Hey, Kaya here!

I live in London, and this looks like a nice UK-based spot to talk about web design and such

A Bit About Me:

I've been writing for CMS Critic for quite some time now, and have recently teamed up with the founder, Mike Johnston, to launch Website Builders Critic.

We created Website Builders Critic to show the less-tech savvy from among us that good looking websites can be built quickly and easily, if you use the right tools.

Our focus is on reviewing and comparing a handful of website builders, as well as providing video tutorials on how to do things like build a blog in 5 minutes.

Even today, there are far too many people with ideas and businesses without websites, and we're looking to help change that.

So, I look forward to getting involved in some discussions with you all! See you around the forums.

Hey Kaya,

 

Welcome to WDF. I saw your website and its really nice to get receive updates really CMS.

i read the Wix review but i would like to see a lot more about the pros and cons of using something like wix to do with how responsive it is etc. I see quite a few site reviews on linked in and i have reservations about using something like this compared to using a web designer/team (though i understand for ease of use and price it seems like site builders are a good idea) Some points to cover would be:

 

1. how does it scale (you mentioned chaning theme means a (complete?!) restart

2. page speed - every wix site i've looked at seems quite heavy, expecially when fonts are concerned

3. design - it's nice having templates and so on but even graphic designers don't necessairly understand how things best work on the web - sure they can make it look pretty but web site builders are only a tool as good as the hands using them and in inexperienced hands ...

4. an objective comparison between using wix/similar and using a designer/agency - touch on marketing, seo, when it might be more appropriate long term to use a proper designer and not a piece of software. If this sounds biased it's because it is but it's worth looking at whether site builders can meet their long term business objectives and can it be a false economy?

Hey Kaya,

 

Welcome to WDF. I saw your website and its really nice to get receive updates really CMS.

Hey Nick, awesome man, glad you like the site

 

see you around the forums!

 

i read the Wix review but i would like to see a lot more about the pros and cons of using something like wix to do with how responsive it is etc. I see quite a few site reviews on linked in and i have reservations about using something like this compared to using a web designer/team (though i understand for ease of use and price it seems like site builders are a good idea) Some points to cover would be:

 

1. how does it scale (you mentioned chaning theme means a (complete?!) restart

2. page speed - every wix site i've looked at seems quite heavy, expecially when fonts are concerned

3. design - it's nice having templates and so on but even graphic designers don't necessairly understand how things best work on the web - sure they can make it look pretty but web site builders are only a tool as good as the hands using them and in inexperienced hands ...

4. an objective comparison between using wix/similar and using a designer/agency - touch on marketing, seo, when it might be more appropriate long term to use a proper designer and not a piece of software. If this sounds biased it's because it is but it's worth looking at whether site builders can meet their long term business objectives and can it be a false economy?

Point number four is extremely interesting. In fact, I may just write something on the topic. Website Builders vs Website Design Agencies. Thanks for giving me the idea, and feel free to expand on what you'd like to see me cover

 

For your other points:

 

1. Yes, Wix doesn't allow you to just switch themes (like you can do with WordPress). Once you start adding content to one particular theme, it can't be migrated to another one, unless you add it all over again. This is one of Wix's biggest downfalls.

2. This is subjective. You can build a very minimal website with Wix, making it fast, or you can overload it with images, videos, fonts and graphics, making it slow.

3. Again, if you know how to design a website well, Wix gives you everything you need. You CAN build good looking Wix websites. Can you also build an ugly one? Sure, if you are inexperienced.

 

Thanks for all the feedback Davep, that was a genuinely useful post!

Hey, it's a good service. Thank you!