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Writer's pictureMugabi Imran
Oct 11, 202012 min read

How To Build a Website with Wix. Launch your Online Store — 11 Tools. (Complete Step-by-step Guide)

Updated: Aug 2, 2022



You should know Wix by now, if you don’t, you probably don’t want to be visible online, no worries though, if you are still considering being visible online, let’s go for it.


Wix is a software company providing cloud-based web development services, allowing you to create a free high-quality (500 designer-made collection of professional-looking templates) website easily with drag-and-drop features to allow you add anything and customize your site with no coding skills needed.


Wix is free for as long as you want. However, if you need professional features like connecting your own domain name or selling your products and services and taking bookings from your site, you will have to choose from one of the premium plans. The cheapest ad-free plan with a custom domain name costs $14 (Ushs 51K) per month.


Bonus Tip: If you are into Real Estate and looking for more leads, see this.


Today, you will learn the basics of creating and editing a Wix site whether you are an artist looking for a portfolio website, small business or agency, you have a physical store looking to expand your audience online, own a restaurant looking to fill up your place or want to promote a sale, you will find a free suitable template on Wix to Get Started. 


Tip: Check out other Wix reviews to expand your knowledge here.


Did I mention being visible online? One of the best ways to be visible online is to use S.E.O (Search engine optimization) to get free (Traffic) visitors to your site. You can learn more about getting website traffic in the previous article. 


A little heads Up: You will hear me say traffic to refer to website visitors often and S.E.O to refer to search engine optimization (be visible online), and site to refer to the website.


As I said, today, you will learn the fundamentals of building a website with Wix, which means with the knowledge you will get here, you will be able to create and edit any site template, in categories like blogs, or an eCommerce store, and launch it.



Alright, let’s look at the 11 (Tools) Steps you need to build your Wix-store or online presence with Wix. We are going to be expanding and looking at each and every one of them in detail.

  1. Decide the purpose of your Website (Is it for portfolio or eCommerce?)

  2. Choose a Template (Over 500 free custom designer-made templates)

  3. Edit the Menu (Explore the Editor — add/remove pages, edit S.E.O, more)

  4. Change your site background and add site (brand) colors for re-use

  5. The “Add” Tool (Add images, text, forms, gallery, store elements, buttons…) Check out this Wix Website design Book.

  6. The App Marketplace (Explore various apps to enhance site performance)

  7. Create Your Blog (share [valuable] cool content with your audience)

  8. Upload Your Site Files and other media (videos, graphics, etc)

  9. Store Manager (Add products, drop-shipping, Print-on-demand, more)

  10. Your Mobile Site (The Wix Mobile Editor and other Wix Editor settings)

  11. Welcome to your Dashboard (Upgrade your site, marketing tools, more)



Step 1: The Purpose of Your Website is more important than the Website Itself (Decide Why you need one first, Do Your Competitor Research)

There are many reasons you might need a website, it could be to expand your audience to the online world, sell more of your products or services, or simply showcase your professional work/portfolio to get more clients.


Before you jump into any website editor, and there are many out there, make sure you are sure why you need a website and how you want it to look like. 


Once you have decided on what you want to accomplish with your website, read this list of the top 10 Website Builders to find out which one best suits your business goals and personal (requirements) needs.


The list of the top 10 Website/online store builders includes Wix alternatives like WordPress, Duda, Site123, Squarespace, GoDaddy, Shopify, BigCommerce, HostGator, and Strikingly. 

There are two ways to create your website in Wix, either let the Wix ADI (non-designers) do it for you or Choose a Template (more control) to start with. If you don’t have money to buy Inventory, you could do Drop-shipping with AliDropship, selling direct from suppliers, but today we shall concentrate on creating a Wix site.


Step 2: Choosing a Template to Help You Build Your Site/Online store without Starting from Scratch

Next up, choose from a list of over 500 custom designer-made templates to start building your site, you can also build it from scratch if you want. You just need to understand how to use Strips, strips are like the sections of your site. More on that later.


These custom designer-made templates are found in various categories like Business & Services, Stores, Creative, Community, or Blog. 


Below are some of the free templates available in Wix under these categories;-

  • Fashion & Clothing

  • Jewelry & Accessories

  • Arts & Crafts

  • Home & Decor

  • Beauty & Wellness

  • Food & Drinks

  • Sports & Outdoors

  • Electronics

This means, whatever it is you are planning to do online, Wix has an option for your professional and beautiful website. 




Once you have found the right template, you can click “Edit” or you can view the demo site to get the whole look and feel. Here you get to view how your website will look on desktop and mobile before jumping into the editor to make any changes.


Now you might already know how I love wireless & Bluetooth gadgets, so for demonstration purposes, we shall choose the Electronics template today.


Step 3: Explore the Website Editor (Add a Menu, Add/Remove Pages, Edit Site Visibility via S.E.O (Search engine optimization)

Welcome to the Wix Editor!


This is where you will manage your menu and sub-menus, create, duplicate or delete a page, edit your site background, manage your site content, and more. If you want to learn how to add pages and how to create your Wix site fast, just watch this video or this one and you will be up and running with Wix.


If it’s your first time in the Wix editor, you might find it a little bit confusing as to which button to click. I will show you everything today. It all comes down to what you want with your site. Refer to Step 1: The Purpose of Your Website…




In Wix, the editor is also where you get to set the visibility of your pages and your overall site content to the search engines and the world at large. It’s is also where you create landing pages and edit (Sign up forms) lightboxes.


When you are publishing your site which you can do by the way from the right top corner just beside the "Preview" button. Make sure to optimize each page for search.


Step 4: A Look at the Background Tool (Add Site/Brand colors and Change page Background)

Just like Canva allows you to save brand colors via Brand Kit, Wix also allows you to save your brand colors via the Background Tool on your left hand in the Wix editor just below the Menu tool. It’s from here that you can also add a video, image to your page background.


Step 5: Add Site Elements (maps, buttons, etc) Using The Most Powerful Tool— The Add Tool

Indeed the most powerful tool is the “Add Tool”. Use it to add site elements.

You use the “Add Tool” to add everything to your site from buttons, to images, forms, blog posts, store products, and collections, etc.


Below is a list of some of the cool things you might want to add to your site.

  • Text

  • Image/Videos galleries

  • Menus and Pages

  • Buttons

  • Bookings and Events

  • Custom website (HTML) elements/embedded sites

  • Contact forms and Google Maps (directing customers to your store)

  • Price quotes and Payment options

  • Strips (sections of your website/online store)

  • Social media share/connection buttons

  • Testimonials

  • Store (Add products and start earning from your site)

You can also create lists and grids, document download buttons, PayPal payment buttons, tables, and more. The best way to learn more about this tool is to try it.



Step 6: Add Apps (Wix App Market) to Enhance Your Site Performance and Boost Sales

Did I mention Wix is an apps development platform? Yeah sure, Wix allows developers who launch their web apps with Wix to reach over 190 Million professionals.


Wix has got over 250 ready apps for you to integrate into your website easily without the need to learn coding or programming skills. It doesn’t hurt to learn some (coding) tech skills though. In fact, I think it’s a necessity in this era. You can learn from sites like LinkedInLearning, Udemy, or Pluralsight.


Learn how to navigate and explore the PluralSight platform here.


Tip: Take note of the Tools bar at the right hand which helps you align elements, edit, customize, and duplicate site elements quickly and easily.


Whatever you want to accomplish, find Apps that do different things like:

  • Analyze website traffic (helps you learn more about your site visitors)

  • Marketing (Increase website traffic or visitors, promote your site)

  • Sell Online (Look for products to sell on your site, print-on-demand)

  • Manage (Bookings) Services and Events

  • Collect more leads (Build contact base)

  • Interact with Visitors (Increase engagement)

  • Manage Media and Content



Below is a collection of web apps created by Wix. Click on “Made by Wix” on the left of the Wix App Market and you will see apps like:- 

You can learn more about the Amazon affiliate marketing program and also see the full list of apps Made by Wix here.



There are also third-party apps on the Wix App Market including — 

These are just a few of the business, finance, and marketing apps available in the Wix App Market. If you want to explore the Wix App Market feel free to do so.


Step 7: Upload Your Site Media Files (Video, Music, graphics, Infographics, product images...)

I know I said the Add Tool is the most powerful one among the 8 (eight) fundamental tools for creating your website in Wix. However, I think the Media Tool is as powerful. It allows you to upload your site files/content.


The Media tool allows you to create folders to organize your content which means you will know exactly where everything is when you or your team needs it. You can also create boards or save your favorites for easy access.


And if you need to download images no need to leave Wix, with Media from Wix, Unsplash, and Shutterstock, you can find whatever image or graphics you are looking for right inside of Wix. I use Shutterstock and Media from Wix most of the time. 


In case you have custom-made graphics you want to use, click “Upload Media” at the right top. Once you have clicked on “Upload Media”, you will get over 11 Options:-

  • Upload from Computer

  • My Wix Account

  • Google Drive

  • Facebook

  • Instagram

  • DropBox

  • Google Photos

  • Flikr

  • Devian Art

  • Dribble

  • Link (URL)

This means no excuses that you can’t upload your content with all these options available for you. Unfortunately, we are not looking at each and every one of them today, but if you want to, check Wix support or watch this video.


Step 8: Create Your Own Blog (Share Your Expertise, Valuable Content, and Ideas with Your Followers)

If you have been following me you know I talk about S.E.O (search engine optimization) too often. That’s because it’s the only way you will manage to get free (organic) traffic (visitors) to your website without investing a single dollar on paid (PPC — pay per click advertising) traffic.


Your blog is the best place for you to share your expertise with your audience. But it’s also the best place to include (search terms) keywords related to your industry or business that you are sure from your long hours of key-word research that your potential leads/customers are putting in the search engines.


If you don’t use the right keywords, your S.E.O will not work as you want it to. Luckily for you, with the Wix S.E.O wizard, you will be able to get up and running and have your site indexed (visible) in Google search very fast.


Warning: S.E.O is a long term process, requires a lot of work, research & patience


Once you click “Add Now”, Wix will add a blog page. You will now be able to create, manage, and share posts from your mobile or desktop very quickly as demonstrated here.


Step 9: Store Manager (Sell Your Physical & Digital Products on Your Site, Accept Payments)

Have something to sell? Do it with effortless inventory management, mobile-optimized Store Manager in Wix… and with beautiful product galleries easily accessible via Step 6: Add Tool… from there you can start adding products and collections. 


If it's your first time setting up a Wix store, just click on “Get Started” and boom, your Wix store pages will be created.


It’s here that you will manage store pages, add store elements, upgrade your site to start accepting payments, add products and collections. Also find products to sell via Modalyst, Printful, or Printify while drop-shipping.

When adding your products, here is what you should be sure to include:

  • Product name

  • Image or Video

  • Price, Discounts, and Offers

  • Description

  • Color & Size (optional)

You could also include things like inventory and shipping and other additional information that your customers need to know like product weights, etc.


Step 10: The Wix Mobile Editor - Customize Your Mobile Site Separately from the Desktop Site

One of the cool things with the Wix mobile site editor is that whenever you make changes to your site in the Wix Mobile Editor, it does not affect your desktop site at all.


This could also come on the downside as it becomes very messy in mobile whenever you make changes in the desktop. I don’t know a way to synchronize it yet. If you do? Please help in the comments. The only way I know is to utilize strips.


Wix Pro-Tip: Learn how to use strips to design your Wix site and it will be well optimized.


If it’s your first time using the Mobile Editor, Wix will guide you through setting up your mobile site, quick-access buttons, back-to-top buttons, and whether you want a fixed menu (menu sticks at the top even if you scroll).


Once you are in the Wix Mobile editor, which you can always go to by the way from the top left of the Desktop editor (icon), in the tools menu, you will be limited to how much you can edit, for example, if you want to edit the text, you switch to the desktop editor.

You can use the Wix Mobile site editor to hide elements you don’t want to appear for users on mobile. Again, the changes you make in the Wix mobile site editor don’t affect your site's look and feel on the desktop. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I think it's great.


Tip: If you want to upgrade your site and start selling products and getting bookings, go to “Settings” and click “Connect Domain” and follow the steps.


If you are done making all your changes, click “Publish” in the right top corner and then go to the “Site” menu and click “Exit Editor” at the bottom. This will take you to the dashboard. 


So now, let’s take a quick look at Your Dashboard now.


Step 11: Welcome to Your Dashboard (Connect your domain name, Do All the Marketing here, and more)

Your Dashboard is your home and your Admin area. You use the dashboard to connect a domain to your site, publish or rename your site, manage orders, bookings, events, and manage the advertising campaigns and automated responses like chats.


Use your dashboard to do things like:-

  • Manage the store (add/remove products, edit product descriptions)

  • Manage blog posts (create & publish posts, collections…)

  • Work on your S.E.O and other marketing integrations

  • Manage your customers 

  • View Analytics and your site’s overall performance

  • Compare the Wix business and professional premium plans

  • Manage finances and process orders

All your marketing can be handled without leaving Wix. We have been talking about S.E.O, now it’s time to show you where to find the Wix S.E.O wizard we talked about.


From your dashboard, on the left, if you scroll and click on “Marketing Home”, you will see all the tools you need to do your site/content marketing. See the picture below...

You will find Marketing Tools and Integrations like:-

  • Advertise on Facebook

  • Create an Email Campaign

  • Hire a Marketing Pro to help you create ad campaigns

  • Get found on Google via the (Wix S.E.O Wizard)

  • Get a professional business email and create automated emails

  • Set up your mobile App. By the way, You get a free Wix App with a site

  • Promote your site on Social media (create social media posts in Wix)

  • Add contributors and team members (connect your team within Wix)

  • Create Logos and Business cards for your brand (Wix Logo Maker)

  • Make promotional videos with the Video Maker

So, with tools like the video maker and the Wix logo maker, it means that you won’t have to pay designers for graphics anymore, Right? 



However, if you need some help, you can find Freelancers on Fiverr for anything from logo design to web and mobile application design, voice-over, video production, and so much more.


It doesn’t hurt learning how to do graphics yourself, there are a lot of free resources on YouTube, and other online platforms and blog articles like this one here about Canva Pro features and 71 designs you can create with Canva.



Conclusion


Even if you never knew about Wix a few minutes ago, if you followed along with these 11 tools or steps, you now have your own professional website either live or almost ready to go live, but at least you should have something by now. 


You don’t have to do it all right today, especially the S.E.O part, you will need time to let the search engines recognize and learn more about your site content and display it in front of the people who need it at the right time.


I hope this helped you get started online with the fundamentals of building your Wix website or online store. I tried to make it as simple as I could for you.


How did this help you in your online journey?


Are you building your first site, shifting from another site builder, or just learning new skills?



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