Add web design to the list of skills I'm trying to learn on the fly. Luckily enough, I'm not having to learn HTML and CSS on the fly as well. That's what eventually drove this change over from Ghost to WiX.
My problem with Ghost is that I'm not advanced enough in my knowledge, understanding, and skillset to be writing my own scripts to design the site just so. I feel like Ghost gives you so much potential, but it takes more time and effort to realize that potential, and it was worth the financial cost to make my job of designing a website and blog easier.
WiX has much the same feel as any blogging site (based on my limited experience). It looks and feels a lot like WordPress and Ghost on the blogging side. The real pros of WiX are in the design of the website itself.
WiX allows a LOT of customization, but does it with lots of simple, drag and drop items. In the end, while demoing the website editor, this saved me so much headache that I decided to go all in on this one.
It was definitely a hefty price tag when compared to my modest reserve account so such extraneous expenditures. To be honest, I still have a knot in my stomach. After a 50% off sale on their plans, I went with the Pro premium plan which cost me $306 + tax for three years of service. This doesn't include any ecommerce, so if I decided to start handling money through this site, I'll have to upgrade to a different plan (at the time of this writing, during the 50% sale, that will cost me about $96 for three years).
Monetization is definitely a future goal, and WiX appears to have some ready built features to help drive that. They allows for subscriptions, and they also allow for memebrship. I'm currently playing with both of those features now, but they're free. I plan to start leveraging that in the future, but for now, it's just one grand experiment.
WiX also has some robust marketing and SEO tools (powered by Google, of course). One of the very first things I was prompted to do was optimize my site. Now, many of these tools require their own upgrade (it's like DLC in computer games), and so I haven't decided to cross that bridge yet, but I plan on digging into that a little later as I work to build my audience.
After that, there is just a whole slew of features. My plan came with a free domain (which I already owned), a free logo with 43 different variant files of my logo for use in all sorts of media, an owner's app which gives me updates, like when someone visits the site, and I have access to an app to invite my subscribers/members to, with the potential for a branded app later.
I will be working to expand the website, provide an active CV for myself, perhaps, feature homesteading projects, and whatever else I'm currently working on. It appears that there is an option to have contributing team members, which opens up a whole host of ideas and opportunities for the future. The most pressing priorty(ies) right now is to get well acquainted with the software, and then to discipline myself to write regularly.
All in all, I think it will be quite a while before I make my way through all of the features, and I can forsee myself getting my money's worth before the time is up. I am thus far satisfied with my walkthrough, and I'm glad I got the referral.
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