Why I Chose Wix for My Next Project (A Beginner's Research on 5 Free Builders)
As a new blogger building EarnGears.com, I’ve learned how important a professional website is. For my next project, I wanted to see if it’s possible to start with a zero-dollar budget. So, I spent the last few weeks researching the best free website builders available in 2025.
This post is a summary of my personal research into five of the most popular platforms. I’ll share my findings on Wix, Weebly, WordPress.com, Strikingly, and SITE123, and then, at the end, I’ll reveal my final decision and tell you exactly why I chose one platform over the others for my new blogging website.
Table of Contents
My Research on 5 Popular Free Website Builders
Here are my notes and takeaways on the five platforms I explored.
1. Wix – The AI-Powered Drag-and-Drop Builder
My Research Findings: Wix seems incredibly powerful for beginners because of its AI website generator and true drag-and-drop editor. It feels like the fastest way to get a professional-looking site live without any design skills. The Limitations I Found: The free plan has Wix branding (ads) on the site and a small 500MB storage limit.
2. Weebly – The E-Commerce Starter
My Research Findings: My research indicates that Weebly’s main strength is its built-in e-commerce features on the free plan, allowing you to list up to 10 products and accept payments.
The Limitations I Found: The free plan includes Square branding and a Weebly subdomain.
3. WordPress.com – The Content and SEO King
My Research Findings: Based on my own experience with this blog, I know WordPress is the best for content and long-term SEO. Its free plan is generous with an AI assistant and basic analytics.
The Limitations I Found: The main limitation is less design freedom compared to a builder like Wix.
4. Strikingly – The One-Page Website Specialist
My Research Findings: What I learned is that Strikingly specializes in creating beautiful, simple, one-page websites very quickly. It seems perfect for a local business or a simple landing page.
The Limitations I Found: The free plan is limited to a single page and has a 500MB monthly bandwidth limit.
5. SITE123 – The Easiest, Most Guided Builder
My Research Findings: My research suggests that SITE123 is designed for the absolute beginner who has zero tech skills. It’s less about design freedom and more about getting a clean, functional site online with zero stress.
The Limitations I Found: The free plan has the most restrictions, with only 250MB of storage and visible branding.
My Final Decision: Why I'm Choosing Wix for My Next Blog
After comparing all five platforms, I’ve decided to go with Wix for my next blogging website.
The main reason is its ease of use. As a beginner, the drag-and-drop editor feels less intimidating than other options. But the deciding factor for me was the pricing. Their ‘Light’ plan at $17/month seems very affordable for a beginner to get started with a professional site. The fact that it includes a free domain for the first year really touched my heart and made the decision easy.
The Wix pricing plans I was researching. The ‘Light’ plan with the free domain for a year was the deciding factor for me.
Finally, Wix is a well-known and trusted brand in the market, which gives me confidence. Currently, I am exploring the Wix editor daily to prepare for my new project, and I will be sharing my journey of building a site with it soon.
FAQs
1. Your article is about free builders, but you chose a paid Wix plan. Why?
This is a great point. My research started with the goal of spending $0. But after seeing the limitations of the free plans (like branding and subdomains), I realized that for a serious project, a small investment is worth it. For me, the $17/month Wix plan felt like a smart investment because it removes the ads and gives a free domain for the first year, making my new site look professional from day one.
2. Why is using a free subdomain (like yourname.wixsite.com) bad for a business?
From my research, I found two big reasons for this. First, it can look unprofessional and may hurt customer trust; a custom domain (like yourbusiness.com) shows you are serious. Second, it’s bad for long-term SEO. When you build content on a subdomain, you’re helping the builder’s domain authority grow, not your own. That’s why getting a free custom domain with a paid plan was so important to me.
3. If I start with one builder, can I easily move my site to another one later?
This is a crucial point I discovered during my research. The answer is no, it’s very difficult. Most of these builders (like Wix, Weebly, and Strikingly) are “closed systems.” You can’t just download your site and upload it somewhere else; you have to rebuild it from scratch. This is why spending time on research upfront, like I did in this article, is so important before you commit to a platform.
Further Reading
Disclaimer:
The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only. The results from online earning strategies can vary greatly and depend on individual effort, market conditions, and other factors. Please do your own research before making any financial or business decisions.
About The Author
Mehra
Mehra is the founder of EarnGears.com, a platform where he is documenting his live journey of building an online income stream from scratch. He is experimenting with blogging, SEO, and AI tools, and shares all his learnings – both successes and failures – with his fellow beginners. Join him on this journey to learn and grow together.
