Are you ready to build a brand new website from scratch but unsure where to start? Whether you’re launching a personal project, a community hub, or a business site, Wix offers a powerful, user-friendly platform to bring your vision to life. In this comprehensive wix tutorial, we’ll walk through every step of creating your website—from setting up your account to customizing your pages and publishing your site live. This guide is designed for beginners who want to understand how Wix works, including tips on working with both desktop and mobile versions of your site. Let’s dive in and create a stunning, functional website together!
Getting Started: Creating Your Wix Account
The first step in your website creation journey is to head over to Wix.com. If you don’t already have an account, you’ll want to create one. Wix makes this process simple and quick.
When you visit the homepage, you’ll see two main options:
- Log In: For returning users who already have an account.
- Get Started: For new users ready to create their website.
Choose “Get Started” to create your account. You’ll be prompted to enter your sign-in credentials, which typically include your email and a password. Once logged in, Wix will guide you through a few questions to help shape your website experience.
One of the exciting new features Wix offers is the use of AI to assist in crafting your website. This can help tailor the design and functionality to your specific needs, saving time and effort.
For example, if you’re building a community site like a book club, you might enter information such as:
- Your website’s purpose (e.g., connecting book lovers and sharing reviews)
- The name of your community or club
- A short description of the group or target audience
Wix uses these details to start creating a profile for your site, which will influence the templates and design elements suggested to you.
Understanding Wix Plans: Free vs. Premium
Once your account is set up, you’ll land on your Wix dashboard. From here, you can start building your site immediately. Wix offers a free plan that allows you to create and publish your site, though it comes with some limitations:
- Wix Ads: The free version includes Wix advertisements embedded on your site.
- Subdomain: Your website URL will be a Wix subdomain, such as username.wixsite.com/sitename.
Upgrading to a premium plan unlocks additional benefits:
- Custom Domain: Connect your own domain name (e.g., www.yourwebsite.com) for a professional appearance.
- Business Features: Accept payments, bookings, and more, ideal for online stores or service providers.
- Remove Wix Ads: Your site will be ad-free, improving user experience and credibility.
If you’re just starting out and want to experiment, the free version is a great way to learn. You can always upgrade later when you’re ready to go live professionally.
Choosing the Right Template for Your Website
One of Wix’s standout features is its extensive and diverse library of website templates. These templates provide a ready-made structure and design that you can customize to fit your unique needs—perfect for beginners who may not have design experience.
Templates are categorized based on industry or website type, including:
- Business, Finance, Law
- Health and Wellness
- Hotels and Travel
- Fashion and Retail
- Creative Portfolios
- Communities and Nonprofits
- Weddings and Events
For example, if you are building a book club website, you can use the search feature to find templates tailored for book clubs, writers, bookstores, or libraries. This helps you find a starting point that closely matches your vision.
When you find a template you like, Wix lets you preview it in both desktop and mobile views. This is crucial since many visitors will access your site on their phones. Wix templates are adaptive, meaning they automatically reformat to fit the screen size of the device being used.
Wix Editor Interface: Navigating the Tools
After selecting your template, you enter the Wix Editor, where the real magic happens. This is where you customize your site’s appearance, content, and functionality.
Here’s a breakdown of the key components of the Wix Editor interface:
1. Add Elements
Found on the left sidebar, this menu lets you add a wide variety of elements to your pages, including:
- Text boxes for headings, paragraphs, and captions
- Images and galleries
- Buttons and links
- Strips or background sections
- Videos and contact forms
- Social media feeds and more
2. Add Sections
Each website page is made up of sections—distinct blocks or areas such as a welcome message, about section, team profiles, or subscription forms. The Add Sections menu provides prebuilt layouts you can drag and drop to arrange the flow of your page.
3. Pages
This menu lets you manage the different pages of your website, such as Home, About, Contact, and Reviews. You can add new pages, delete unwanted ones, or rearrange their order. You can also create subpages, which appear as drop-down menu items linked to a parent page.
4. Site Design
This is where you control the overall look and feel of your site, including:
- Color schemes
- Text themes (fonts and typography)
- Backgrounds
5. Wix App Market
Want to add extra features like calendars, online stores, or social media integrations? The App Market has a broad selection of free and paid add-ons to enhance your site.
6. My Business
If your site is business-oriented, this section offers tools to manage events, groups, member areas, and more—perfect for community sites like book clubs or professional organizations.
7. Media
Here you can manage all the images, videos, and files uploaded to your site. You can also access Wix’s built-in image library for high-quality photos.
8. CMS (Customer Management System)
Track your visitors, see where they’re coming from, and analyze site performance through Wix’s built-in CMS tools.
Working with Pages and Sections
Once you understand the editor, the next step is to customize your pages and sections. Here’s how you can manage these effectively:
Managing Pages
- Hide Pages: If you have pages you’re not ready to publish or want to keep private for now, you can hide them from the navigation menu without deleting them. This keeps them accessible in the editor.
- Delete Pages: Remove any unwanted pages entirely from your website.
- Rearrange Pages: Change the order of pages in your site menu to prioritize important content.
- Subpages: Organize related pages under a main page to keep your menu clean and intuitive.
- Add New Pages: Expand your site’s content by adding new pages as needed.
Customizing Sections
Sections are the building blocks of each page. You can move them up or down to reorder content, add new sections to introduce fresh content blocks, or delete sections you don’t need.
For example, if your template has a donation form at the top but you want to prioritize community discussion, you can simply drag the donation section further down the page.
Editing Content: Text, Images, and Backgrounds
With your pages and sections organized, it’s time to personalize your content.
Editing Text
Double-click on any text box to edit the content. You can change the wording to match your voice and purpose. For instance, instead of a formal greeting, you might want a warm, casual welcome like “Hello book lovers!” to set a friendly tone.
Changing Backgrounds
The background of each section or page can be customized to enhance the visual appeal:
- Solid Colors: Choose from a palette or create a custom color.
- Gradients: Use smooth color blends for a modern look.
- Images: Upload your own photos or select from Wix’s image library. For a book club, a cozy library or bookshelf image can create a thematic ambiance.
Keep in mind mobile users when selecting backgrounds. Sometimes an image that looks great on desktop might not translate well on smaller screens, so you can set a different background specifically for mobile devices.
Uploading and Editing Images
Adding personal photos or graphics helps your site stand out. To upload images:
- Go to the Media menu.
- Click “Upload from computer” and select your images.
- Organize your media with folders to keep your files easy to find.
- Edit images directly in Wix by cropping or resizing to fit your design.
For example, in a team section, you can upload a professional photo of yourself or your members, crop it to a perfect square, and add names and titles.
Designing Your Website’s Theme
Once your content is in place, it’s time to focus on your site’s overall look. Wix offers prebuilt design themes that control fonts, colors, button styles, and other visual elements across your entire website.
Changing your theme is easy:
- Go to the Site Design menu.
- Select “Change Theme.”
- Browse through options like warm, fashionable, or creamy themes.
- Click a theme to apply it instantly to all pages.
If you want more control, you can customize:
- Color Themes: Pick your brand colors or experiment with new palettes.
- Text Themes: Select fonts for headlines, paragraphs, and buttons.
For those who aren’t design experts, sticking with Wix’s professionally designed themes is a great way to ensure your site looks polished and cohesive.
Previewing and Publishing Your Website
Before your site goes live, previewing is essential. Wix lets you toggle between editor mode and preview mode:
- Preview Mode: See exactly how your website will appear to visitors, without editing tools or guidelines cluttering the view.
- Save: Save your work as you go. Changes saved are stored but not visible to the public until published.
- Publish: Make your site live online, accessible to anyone with your URL.
Remember, saving your changes regularly prevents data loss, and you can always revert to a previous version if you make a mistake. Publishing is your final step to share your website with the world.
After publishing, you’ll receive a confirmation message, and you can view your site live. If you’re using the free Wix plan, your site will have a Wix subdomain, but upgrading lets you connect your own custom domain.
Working with Mobile Versions
Mobile traffic is huge, so Wix offers a dedicated mobile editor to ensure your site looks great on smartphones and tablets. You can switch between desktop and mobile views to make device-specific adjustments.
Key mobile tools include:
- Quick Action Button: A customizable button at the bottom of mobile pages that can link to call, email, or other actions.
- Back to Top Button: A handy feature that appears when users scroll down, allowing them to quickly jump back to the top of the page.
- Mobile Backgrounds: Set a different background image or color for mobile to optimize load times and visual appeal.
While changes made in desktop mode apply to mobile, you can tweak layout and content visibility specifically for mobile users to enhance usability.
Customizing Your Website for Your Unique Needs
Wix’s flexibility means you can tailor your website exactly how you want it. Here are some tips for customization:
- Hide or Delete Unnecessary Pages: Keep your navigation clean by removing or hiding pages that don’t fit your current goals.
- Rearrange Sections: Prioritize your content by moving important sections higher on your page.
- Use Member Areas and Groups: For community websites like book clubs, use Wix’s member management tools to create exclusive areas for registered users.
- Add Event Calendars: Keep your community informed by integrating calendars for meetings or book discussions.
- Incorporate Social Media Feeds: Engage visitors with your latest posts and updates.
Each of these enhancements can be added through the Wix App Market or the editor’s built-in features, allowing you to grow your site along with your audience.
Final Thoughts: Building Your Website with Confidence
Building a website from scratch can feel overwhelming, but with Wix’s intuitive tools and this detailed wix tutorial, you can create a professional, beautiful site tailored to your needs. From setting up your account to choosing a template, editing content, designing your theme, and publishing your site live, Wix covers all the bases.
Remember, start simple, experiment with different designs, and preview your site on both desktop and mobile. Take advantage of Wix’s free plan to get comfortable, then consider upgrading to unlock premium features like custom domains and payment processing.
Your website is your digital storefront or community hub, so invest the time to make it engaging and easy to navigate. Whether you’re launching a book club, portfolio, small business, or blog, Wix gives you the tools to succeed.
Happy website building!