Which site hosting platform is best for content creators?

Today, we will be taking a look at two significant competitors, Wix and Carrd so you can decide where to build your website.

Having a good website is one of the most vital parts of being an influencer or a content creator.

Your website says a lot about you – this site could be your online shop, your portfolio, or will often be where brands will look to see if they want to sponsor you. 

Your website should be clean, show off your personal brand, and be easy to navigate, on both mobile and desktop. 

Back in the day, in order to create a website you needed to learn how to code, otherwise, you had to hire someone to build your website for you.

But these days, there are so many great websites hosts out there that allow you to easily create a site in minutes, even with no design experience. 

There are so many site-building alternatives out there, so how do you know where to build your site?

Wix VS. Carrd – Feature Comparison For Creators And Influencers

Wix

What is Wix?

Wix is a website-building platform that was founded in 2006 in Isreal by  Avishai Abrahami, Nadav Abrahami, and Giora Kaplan. The site has since become a global success and the company is worth over a billion dollars. 

Wix has over 220 million users and operates under a drag-and-drop model. This means you can design a site with no coding or website experience. 

How does Wix Work?

Wix is a free platform to use and also offers multiple premium plans if you choose to upgrade.

Once you create your account, you can start to design your website how you see fit. 

You can choose from over 800 templates depending on the type of website you want to create, whether this be a portfolio, your online shop, or even a site for your restaurant or small local business. 

You can see some of the templates below.

Once you’ve chosen a template, you can get to work on designing your site.

Your dashboard will look something like this.

All the tools you need to design your site will be on the left-hand side of the page. This includes adding pages and headers, as well as changing up font and colors.

To change text and media, simply click on what you want to change. It’s that easy.

You can also integrate apps to your site, such as your Instagram feed. Below are a few of the apps you can add.

As you can see, there are many options of applications to help make your site interactive for users. 

Once you’re satisfied with your site, you can hit publish and your site will be live to the public!

Do you have to upgrade?

Many sites require you to eventually upgrade, but Wix stays free forever if you don’t want to subscribe to a premium plan.

However, to unlock key features and have access to advanced analytics and customer support, subscribing to a plan could be helpful.

The pricing plans are listed below.

Connect Domain – For $6 USD a month, this is the most basic plan Wix offers. This plan allows you to connect a custom domain to get rid of the Wix branding. However, you will not have access to most other features.

Combo – For $12 USD a month, this plan removes Ads from your site, as well as allows you to not have to pay for your domain for a whole year. This is recommended for personal use.

Unlimited – For $20 USD a  month, this plan is recommended for freelancers and entrepreneurs. You have 20 GB of storage on your site, as well as free access to the visitor’s analytics app which gives you access to e-commerce analytics. This is the most popular plan.

VIP – For $34 USD a month, this plan has 35 GB of storage space, as well as a professional logo and priority customer support. It is recommended for larger businesses.

Wix also offers e-commerce plans, specifically for those with an online shop. Those pricing plans are –

Business Basic – For $24 USD a month, you can start accepting secure online payments, have unlimited products, and recover lost sales with abandoned cart recovery.

Business Unlimited – For $36 a month, Wix claims this plan will start to grow your business with access to advanced analytics. You can also collect and post up to 10,000 customer reviews, and even accept multiple currencies worldwide.

Business VIP – For $52 USD a month, you will recieve priority customer support and have access to unlimited dropshipping, as well as 50 GB of storage.

All these plans allow you to have secure online payments, and recurring payments for long-term customers, and remove Wix’s ads from your site.

Carrd

What is Carrd?

Carrd is a one-site page builder designed to build simple, one site landing pages, portfolios, and other website designs. It is free to use, and was founded in 2015 by AJ. 

How does Carrd work?

You don’t have to create an account to make a Carrd – however, for more features and the ability to unlock all the site has to offer, Carrd recommends making an account.

You can choose between dozens of free templates, or pick a blank canvas if you want more creative freedom with your site. Just like Wix, you can build a Carrd site without ever having design or website building experience. 

Below are a few of the templates you can choose from.

Once you’ve chosen a template, you can start editing your site. Your dashboard will look a little something like this.

Simply click on what you see to change the text and media to add your information.

All the tools you need will be in the upper right corner, including being able to see what the site looks like on mobile devices.

Remember, these are one-site pages, so this is for more simple portfolios and websites, not necessarily full-blown online shops.

Once you are satisfied with your design, you can hit publish and let your site be live to the public.

Should you upgrade?

Just like Wix, your site can stay free forever. But is it worth it to upgrade?

“Going pro” as Carrd states is $19 USD a year. This allows you access to key features such as being able to publish custom domains, (a.k.a, not having Carrd’s branding after your site), as well as the option to create even more sites.

Some more key features of going Pro are –

• Access to Google Analytics. This allows you to see where your clicks and views are coming from, and you can track and see all your traffic.
• No Branding – your site won’t say “made by Carrd” at the bottom
• Add Forms – You can add contact forms and other applications to make your site interactive
• Widgets and Embeds – Embed videos, your Instagram feed, or your latest Youtube video when you upgrade.

You can have a free 7-day trial before committing to the annual fee.

Which web host should you use?

Both sites have great features for content creators looking to create websites. However, if you have an online shop and run e-commerce, Wix may be the best bet for you. For more simple pages, such as landing pages and portfolios, Carrd may be your better option. 

Which site will you use? Do you use an alternative such as GoDaddy or Squarespace? Let us know down below.