Discover the right website builder for your brand. What platform will give you the freedom to design, create, and market your presence online? Which is more user-friendly for you and your team? Is it Wix or Google Sites?
Wix has been a staple for most web designers since 2006. Eliminating the need for coding, Wix functions as a powerful website builder and a user-friendly Content Management System (CMS).
Google has been known for creating industry-leading services, especially in the marketing field. Incorporated with 300 marketing tools, Google Sites is more than just a common website builder.
Which is better? While both simplify the web design process, each has something unique in store for you. It could be an intranet platform or a host of marketing apps. In reading this short review of the two leading website builders, you can finally decide which one is right for you.
Are you Looking to Create a Website?
Wix and Google Sites are both popular choices for website-building platforms. Both provide an easy-to-use system with various features like blog creation and template editor options. But which one should you choose?
With Wix, creating a website is truly simple and intuitive. Design your site that best suits your needs while utilizing their SEO tools to maximize your online presence. Google Sites alternatively integrates well with existing G Suite accounts.
Hence, it’s great for businesses already in the Google ecosystem who need an affordable but powerful option for designing their web pages quickly and easily.
What Is Wix?
Wix is a world-renowned website builder that provides stunning visuals and professional design customization options. It offers many out-of-the-box web tools for kickstarting the launch of your brand. On top of all those features, Wix is free to use and as user-friendly as Facebook.
Just create a Wix account and you can start creating your website free of charge. The Drag-and-drop tool and pop-up hints make it very beginner-friendly. The majority of newbies and professionals in the art and content marketing industry choose it for them:
- Digital portfolios
- Small business websites
- Web stores
- Blog sites
- Landing pages
- Promotion websites
After creating a Wix account, you’ll be redirected to the Wix Builder. This is where you’ll see all the basic widgets. These include the Layers Panel, Background Design, Snap to Object, and Template Editor. Wix offers more than 800 themes that you can use to create your own.
Since 2006, it has won the trust of designers around the world. Today, over 3.8 million active users have paid for a Wix domain and subscription. Every passing month, the number of signups keeps growing as well. What makes people come back for Wix’s web services?
Here are some of its top features so that you can get an overview.
- Built-in logo builder
- Animation, scroll effects, and video backgrounds
- Beautiful gallery layouts and over 150 fonts
- Instant mobile viewing optimization
- High-quality social media thumbnail
- Wix Bookings
- ADI Control
- Seamless chatbot site integration
What Is Google Sites?
Google Sites is a do-it-yourself cloud website builder with drag-and-drop functions, marketing tools, and collaboration options.
Its user interface is very straightforward. Even without testing and drafting, you can master the use of its design tools. With Google Sites, you can create the following projects and more.
- School websites
- Intranets
- Extranets
- Digital portfolios
- Event projects
- Communication channels
- Forums
- Newsfeeds
- Research projects
- Business websites
- Blogs
Google Sites is fast and it offers unlimited storage and bandwidth. What it lacks in design options, it compensates with its versatility and numerous marketing tools.
Educational institutions around the Globe have used Google Sites to launch their school websites. Included in the list are Michigan State University and Sheffield Business School.
It is a website builder that can also function as a private network and collaboration platform. You can think of this feature as Github. GitHub enables various users to work on a project. On this website, all resources can be shared with users with privileges.
Google Docs and Google Sites Editor can track changes and version histories. This makes it easier for users to monitor the progress of their website and the collaboration process.
On Google Site, project managers can centralize all resource materials, including guidelines, tutorials, and media. They can remove or modify editing privileges within the Google Workspace network. Web tools, like Vogsy and Alerts, allow other users to view the project plan and the modifications in real time.
The site’s other helpful features are listed below:
- Free 300 online marketing tools
- Google and Hubspot tools integration
- Logo Creator
- Google My Business automatic integration
- Zero wait time for indexing
- Live Collaborate Editing
- Customizable sections
- WYSIWYG Drag and Drop
Similarities between the Two Platforms
Wix has marketed itself as an easy-to-use feature-laden website builder. Wix allows users to create and design their websites with ease. The same can be said of Google Sites.
However, they also have differences and unique features, which will be tackled in the next section. This section is for the similarities between Wix and Google Sites.
- Both are low-code digital platforms. If you use Wix or Sites, you don’t need any programming skills to add tags, text, and objects to your web pages.
- These two website builders are content management systems. They come with intuitive control panels. The WYSIWYG editor and ADI control allow you to create your website by just dragging visuals and dropping files.
- For layouts, Wix and Sites enable seamless embedding for any type of image or video. You can either pick and drag your preferred background or embed the URL of the media you fancy.
- With Google’s Designer or Wix’s Editor, adding elements, changing fonts, and structuring your site will be like editing your Facebook page.
- On their platforms, you will see a dashboard. This is where you can adjust major website settings. Here, you can schedule events/posts and choose who can view or edit your site.
- The collection of widgets that comes with both services streamlines the web design process. Whether you’re adding an analytics tool, calendar, tech support, or chatbox, widgets can help you create functional and responsive web pages. Apps like this make it easy to add new sections.
What Makes One Better than the Other
SEO and Ads Integration
Have you noticed that almost all rank one web pages in SERP for marketing categories and keywords related to internet marketing are from HubSpot? Hubspot is an American company that develops and provides software products for sales, customer service, and inbound marketing.
How is this relevant to your brand? HubSpot is a well-established customer of Google, and it has a long-standing strategic partnership with the search engine giant. Not only does it provide various marketing tools for Google users, but HubSpot also bolsters SEO for Site website owners.
In the Google platform, there is a gap between G Suite and Google Ads. You can generate leads with the latter and communicate with leads using the former. However, these two never connect.
You can overcome that gap by utilizing Google Ads with Hubspot. Within your Google Site, you can build ad campaigns and meet the criteria for ranking. In addition, the many Hubspot tools such as SSL Checker and Website Grader provide valuable insights for your content marketing strategy.
An effective SEO strategy involves several things, including keyword research, link building, and keyword implementation. However, it’s pointless to have an SEO strategy if no one can find your content online.
On the one hand, Wix is often considered one of the worst CMS for SEO. This is because Wix websites are built on a closed platform, which means that the code is not accessible to search engines. This limits your ability to optimize your website for search engine traffic.
Furthermore, Wix websites are not indexed by Google. This means that they will not show up on SERP’s top page. This is a major disadvantage for any business trying to get found online.
Addons
In terms of Add-ons, the Wix editor has integrated the Wix App Market, which contains more than 250 add-ons that can be added to your website. From improving social media accessibility to providing buttons for product sales, Wix’s versatility can step up your affiliate blog, eCommerce store, or branding website.
Building a blog on Wix is simple but you might find that it lacks certain functionalities. If you want to enhance your blogging capabilities on Wix even further, you can use additional blogging tools with fuller SEO, design, and marketing features that will give your blog a boost.
In contrast, Google Sites can’t add or integrate any third-party apps to your website. You can always use Google and Hubspot’s marketing and collaboration tools, but you’re only limited to that.
Design Options
Wix can unlock your creative side. As of today, Wix offers more or less 800 templates. These templates are grouped into five categories, which are: Store, Creative, Business & Services, Community, and Blog). All of them have their handy-dandy subcategories within.
For the thousands of website builders today, uniqueness is vital. The feature that lets users customize the color, font size, and style, of the templates, increases the percentage of standing out in the vast digital world.
Unlike Wix, Google Sites doesn’t have more than a thousand templates to choose from. It only offers six templates. Having said that, Wix has the upper hand in terms of creating a personalized website.
Storage Limit
On the other hand, Google Sites is also an exemplary website builder. Google Sites is easy to use and has minimalistic designs.
Since it is Google, you can expect that you would have a massive storage limit. Google Sites offers unlimited storage. This is essential when creating a website for an organization or enterprise.
Wix’s free version only offers a 15 GB storage limit.
Pricing
Google Sites and Wix are two different types of website builders. Google Sites is a free product offered by Google, while Wix is a subscription-based service. Both have their pros and cons, and it can be difficult to decide which one is the best for you.
Google Sites subscription starts at $0 per month, and your site gets unlimited storage and bandwidth. If you upgrade to the Business Standard plan that costs $9.40, you can give editing privileges to 150 people. If you opt for the Business Plus plan which costs $18 per month, you can onboard up to 500 people to your website.
Wix pricing starts at $5 per month for a basic website. You can also choose to pay $10 per month for the Combo plan, which includes a free domain name and access to advanced features like SEO tools and unlimited storage.
If you need even more features or want to create a more complex website, you can upgrade to the Unlimited plan for $25 per month. This plan gives you complete creative control over your website and includes everything from the Combo plan, plus unlimited bandwidth and a VIP customer service hotline.
Tips for Choosing the Right Platform
From creating websites for personal use and online businesses, website builders like Wix and Google Sites have become simple tools to improve your online presence.
When deciding which one to choose, The following are a few tips you should consider:
- Consider the type of website you need and the features it needs to have.
- Compare the available plans and pricing options of both Google Sites and Wix before deciding.
- Try out each platform and see which one suits your needs better.
- Utilize SEO best practices like keyword research and meta tags to help your website rank better on SERPs.
- Make sure to incorporate engaging visuals, user-friendly navigation, and compelling content to increase conversions.
- Consider using an integrated analytics platform like Google Analytics to monitor the performance of your website.
- Invest in a secure hosting provider to ensure the safety and reliability of your website.
Compared to Google Sites, Wix is more into individuals and small businesses looking for a website builder with free domain names, storage, and access to advanced features. Google Sites is better for businesses that need more people management capabilities and unlimited storage.
It’s up to you which platform best suits your needs. Both Google Sites and Wix offer affordable and reliable services to help you create a beautiful and functional website. So carefully compare them and choose the one that is right for you.
Frequently Asked Questions About Wix vs. Google Sites
Q: What is a Freemium website builder?
A: A Freemium website builder is a web application development service offering free and paid subscription plans.
Wix and Google Sites are two popular examples of freemium website builders.
Q: Does Wix or Google Sites offer more features?
A: It depends on what you’re looking for. Generally, Wix offers more features, such as templates, add-ons, and design options. However, Google Sites offers unlimited storage for your website. Both have advantages and disadvantages depending on what you need from a website builder.
Q: Which one is better for mobile devices?
A: Wix has a mobile-friendly version of their website builder. You can easily use the drag-and-drop feature to create beautiful websites optimized for desktop and mobile devices. Google Sites also has a mobile-friendly version but doesn’t offer as many design options as Wix.
Q: Which website builder is cheaper?
A: Google Sites is free, while Wix offers a variety of plans ranging from $5 to $25 per month. Depending on your budget and website needs, one may be more affordable.
Q: Does a free domain name come with either service?
A: Yes, Wix’s Combo plan includes a free domain, while Google Sites does not offer a free domain. However, you can purchase a domain from Google Domains and connect it to your website.
Q: What is a site booster app?
A: The Wix Site Booster App is a tool that helps businesses promote their website, increase traffic, and generate leads.
Final Thoughts
Today, the top website builders aren’t just ordinary content management platforms. They offer more functions, features, and options for businesses across different industries. The best website builder is the CMS that offers effective web services for improving online presence and streamlining development processes.
You now know the pros and cons of Wix and Google Sites. Both platforms have their similarities and differences, but ultimately it comes down to what you need your website to do. If you need an eye-catching website that doesn’t require a lot of customization, Wix is a good option. If you need more flexibility and want to be able to integrate Google Apps and other marketing tools, Google Sites is a better option.
Google Sites and Wix are two do-it-yourself website builders. They are both very user-friendly and have a wide variety of templates to choose from. They also both offer free plans, as well as paid plans.
The main difference between Google Sites and Wix is that Google Sites is more geared towards businesses, whereas Wix is more geared towards individuals. Wix also has more features than Google Sites, such as an app store and eCommerce capabilities. However, Google Sites is more affordable than Wix.