If you are starting a company one of the first things you’ll need to do is to build your website. There are many different tools available. If you have some level of technical expertise we would recommend wordpress. If you have no experience of websites we would recommend wix. WordPress is free open source application but you have to organise your hosting, domain and SSL cert yourself. Wix starts at €4.50 + VAT per month but their entry level shows ads on your website. The next level up is €8.50 + VAT per month. Please note these amounts need to be paid upfront for the full year.
Why Wix?
No experience required
Wix is designed for those who have little experience in web development. It uses predesigned templates as well as a point and click interface. They have over 800 templates spread across numerous categories. When you have selected your template you can customise it to suit your needs. There are plenty of editing options so there will be a learning curve. But the good news is no coding is required.
Wix also has an app store. Some of the apps are paid and some are free.
Any changes you make don’t go live until you click on the publish option.
Relatively Cheap Option
The cost for having a website for one year on Combo plan is €123.42 (incl. VAT) for 1 year. This is a relatively cheap option when compared to hiring someone to build a website for you which can cost €500 – €1,000. When starting a new business it’s always best to keep you costs as low as possible to test how the market responds. If the results are positive then you can consider spending more money.
Hosting, domain and SSL cert included
WordPress is free open source application. If you choose WordPress you will also need to setup you hosting, buy a domain and buy and setup a SSL cert. With Wix this is all included. However, they do not include a .ie domain so you’ll need to buy this separately.
Customer Care
If use Wix you will have customer care support. We decided to write an article on Wix because we recently spoke to the owner (Maria) of www.busyatplay.com which is based in Cork, Ireland and she recommended it. Busy at Play is an online shop which sells games, books and toys for children. Maria was really impressed with the level of support available and the ability of customer service staff to take control of your computer and fix any problems you’re having.
If you use something like WordPress you are on your own. There is a big community providing support on forums. But if you have a problem with something very specific you could be on your own to try to resolve it.
What is included?
For the Combo package which is €8.50 + VAT per month the following is included:
- Custom Domain
- Free Domain for 1 Year
- Remove Wix Ads
- Free SSL Certificate
- Bandwidth: 2GB
- Storage Space: 3GB
- Video Hours: 30 minutes
Will there be any other costs?
As mentioned above, if you want a .ie domain which you should have if you’re only selling to Ireland, you will need to buy this separately.
What are the disadvantages of Wix?
Some of the changes you make may not appear in the mobile version and if this happen you’ll need to make your edits again.
If you are starting a blog Wix is not a good option because they only allow 100 pages. WordPress (unlimited) or Squarespace (1,000) would be a better option. Also Wix lacks the option of add categories and tags to your posts which is available in WordPress.
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