How to make a website with Wix

Wix's homepage
(Image credit: Wix)

Wix is one of the most widely used website builders, and while it's got stiff competition among the ranks of the best website builder platforms, it’s an incredibly easy and fast service to use.

You can quickly and easily create a stunning and modern site for desktop and mobile browsers, which is just one reason why it ranks as one of the best website builders across the board, whether it's the best ecommerce website builders, the best small business website builders, as well as even one of the best web hosting services.

We'll show you, via our step-by-step guide, how to make a website with Wix. By following these steps, you can create and publish a basic website using Wix’s powerful ADI (artificial design intelligence) web development software.

How to make a website with Wix: Preparation

Before getting to work on your Wix site, the first thing you need to do is create an account. Simply head to Wix.com and click "Get Started". Then enter your email address and choice of password.

Next, you’ll be sent an email to verify your address. Go to your email inbox, open the email from Wix (be sure to check your spam folder), and click on "Confirm Email Now" to proceed, and to then log into your account.

Step 1: Getting started

Wix's user dashboard at the start of the site-building process

Wix boasts a sleek and simple design (Image credit: Wix)

To start creating your website, click on "Create New Site".

Step 2: Choose the purpose of your site

Wix's questions at the start of the site creation process

Getting started is a simple matter of answering a few questions (Image credit: Wix)

Wix is loaded with plenty of website templates, each designed for specific purposes. For example, the layout for an online store is different from that of a restaurant. Select the option that best suits the website you want to build to move on to the next step. For this guide, we’ve chosen "Business".

Step 3: Wix ADI or Wix Editor?

Wix's choices of site creation platform

Unless you’re an advanced user, we recommend using Wix ADI to start with (Image credit: Wix)

There’s quite a difference between Wix ADI and Wix Editor. For this step, we suggest choosing Wix ADI to create the foundation for your website, which the software will do once you’ve answered a few basic questions. This way, Wix will do most of the work for you, and you can use Wix Editor later on to fine-tune specific details.

Step 4: Specify the site you want

Wix's question about site type

Wix has plenty of templates designed for specific purposes (Image credit: Wix)

To help Wix provide you with the best templates, you need to help it understand the kind of site you want. If the suggestions don’t quite fit what you’re aiming for, try searching for the type of website you want to see if there’s a better match.

For example, if you run a dry cleaning service, search “dry cleaning,” and there’ll be a match. For this guide, we selected “consulting firm”. Once you’ve made your choice, click "Next".

Step 5: Website features

Wix's question about site requirements

There are plenty of tools to choose from that help optimise the user experience for your site (Image credit: Wix)

Here you can choose from several features, to optimise the functionality of your website in line with what you’re trying to achieve. If you’re starting a blog, then you might want to include your Instagram feed. If you’re running a restaurant, then you might want to advertise your menu.

Click on all the features you want to be included on your website, ensure they’re ticked and highlighted in blue, and click "Next" to continue. Rest assured that you can add features later on if needed.

Step 6: Name your website

Wix's question about site name

If you don’t have a site name yet, you can skip this step for now (Image credit: Wix)

Simply enter what you want to name your website, and click "Next".

Step 7: Import content and add your location

Wix's question about site content import

If you have a website already, Wix can import the content to save you time (Image credit: Wix)

If you already have a website, now’s your chance to import your old content. However, for this guide, we’re going to assume this is your first.

If you’d like to add a Google location to let site visitors know where you’re based, then you can search for your address and add it to your site. Click "Next" to continue, or if this doesn’t apply to you, click "Skip" (like we did).

Step 8: Enter details

Wix's review and edit step in the site-building process

Filling in your information details will enable Wix to place them seamlessly across your site (Image credit: Wix)

Enter the contact details you want to advertise on your site. If you have a logo to include, then upload that as well, and it will appear on the template Wix creates for you. Click "Next" to continue.

Step 9: Choose a theme

Wix's choice of themes

Choose a theme that suits you and the audience you want to attract (Image credit: Wix)

Choose a theme you like, and click "Next". Remember that you can make changes to colours and fonts later on if you so wish. For this example, we’ve gone with “Sophisticated”.

Step 10: Choose your homepage

Wix's homepage design choices

Remember that you can edit parts of your homepage later on (Image credit: Wix)

Now you can see your website starting to take shape. To select the homepage you like the most, hover over one of the options and a "Use This Design" button will appear above it. Click the button to continue. For this guide, we chose the middle option.

Step 11: Pick your pages

Wix's page choice options during the site-building process

Regardless of the pages you choose here, you can always add, edit, and delete pages later (Image credit: Wix)

Now that you’ve got a homepage, you need to choose what other pages you want to include on your site. The template designs are recommendations based on what you’ve told Wix about the website you want to build.

If there’s a page that you want on your site, which isn’t appearing as an option, you’ll be able to add it later. To continue, click "Edit Site".

Step 12: Start editing

Wix's ADI editor in use

Wix ADI provides easy-to-use editing features (Image credit: Wix)

Now that you have a foundation for your website, you can start editing it. To do so, simply click on the element you’d like to edit, and a toolbar will appear on the left-hand side of your screen.

From here, you can edit the content (i.e., amend the text and change images) and play with the design by clicking "Section Design" at the top of the toolbar.

Step 13: Switching and adding webpages

Wix's site editor with page management options open

Wix makes it easy to customise how your web pages are created (Image credit: Wix)

You’ll notice that there’s a button in the top-left corner of the screen that tells you what page you’re currently on. To edit any of your existing webpages, or to add a new one, click this button, and another toolbar will appear.

The toolbar will list all your current webpages. Simply click on the page you want to edit, or click the "+ Add Page" button at the bottom of the toolbar, to create a new one.

Step 14: Adding a new page

Wix's site editor with page management options open

When adding a new page, there’s still plenty of templates to choose from (Image credit: Wix)

If you want to add a new page, you’ll find a long list of the predesigned templates with specific purposes. There’s also the option to add a "Blank Page", should you want to create something from scratch.

Step 15: Change the design

Wix's editor with theme change options displayed

Changing the overall design of your website is simple (Image credit: Wix)

If you’d like to change the design of your site, hover over "Design" at the top of the screen. From here, you can choose to change the theme, colour scheme, text font, website animations, and page designs.

Step 16: Publish your site

Wix's editor interface with the option to publish highlighted

To make your website live, simply click "Publish" (Image credit: Wix)

Now that you’ve created a website you’re happy with, it’s time to go live. Click the "Publish" button in the top-right corner of the screen to make your site public.

Step 17: Choose a domain

Wix's choices for domains once a website is built

It takes just one click to create a free Wix.com domain (Image credit: Wix)

Now, you have two options. You can either create a free domain with Wix (e.g., http://username.wixsite.com/awesomeconsultants), or you can buy a custom domain name (eg. www.awesome-consultants.com). For the latter, you would also need to upgrade to a premium Wix plan and buy the domain.

Step 18: Going public

Wix's site completion page

Now that your site is published, it’s still easy to go back and make edits if you so wish (Image credit: Wix)

For now, you might be happy with a free website, which is a great option for testing the site’s functionality until you are ready to spend money on upgrading. To go live, click "Publish & Continue", and your site will be made public. If you want to upgrade to a customised domain later on, it’s easy to do so.

How to make a website with Wix: Summary

Having read this feature, you should now be well-equipped with the knowledge and skills to know how to make a website with Wix, using the industry-leading platform.

Further reading on website builders

To learn more about Wix, take a look at our our interview with Wix's Head Product Manager Michal Bignitz. It's worth reading our Editor X review too, covering Wix's new site creation platform targeted at users with more experience.

You can read comparisons between Wix and other leading website builders in our features pitting Wix vs Shopify; Wix vs Squarespace; GoDaddy vs Wix; Wix vs Squarespace vs Weebly; and WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace.

When it comes to domain names, learn about how to choose a domain name for your website, and why domain privacy is important, and what it means for your business. It's also worth looking into the best anonymous hosting solutions to protect your privacy.

Tom Johnson

Thomas Johnson is a freelance journalist whose passion and fascination with technology has led him here. He contributes to Future titles, such as Tech Radar, Tom’s Guide, IT Pro Portal and Creative Bloq. He’s also a self-confessed film snob and is the Editor of Salty Popcorn, a bi-weekly Substack dedicated to movie news, reviews and trivia.