WIX Tutorial For Beginners – Full Wix Tutorial
WIX website builder makes creating a website easier than ever. However, you still need to understand how to use all of WIX website builder’s features.
In this article, you will learn how to use all of WIX website builder’s features so that you can create your own website with ease.
Video Resource
Below is a video tutorial that explains this article in a step-by-step format.
Click here to watch video on YouTube.
Table Of Contents
The main topics discussed in this article will be listed below, with time-stamps that correspond to the video resource above. (This table of contents can also be found in the video description on YouTube)
0:21 Signing Up For WIX
0:45 Choosing The Website Industry
1:16 WIX ADI Or WIX Editor
2:06 Selecting A Website Template To Edit
6:00 How To Edit Different Website Pages
6:41 Changing Between Desktop And Mobile View
7:18 General WIX Website Buttons (Save, Preview, Publish)
7:45 Saving Your WIX Website Editing Progress
8:51 Previewing Your WIX Website
9:16 Publishing Your WIX Website
10:19 WIX Website Editor Tools
12:04 WIX Code (WIX Developer Tools)
12:57 WIX Website Help Center
13:38 WIX Website Pricing Plans Explained
16:28 Getting Your Own Website Domain
18:15 Best Types Of Website Names
20:02 Start Customizing Your WIX Template
20:17 Using WIX Editor “Add” Feature
20:47 Customizing Text Boxes
21:16 WIX Editor Undo/Redo Buttons
21:36 Changing Font Style And Size
21:47 Changing Font Color
22:56 Linking Any Website Text
23:58 WIX Website Buttons
24:11 Home Page Layout Optimization
24:50 Changing Button Text
25:10 Changing Website Background Image
27:21 Using WIX Editor “Anchors”
29:40 Buttons Linking To Pages
30:27 Changing Column Photos
31:05 WIX Website Services Preview
32:09 Social Media Links
32:36 WIX Website Contact Form
33:43 Grouping Items
35:05 WIX Live Chat
36:20 Editing WIX Website Pages
36:34 Hidden Pages Vs Visible Pages
37:14 Adding Website Pages
37:51 Editing Newly Added WIX Pages
38:45 Moving Big Page Elements
39:19 Making Website Page Longer To Fit More
41:00 Editing WIX Website Slideshows
41:37 Changing The Design Of WIX Elements
42:56 WIX App Market
44:11 Free Vs Paid Website Apps
45:12 Publishing Your WIX Website
46:08 Linking Your Logo To Homepage
47:17 How To Properly Use WIX Website Copyright Symbol
Signing Up For WIX
The first step is to sign up for a WIX account. This is 100% free and you will not be charged or need to enter any payment information.
Step 1:
Choosing The Website Industry
Once you have created a free WIX account, you will be able to select a website template to start creating. Again this is all completely free to do.
Select the industry that is the closest fit to the website that you are planning to make. This can be changed in the next step, and this step is just to show you the templates that will be the best fit for you.
WIX ADI Or WIX Editor
WIX ADI uses artificial intelligence to help put together your website template for you based on questions.
WIX Editor is the standard website builder option, that allows you to choose a template and customize it to your liking.
I recommend choosing the WIX Editor option because the WIX ADI often ‘over-complicates’ the website creation process, and can cause more headaches than benefits.
Selecting A Website Template To Edit
Once you have selected WIX Editor, you will be able to browse the WIX website templates.
You can sort these templates by the category/industry along the left side.
You can ‘View’ or ‘Edit’ these templates.
I suggest ‘View’ the templates before editing, so you can see what they are like before you jump in to start customizing them.
Once you find a template that you like, you can click ‘Edit’ or you can click ‘Start Editing’ in the top right while in the ‘View’ mode.
How To Edit Different Website Pages
Once you are editing a template, you can customize everything on that template to be exactly how you like it.
One very important thing to know is, to edit different pages on your template, you must go to “Manage Pages” in the top left, then select the page you’d like to edit from the dropdown menu. (You cannot simply click the page you want to go to from the header while in the editing mode)
Changing Between Desktop And Mobile View
A great feature of WIX website builder is the ability to edit the desktop view and the mobile view independently of each other.
By clicking the mobile icon in the top left, you can switch the editor to the mobile view, and this is where you can customize your template for mobile.
General WIX Website Buttons (Save, Preview, Publish)
There are 3 buttons that are very important while using WIX website builder: Save, Preview, and Publish.
Saving Your WIX Website Editing Progress
Save: This button saves your website template editing progress. Auto-save should be turned on by default (and saving your editing progress every few minutes) but it is good practice to click the save button after each big customization to your template.
Something worth noting is that the Save button is your best friend. Auto-save should be turned on by default, but sometimes the internet may go out, or your computer may freeze, and if you have not been saving your editing progress frequently, you may lose your editing progress!
Click the save button as often as you can remember!
Previewing Your WIX Website
Preview: This button allows you to see the changes to your template as if the site were published and live on the internet. You can toggle between the editing mode and the preview mode as often as you like. After making a change in the editor, it’s good practice to click preview and make sure the change is working properly.
Publishing Your WIX Website
Publish: This button pushes your website editing changes to your real live website on the internet. Once you have made editing changes, checked that they are working properly in preview mode, you can click publish to update those changes onto your real live website.
WIX Website Editor Tools
Along the top bar in the WIX editor, you have a tools section.
The important things to note in this section are mainly Rulers.
When rulers are turned on, there are measurement rulers along the right side and the top of your WIX editor.
This allows you to line things up on your website template perfectly by measuring out distances on the rulers.
These rulers can only be seen by you while in editing mode, and do not show on the real live website.
WIX Code (WIX Developer Tools)
WIX offers a tool for more advanced website creators called WIX Code.
You will not need to turn this on or use it, but it is a great feature to have if you need a very advanced or custom feature down the road and decide to hire a website developer to add code to your WIX website.
There is no extra fee for this!
WIX Website Help Center
The WIX help center is amazing..
If you have any issues while creating your WIX website, you can speak with a live WIX customer representative on the phone in minutes.
Click here to watch a video on live WIX customer service.
WIX Website Pricing Plans Explained
WIX has a few pricing options, below are the ones that I recommend.
Free Forever: This is the default plan on WIX if you do not upgrade. You will be able to create your website using templates, and even publish the site to be live on the internet.
The downsides are that you will be given a free website name (domain name) and you will not be able to connect your own custom website name, and there will be a WIX advertisement on your website.
Combo: The combo plan is the cheapest premium plan that you can upgrade to.
This simply allows you to connect a custom website name, and removes the WIX advertisement.
Unlimited: The unlimited plan is the one that I recommend (and personally use).
This plan boosts your websites performance above that of the combo plan.
This is the best bang for your buck.
Business: If you are selling any items on your website, you will need a business plan.
For an e-commerce website, this plan is a great value for money when compared to other e-commerce website options.
Getting Your Own Website Domain
When you upgrade to any of the premium WIX plans, you can now connect a custom website name.
These website names (domain names) are usually $15 per year to purchase.
WIX includes the first year for free when you enroll in any of their premium plans!
Best Types Of Website Names
If you have the option, I definitely recommend purchasing a domain that ends in “.com”.
These are the most versatile and trusted domain names.
Start Customizing Your WIX Template
Now that we have covered the fundamentals, you can start customizing your website template!
If at anytime you decide you no longer like the template you chose, you can go back and “create a site” and choose another template.
When customizing websites on WIX, all of your templates are set to the free forever plan by default.
The only time you will be charged is when you decide to upgrade one of your templates for the premium features.
Using WIX Editor “Add” Feature
The ‘Add’ feature, along the left side, is where you will find all of the elements to add to your website template.
You can add text, images, shapes, backgrounds, sections, etc.
Customizing Text Boxes
To customize text on your website template, simply click on the text until the box is highlighted.
Once you have highlighted the box, you can then double click on the text, or click and drag a certain area of the text, to customize it.
You can change the size, color, font etc.
WIX Editor Undo/Redo Buttons
As you are editing, if you want to undo any of your changes, you can click the undo button up top, to quickly remove your most recent changes.
Vice versa, you can also use the redo button.
Changing Font Style And Size
In the text editing tools, you can select the font style to change it to a font you like best.
Additionally, you can change the font size here as well.
Changing Font Color
The font color is an easy change from this section as well.
Simply select the font color selector, and clicka color you like, then click apply.
Linking Any Website Text
While editing the text, you can click and drag a certain area of text, then click the link button to make that portion of text clickable.
Be sure to set the link destination!
WIX Website Buttons
Alternatively, you can use the ‘Add’ button of the left side, to add a button.
You can design the button to fit the look of your website, and you can set the linking destination.
Home Page Layout Optimization
Making sure you have a nice and attractive home page for website visitors is important.
Often times, you will see website makers putting a button, to an important area on their website, directly on the home page so visitors see this first.
Changing Button Text
To change the text on the button, simply click the button once, and edit the text in the popup menu.
Changing Website Background Image
To change the website background image, simply click the background area once, then click design, and you can choose and image to replace the current background image.
Remember you can always use the undo button if you do not like the new background image.
Using WIX Editor “Anchors”
A nice feature to add to a button is to set the link destination to an anchor.
An anchor can be adding from the “Add” button of the left side under “More”.
The purpose of an anchor is to bring visitors to a specific part of a page.
Often times, these are used on buttons so when a visitor clicks the button, it brings them to the corresponding area of the current page that relates to the button text.
Buttons Linking To Pages
You can also link buttons to completely different pages, rather than anchors.
Changing Column Photos
Changing images is easy with WIX website builder.
Simply click the current image, then change the image.
If you’d like to add a brand new image, you can click “Add” along the left side, and add and image. Then drag and size the image to the place on your website that it fits best.
WIX Website Services Preview
If you have a service based business, you can add a WIX booking feature to your website.
This allows visitors to schedule an appointment right on your website!
Social Media Links
Don’t forget, if you have social media accounts, you can connect them to the social media bar on your website!
If the template you are editing does not have a social media bar by default, you can add one from the “Add” button along the left side.
WIX Website Contact Form
Another great addition to any website, is a contact area.
Most WIX website templates have a contact form already on the template, but if not, you can add one from the “Add” button along the left side.
Be sure to click the contact form and edit the settings to fill in the fields and the email address you’d like form submissions to be sent to!
Grouping Items
A nice editing tool you can use is grouping items.
If you want to move multiple items at the same time, and you don’t want their layout to be messed up while moving them, you can group them, then click and drag them.
To group items, hold shift and click the items you’d like to group.
Then click group from the popup settings.
You can them click on one of the items in the group to move them as a whole.
To ungroup items, simply click an item, then click ungroup from the popup settings.
WIX Live Chat
WIX offers a live chat feature in the bottom right corner of most templates.
You can connect this to the WIX app on your smartphone and accept live chats with website visitors!
If you do not need this feature, you can simply click it once, then click the delete/backspace key on your keyboard to remove it.
Down the road, you can always add it back to your website from the “Add” button along the left side.
Editing WIX Website Pages
To edit different pages on your website, you must select manage pages in the top left, then select the page you intend to edit.
You will then be brought to that page, and you can begin editing it.
If you are editing from a template, you will likely have a template already started on that page that you can continue customizing.
If it is a new page (blank page) then you can start customizing it by adding in elements from the “Add” button along the left side.
Hidden Pages Vs Visible Pages
A nice feature on WIX is the ability to make pages hidden or visible.
If you do not want a page to be in your website menu, you can make it hidden by selecting manage pages, clicking the 3 dots, then selecting hide page.
Adding Website Pages
If the template you are editing does not have all the pages you need on your website, you can easily add a new page.
To do this, click manage pages in the top left, then add page.
Be sure to name the new page, and drag it up or down in your pages menu so that it shows up in the right place in your header menu.
Editing Newly Added WIX Pages
When editing a new page, it will be completely blank at first.
Using the “Add” button along the left side will be your best bet for adding content to this page.
You can add entire sections from the “Add” button along the left side.
Remember you always have the undo button if you need it!
Moving Big Page Elements
When moving large page elements, just be sure you are not missing any items, and the layout is not negatively altered by your change.
Undo button and grouping items are your best friends here!
Making Website Page Longer To Fit More
If your website page is not long enough for all the elements you need on the page, you can easily fix this.
Go to the bottom of your page, and hover your mouse over the drag page height button.
Then click and drag the page longer to set the page length.
Editing WIX Website Slideshows
WIX slideshows are a great feature to add from the “Add” button along the left side.
They are page sections and easily customizable.
To edit these, click the background once, and choose from the popup editing settings.
Changing The Design Of WIX Elements
On any of the WIX elements that you add from the “Add” button on the left side, you can click the element once, then click “Design”.
This allows you to change to color and overall appearance of the element.
WIX App Market
The WIX App Market is an amazing editing feature included in all WIX websites (even free forever websites).
You can add custom features to your website from WIX and outside developers by simply searching the WIX App Market and choosing what you want to add to your website.
Free Vs Paid Website Apps
Some items in the WIX App Market are free, and some are paid if you want to upgrade them.
You can always download them to your website for free, and them choose to upgrade to premium app features down the road.
Publishing Your WIX Website
Once you are ready to put your website on the internet, you can simply click the publish button!
Additionally, whenever you want to update your website, you can make changes in the editor, and then click publish again to update your live website on the internet with the changes you made in the editor.
Linking Your Logo To Homepage
A nice tip for all websites is to link your logo to your homepage.
This is a natural habit that website visitors expect from any website, but many website creators forget this step!
Simply click your website logo, and click the link option in the popup settings, and set the destination to the home page.
If there are multiple elements, or text boxes, in your logo, then hold shift, click them all, and group them first.
How To Properly Use WIX Website Copyright Symbol
Lastly, don’t forget to set the year you are creating your website in the copyright text at the bottom of your website.
Additionally, change the business name to your business name, or website name if you do not have a business registered.
You do not have to formally register a copyright to do this!
Ready To Start Making Your WIX Website?
You should now have all the tools to get started making your own website!
Don’t forget the video tutorial if you prefer a step-by-step walkthrough.
Ready to get started?
If you have questions along the way, don’t get about live WIX customer service.
