADI

The first thing you should know about the Wix Artificial Design Intelligence (ADI) tool (the technology that fuels custom-built Wix websites) is that it is impressive. It can build a unique website tailored to your needs in about 5 minutes. How does Wix work this out? The ADI uses a database to filter and combine billions of layouts, text, images, and designs to deliver a custom-built website.

And, it all starts by choosing that you want a custom-built site.

Choosing to get a custom-built Wix site.

This method guides you through a collection of questions to automatically build the perfect Wix site for your brand. To begin, you’re able to review and add a logo, email address, physical business address, phone number, fax, and social accounts.

Review info for your Wix website

Don’t worry, you can whip up basic logotypes and logomarks with little fuss and no cash with the Themeisle Logo Maker. Simply select some fonts, pick a layout, choose colors and then download an entire logo pack for use on websites, social media, and as favicons.

Themeisle Logo Maker for impressive logos without the cost.

Now that we have a website with identity, let’s get to the exciting stuff: building it.

Your first step is to pick a suitable color scheme and font style. Wix ADI will present several options with pre-defined color palettes. Pick one you like and let Wix do the rest.

Picking a color theme in Wix

Based on your business type and color choices, Wix will present various unique website designs with everything included. Seriously, everything. You’ll have:

  • Hero images
  • Product groups
  • Meaningful headings
  • Buttons
  • And more.

Roll over each design to take a quick tour and get a sense of how they look.

Using a pre-made homepage design

Once you select the Wix homepage that speaks to you, Wix generates some essential pages. Be sure to check off the pages you want added to your site, then click Edit Site to proceed.

Essential pages from Wix ADI

Tweaking your custom-built site in the Wix Editor

That’s all there is to the custom-built website process with Wix ADI! Now, your uniquely designed site gets dropped into the standard Wix Editor. Custom-built Wix sites are technically ready for publication, but we still recommend walking through the editor to make tweaks, and to ensure everything looks good.

In the editor, you’ll see an editable preview of your custom-built Wix site. Just click on design elements, like images or buttons, to customize them. With anything you click, a menu bar appears with a variety of options that, depending on the element, lets you change things like images, titles, and more.

For instance, clicking on a slider gallery for products shows settings to change the layout, text, and overall design of the slider gallery; you can also manage and add products.

Customizing design elements with the Wix editor

If you click the Layout button, you can change detailed settings like margins, display styles, and alignments.

Changing Wix section layouts

While you start with a good range of pages, your site might call for something different. You can search Wix’s catalog of pre-made pages by clicking opening the Switch Page dropdown menu. There’s a good mix of pages with multiple layouts including:

  • About
  • Contact
  • Products
  • Services
  • Resources
  • Shop
  • Book Online
  • Much more

You can also go to Manage Page → Add Page to create an entirely new page.

Adding a new page with Wix

Maybe you’d like to experiment with other themes, fonts, and colors. Don’t worry, you can change any of these things through the Site Design menu tab. There are several areas to adjust global colors, fonts, backgrounds, and page transitions.

Changing colors and backgrounds for a Wix website

For extra features and site management tools, click Add Apps to see your options.

  • Apps are for adding extra features like social media icons, email marketing forms, user comments, member’s areas, and more.
Adding apps in Wix
  • We also recommend checking out the Ascend Business Tools tab (usually added in the main menu by default – or you can install it as an app), which is a freemium service for analytics, marketing options, and other website management essentials.
Using Ascend Business Tools

Once you’re happy with your site, skip ahead to the publish your site section. However, if you’re curious about how to use the Wix editor from scratch (or with a theme), then stick with this Wix tutorial as we learn about using Wix without the custom-built design process from Wix ADI.

How to use the Wix Editor

Here’s what’s to come in this section:

To skip the custom-built site process, you must click on Begin with a template when prompted in the setup wizard. That gives you a head start with a predesigned template, or you could click Go to Dashboard to create a website from scratch. For this tutorial, we’ll begin with a template.

Choosing between a custom-built site and going straight to the editor

Wix has around 800 templates that can be filtered by category or search. Once you have found a template that fits with your project, roll over and click Edit.

The Wix template options

Wix Editor 101

Unlike the custom site (Wix ADI) method, building with a template (or from scratch) doesn’t use an automated process to create a unique website. You will be using the Wix editor manually to build and customize your site. This means:

  • Creating headlines and body text from scratch.
  • Sourcing and uploading images including hero images, product images, and more.
  • Manually adjusting the color scheme to match your brand.
  • Picking and creating which pages you want on your Wix website.
  • Searching the App Marketplace for additional features not included in the template.

After you pick a template, it shows up in the Wix editor for customization. Click on any element to see the editing possibilities.

For example, clicking on a strip background element gives you options to modify colors, upload new images, pick from preselected backgrounds, change formats, and even upload a video instead.

The Wix design elements options

To get an overview of your editing possibilities, click on each of the elements to discover their unique design and layout choices. For example:

  • Text blocks have options to switch heading and font sizes, add effects, and more.
  • With forms, you can change designs, layouts and the number of fields.

Any change is displayed in real-time. Not happy? Hit the Undo arrow and it’s like it never happened.

Editing the individual elements will add a little sparkle to your site, but to learn how to edit a Wix website for global changes, you will need to use the menu on the left-hand side.

Adding elements to your Wix website

To add website elements that aren’t included in the template, click the Add Elements (“+” symbol) button.

The menu options for the Wix editor

Everything you need for a website will be here including:

  • Galleries and images
  • Interactive slideshows
  • Videos and music
  • Buttons
  • Forms
  • Text
  • Menus and anchors
  • Code embeds
  • Social media elements
  • Blogs

For example, in this mini Wix tutorial, let’s see how to add a search bar in Wix. Click Add Elements “+” → Menu & Anchor → Site search. You can drag any search bar onto the page, or use the prebuilt Wix Site Search app for a more powerful search experience.

Wix tutorial covering how to add a search bar in Wix

Like other Wix editing options, the website elements have a healthy range of styles and layouts.

For changes to your site structure, it’s easiest to add Wix pages through the Pages & Menu option (the icon looks like a green document). Once selected, it gives you an overview of your menus, pages, and their visibility in the main menu.

When you’re ready to add a Wix page, click the Add Page button to open the page selection menu.

Accessing the pages and menu option

If you followed the earlier stages of this Wix tutorial, then the page selection menu will be familiar. It has a long list of additional pages with different layouts and styles. Simply rollover the design you like and click Add page.

How to add a page on your Wix website from the Add Page menu

Once the page appears in the main menu, you can manage basic SEO settings, add social share images, or change the title.

The Wix page management options

Finally, you can also remove the page from the menu, rename it, or duplicate it.

Using the theme manager

The theme manager is for changing color schemes and font options. Let’s look at them individually.

Color

When learning how to create a Wix website, color palettes present the biggest challenge. Fortunately, Wix provides a few “designer approved” palettes to ease you into the process.

Click on Site Design (orange icon with the letter A + droplet) Customize (Under Color & Text Theme).

Choosing the customize the Wix site color

This reveals your current color scheme, along with other recommended colors from Wix. Clicking each palette gives you a preview.

Previewing a color change in the Wix editor

If you like the new color scheme, click on the Save button. On the other hand, select the original scheme to revert back.

To edit the colors, click Colors under any theme, then use any color drop to open the color picker.

add new colors in Wix

For minor adjustments, click the small colored boxes to open the Adjust Shade box.

How to change colors on Wix website

Once again, you’ll see a preview of the changes. If you’re happy, click Apply to make the change. Otherwise, close the box to cancel any changes.

Text

For adjusting the Wix fonts, go to Site Design Customize Text.

Modifying the text theme on a Wix website

Click on the current text theme to change it to one of the many preselected text themes that align well with your overall design. Picking a new text theme automatically generates a global change on your site preview. Feel free to swap back to the original text if you’re not pleased with the results.

Seeing a new global text theme in action on the Wix preview

The Customize Text Theme section also provides an area to Edit Your Theme’s Text Styles, which is a fancy way of saying you can edit its global heading fonts.

Editing global headings in Wix

For example, Heading 1 is the main heading on every page. If you change this font, you’ll change all H1s across your site.

To scroll through the available fonts on Wix, click the small pencil → down arrow to open the Wix fonts list.

Scrolling through the fonts list

All the best Wix fonts are here, but if you want to add more fonts to Wix, click the Upload Fonts button. You can add TTF, OTF, WOFF, and WOFF2 fonts to Wix in a few seconds.

Adding pre-built sections to a Wix site

No Wix tutorial is complete without considering the section options. Wix has an extensive selection of free, pre-designed sections that can be dropped into the your website with a few clicks. This way, you’re not designing large parts of each page from scratch.

To get a feel for the sections, click on Add Section (purple icon with one large bar flanked by two smaller bars).

Among the options, you’ll find sections for:

  • Welcome banners
  • About info
  • Team member details
  • Contact forms
  • Promotions
  • Services
  • Subscription forms
  • Clients
  • And more
Going to the Add Section button in the main menu

When you find a suitable section, click and drag it to any of the purple areas in the Wix Editor. They read: “Choose a section and drop it anywhere on the page.”

Click and drag any section while you make a Wix website

Installing apps

Now for the exciting part in this Wix tutorial: adding more features with apps and integrations. With over 250 paid and free apps, the Wix App Market is an easy way to enhance your website. Go to the App Market by clicking Add Apps (a pink icon with four squares).

Navigating to the App Market

Finding an app couldn’t be easier. Search according to function, or browse through popular options and categories.

For example:

  • For data collection and analytics there are apps like Visitor Analytics.
  • You can set up Google advertising with Get Google Ads.
  • You’ll even find apps like Wix File Share if you need to know how to add a downloadable file to Wix.

There are also general categories to guide your search, like:

  • Analyze Traffic
  • Interact with Visitors
  • Marketing
  • Sell Online
  • Media & Content
  • Design Elements
  • Communication

While you might be impressed with the number and variety of apps, wait till you see how easy they are to install and use. There’s actually no need to have a Wix tutorial for it, just click on Add to Site. Wix handles the rest.

Clicking the Add To Site button to install an app on a Wix website

Adding media

No matter what type of website you’re building, you’ll rely on media elements to catch the eye and keep people engaged. Managing these elements, making adjustments to them, and storing them is handled through the Wix Media Center.

Click on Media (orange image icon) to search for free images from Wix, edit video and images, and upload media from your computer, Facebook, Google Drive, and more.

Clicking on the Wix Media tab to add or adjust images and videos

Whether uploading a photo or selecting one from your Wix site, it’s always possible to click the Photo Studio button to crop, resize, enhance, overlay, and edit just about every aspect of the photo.

Using the editing tools in Photo Studio to crop, resize, adjust, and more

Create a blog on Wix

If you’re interested in content marketing, this is the part of the Wix tutorial you’ve been waiting for. We’re going to add a blog to our Wix website. To do so, go to Add Elements “+” Blog Add to Site. This installs the Wix Blog app.

Adding the Wix Blog app to your site

With the app installed, you can now access your Wix Blog section by going to the My Business menu item (dark blue icon with two squares and a gear).

Showing how the Wix Blog is now accessible in the dashboard

From there, create and manage an entire archive of posts. Let’s add a blog post now.

Creating a blog post with Wix

In the Wix Blog portion of the My Business section, click on Write Post or Create Post; they both send you to the same place.

Clicking the Create Post button to design the blog post

The text editor looks like every other text editor on the planet. Everything you need to format text, like bold, colors, lists, and alignment, can be found along the top of the screen.

Writing a blog post as you make a website with Wix

On the left, you’ve got options for managing your posts with settings, SEO, categories, and tags. The “+” button inside the content lets you quickly add design elements like images, galleries, lists, and buttons.

If you need to make changes to the cover image, author, or publication date, open the Settings options. There are also tabs to monetize and translate your Wix blog in the left-side menu.

The final step is to click the Publish button to share your content with the world.

Managing your Wix blog posts

Click on Manage Blog to open the Posts section of the main Wix dashboard. This is the place to control blog settings for categories, tags, SEO, and reader notifications.

Managing your blog posts

You can even hire a writer from this screen or import posts from other platforms. Once you have an archive of published content, you will also find detailed analytics through this dashboard.

Preview and save your site

There are a couple of other important Wix Editor features that you can find in the top menu bar.

When you make a website with Wix, you can save progress via the top menu bar
  • Page – Quickly toggle between the pages on your site and your blog.
  • Desktop / Mobile – Switch between desktop and mobile mode to edit your site for both device types.
  • Settings – Access global settings for your website, add a favicon, view analytics, and much more.
  • Dev Mode – An advanced development area for adding code, connecting external APIs and using internal and external development tools.
  • Save / Preview / Publish – Although Wix automatically saves changes, it’s still important to save your website as you go. You can also preview your site on the frontend and publish it when you are ready.

Publish your Wix website

To make your website publicly accessible, you need to publish it.

To do so, click Publish from the top menu. By default, Wix publishes your site on the Wix subdomain.

Once you hit publish, you have officially made a Wix website

For a number of reasons, this is not ideal. Unless you’re experimenting, you should connect a custom domain name.

For this you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan. Every Wix plan comes with a free year of registration and a free SSL certificate alongside a well-organized knowledge base and round-the-clock help from their customer care team. As for the differences and prices, check out the table below:

LightCoreBusinessBusiness Elite
Price / month$16$27$32$159
Storage space2GB50GB100GBUnlimited
Video Hours30 minutes5 hours10 hoursUnlimited
Site Booster App
Free for 1 Year
Site AnalyticsBasicStandardAdvanced
eCommerceBasicStandardAdvanced
Events Calendar App
Free for 1 Year
Professional Logo
Social Media Logo Files
Remove Wix Ads
Customer Care24/7 customer care24/7 customer care24/7 customer carePriority customer care

That’s how to make a website with Wix!

As you can see, creating a website on the Wix platform is pretty painless!

However, it’s not the only way to create a website. WordPress is also a great alternative to make a website with Wix that you can use.

See how Wix compares to WordPress and if after you create it you decide you want to unpublish your Wix site in favor of using WordPress, you can do that too. We love WordPress, so we had to at least make one pitch for it, right?

Did you run into any problems when you tried to make a website with Wix? Ask away in the comments and we’ll try to help!

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