Google Website Builder vs Wix: 9 best differences to know

Google is undoubtedly the most popular search engine in the world. Besides that, they also provide various features like Google Docs, Sheets, Drive, YouTube, etc. This is just the tip of the iceberg. 

But, do you know that Google also provides an in-built website builder? Yes, with Google Sites, you can create a user-friendly and simple website in no time. Moreover, it’s completely free to use. 

But can it compete with Wix? Can Google Sites help you create and launch an eCommerce store? While the answer to both these questions is no, there are a few exceptions. 

Google website builder has limited functionality and customization options. Even though it’s simpler, Wix can do everything similar to Google's website builder, but it is better in every way. 

Are you looking for the perfect Google website builder vs Wix comparison? In this article, I will share the key differences between Google Sites and Wix. Make sure you read this article to the end to know why I recommend Wix over Google Sites. 

Google Website Builder vs Wix: Quick comparison

Before I discuss the key differences between Google website builder vs Wix, why don’t I share a basic comparison table? This way, you can learn which points I’ll be talking about and if the differences are too much. 

Now that you know the core points of Google website builder vs Wix, let’s discuss them in detail. Remember that the differences are significant. You can also read my Wix website builder review blog for a more comprehensive breakdown.

1. Ease of use

When you’re choosing a website builder, it has to come with excellent ease of use. Or you may end up facing a lot of problems down the road, especially if you’re not a tech-savvy person. 

The best thing about both Google website builder and Wix is that they are easy to use. You don’t need to worry about any programming or coding knowledge. 

Google Site: Simple to use

If you look at the below image, it’s the primary dashboard of Google website builder. Unlike most options, you don’t need to go through any time-consuming account creation process. You're good to go as long as you’re signed in using your Google account. 

Google Sites provides a free plan and is also super simple to use. Even if you don’t have any website creation experience, you can still create an eye-catching website without any problems. 

Also, the dashboard isn’t cluttered. All you will find is a couple of templates. When creating a website, you can either start with a template or create a blank site from scratch. 

Now, let me explain the differences between these two options. If you choose a template, you don’t need to create the website or web pages from scratch. The templates come with all possible personalization options, streamlining the entire website creation process. 

On the other hand, if you choose to create a blank website, you will have more freedom. But I suggest you save it only after you have gained a certain level of experience. 

Wix: Highly customizable yet simplier

When I clicked on the Blank Site option, Google opened this dashboard. Everything is super transparent here. You can easily implement elements, pages, or themes. 

Moreover, you can also implement as many customizations as you want. You can publish your website from the right sidebar or by opening a preview tab. 

Wix also gives tough competition to the Google website builder. While the initial process is slightly longer than that of Google website builder, it’s worth the effort. With Wix, you can create beautiful and professional websites seamlessly. 

After you create an account, Wix will ask you various questions to understand your needs. This is where the magic happens. Wix will gather insights from your answers and implement advanced AI website builder capabilities to create a website. 

Wix ADI is undoubtedly a faster option to create a website. Moreover, the AI will ensure you don’t go through the hassle of creating a website from nothing. However, customization freedom will decrease as the AI picks relevant pages and elements based on your answers. 

This is why I recommend creating a website manually using Wix editor. Yes, you can choose not to use the ADI and use the manual editor option. This way, you will get more customization freedom. 

When you’re done with the setup option, you will be redirected to this dashboard. This is the primary dashboard from where you can control every aspect of your Wix website. All options are arranged on the left sidebar of the screen. 

However, remember that you cannot customize your Wix website from here. You need to open the Wix editor to do so. I will discuss this later. 

2. Templates

Previously, I mentioned that having catchy templates is extremely important. Not everyone will like the hassle of creating a site from a blank page. Many users prefer to use templates to get started without any creativity block. 

Google Site: Lacks professional templates

Let’s start with Google website builder templates. Just because I like Google for its simplicity doesn’t mean I will overlook this major drawback. I think it’s one of the biggest drawbacks of Google website builder. 

Google Sites offers only 18 templates. Yes, you heard that right. There are only 18 templates to create a fully functional website, which is quite a headache. 

Unless and until you’re creating a very basic website, no templates will capture your attention. They are either too basic or lack essential web pages and elements. This is why large businesses should avoid using templates at all costs. 

But, one good thing is that you can create templates on your own. You can choose colors, fonts, and other elements from the existing templates. But I don’t see the point of doing this as I will be putting the same effort as creating a black site. 

Wix: Extensive template library

Wix has a humongous competitive advantage over Wix in terms of templates. If you’ve read my Wix website builder review, you know how much I like the template library. But for now, let me share a thing or two for the new readers. 

Wix has more than 900 templates. With such a vast template library, you never need to worry about limitations. If you compare it to Google’s only 18 templates, you will realize why Wix is a clear winner. 

In addition, the templates are organized carefully. You can sort them based on their popularity, release date, etc., and search for any template you want. However, WordPress templates are more attractive.

Last but not least, Wix templates are also completely free. Many people assume that giving 900 templates for free might contain some catches. But all the templates are indeed free without any hidden charges. 

3. Website editor

If you want a customized website, you need to edit various aspects of the web pages. From the images and colors to the fonts and elements, customization will play a crucial part. 

And to customize a website, you need to ensure the website editor works flawlessly. This is one of the most important things you need to consider while choosing a website builder. 

Google Site: Too basic website editor

Google’s website editor is almost flawless. It lets you customize various aspects of your website to ensure you achieve the most preferred one. You can add texts, button layouts, images, etc. Moreover, you can also add Google tools like Docs, Sheets, Forms, etc. 

However, there’s one drawback. You won’t find an image editor on Google's website builder. So if you want to change some elements, you cannot do it from the Google dashboard itself. 

Another disadvantage is that you cannot move the elements freely in the Google website builder. That’s a major drawback because you cannot manually set their locations. Also, you won’t get any mobile editor.

Wix: Modern and advanced website editor

Wix editor is more advanced than Google's website builder. You can add pages, elements, buttons, images, texts, etc., without problems. As the elements are available in different styles, you can customize them as you want. 

And the best part is that you will get drag-and-drop functionality. This means that if you like any elements, just drag them and drop them on the web page. Then, you can choose their locations or customize them further. 

Compared to Google Sites, you can edit images directly from the Wix dashboard. You can change the background color, width, length, and many other things. However, don’t assume that you can make too many customizations. 

But if you want to create a mobile-optimized site, you need to do it manually. You need to move the elements manually, which will reflect when someone sees your website on their phone. While this process is time-consuming, advanced developers won’t find any issues. 

4. Image Gallery

Images are one of the most important aspects of any website. This is because adding high-quality images will make your website look more professional and eye-catching. Moreover, it will also complement the texts. 

This is why I always recommend adding pictures, especially if you have a text-rich website. As your customers can also process the images quickly, they can understand your website better. 

Google Site: Less reliable image gallery

You will be disappointed when you want to upload an image when you use Google website builder. I’m not saying you cannot upload images. In fact, you can upload them straight from your internal system or Google Drive. 

This is really helpful. If you have images backed up on Google Drive, you don’t need to download them manually and then upload them on your website. 

However, the main catch is the absence of stock images and videos. Yes, Google website builders don’t offer any stock, copyright-free images, or other images. If you don’t save something beforehand, you cannot upload them. 

Moreover, you won’t be able to add images in Webp format. I was surprised to see this, as Google themselves created this JPG alternative. So, if your image size is bigger, it will load slowly. 

Wix: Customizable image uploading options

Then comes the Wix website builder’s image gallery. As you can see, you can upload images and videos effortlessly. On top of that, you will also get hundreds of vector images that you can use on your website without any copyright strike issues. 

Moreover, Wix is also integrated with Shutterstock. So, if you want to buy an image, you can do it directly from this gallery section. There’s another excellent feature you need to know. 

When you click on the Photo Studio option, you will get another feature along with image upload. That is an AI image generator. Yes, Wix can use advanced AI technologies to create eye-catching website images.  

You can also upload images in any format. Wix supports more than 100 image formats. However, I suggest considering the Webp format due to its smaller size and higher picture quality. 

5. Integration capabilities

A website builder is incomplete without integrations. This is because no website builder will give you all the applications embedded with the dashboard. Sometimes, you would need some different integrations. 

Without third-party apps or integrations, your website won’t achieve its full potential. While Wix knows that, Google doesn’t. 

Google Site: Lacks third-party integrations

Google doesn’t provide any third-party integrations. As you can see from the image above, these are the integrations you will get. These are from Google itself, so they are pretty much limited. 

Some common Google applications Google Sites offers are Google Calendar, Docs, Forms, YouTube, Charts, Sheets, etc. 

I’m not saying the integrations are not capable of helping you. But the absence of third-party integrations will prove quite problematic for your website. 

Wix: In-built application market

But Wix provides superb integration capabilities. One of the best features is their app market, which lets you download and add apps or integrations without any problem. 

And the Wix app market is vast. You can find pretty much any integration you want. You will also know their reviews and downloads to make better decisions. 

Most of the apps available in Wix’s app market are completely free of cost. While there are some paid ones, consider them as the last resources in case you can’t find something free of cost. 

6. Analytics and reporting

As you’re building a website, you need to track how much traffic you’re getting. This is true, especially if you’re opening an eCommerce website. 

Google Site: Helpful Google Analytics

To access Google Analytics, you need to go to the settings page. Then, you will find the analytics option. Google will let you connect your website to their Google Analytics page.

This is undoubtedly a helpful aspect. Google Analytics is hands down the best way to get all the reports and analytics about your website.

Wix: Less effective site analytics checker

Wix analytics is also good. Unlike Google, Wix allows you know about different types of reporting. For example, you can learn about traffic overview, real-time data, behavior overview, and many more. 

Also, sometimes, the analytics dashboard faces some sort of glitches. Even though I'm seeing this option because I haven't linked the website, many people also face a similar situation even after linking their site.

However, the Wix analytics doesn’t work perfectly. I mean, Google Analytics works so effectively and smoothly that Wix’s analytics won’t be able to capture your attention. Moreover, setting up the analytics part on Wix is also too time-consuming. 

7. Search engine optimization

SEO will play a key role in boosting your website traffic and SERP rankings. Thus, a business owner should pay close attention to SEO when looking for a website builder.

I have seen many people overlook SEO capabilities, only to face many problems later. No matter how attractive your website looks, your efforts will be in vain if customers cannot find you. 

Google Site: No additional SEO advantage

That being said, many people believe that Google will provide SEO advantages to websites created on Google website builder. This is a big NO. Just because you use Google website builder doesn’t mean Google will give your website more SEO advantages. 

While the parent company is the same, Google's website and SEO are two completely different departments. On top of that, you won’t find any specific page on Google's website that lets you customize the SEO part. 

Wix: Separate SEO page

On the other hand, Wix gives you a dedicated dashboard to make your website more SEO-friendly. You can control different SEO aspects, from site inspection and sitemaps to site verification. 

Additionally, Wix gives you an SEO checklist. When you’re SEO-optimizing your website, the checklist will ensure you’re not missing any critical information. However, despite such features, I still believe WordPress is best for SEO-optimized websites. 

As Wix has more SEO features, Google will rank Wix websites more than their own website builder. You can also connect to Google Search Console from the SEO dashboard. 

8. eCommerce features

Users who are planning to use Google Sites and Wix website builder to create an online store should pay close attention to this point. Without having eCommerce features, you cannot grow your online store.

Google Site: Less beneficial for online stores

While you can create a functional website using Google Sites, I cannot say the same for an online store. This is because a traditional website is different from an eCommerce site. 

You won’t find any eCommerce template or eCommerce options. I personally dislike that Google failed to include any eCommerce templates. I assume they don’t prioritize in tjis segment. 

However, you can create an eCommerce template. In such cases, you need to take a blank page and then customize it as per your eCommerce needs. But the eCommerce website design won’t be good due to low customization options. 

Wix: eCommerce templates

Wix is dedicated to helping you create the best eCommerce website for your audiences. With Wix, you can promote and sell your business’s offerings with ease. Do you know why?

Wix is one of the best website builders to create an eCommerce website. The features are so extensive and helpful that even Shopify can’t match them. Read my Wix vs Shopify blog and learn the reasons behind my claim. 

For starters, Wix will provide you with dedicated eCommerce templates. Just go to their template section, and you can sort them by your choice of online store. The templates are super responsive. 

Moreover, Wix will help you create your own blogging platform. As they know the importance of blogging for an eCommerce business, their blogging templates and features can capture your attention. You can also integrate various social media platforms. 

Last but not least, you can create a catchy portfolio for your eCommerce store. Whether you want to display product prices or your inventory, you can do it with ease.

9. Pricing

This is the last thing I should discuss in my comparison blog on Google Sites vs Wix. Remember that the pricing would have a major influence on your chosen website builder.

Google Site: Completely free

This is where Google Sites come into the picture. It has a free version, which will let you create and manage your websites effectively.

Even though you can purchase the Google One subscription, it won't benefit you. This is because the Google One subscription won't add any extra feature to the Google Site builder.

Wix: Free and paid pricing plans

On the other hand, Wix website builder is one of the best options in the market. Not only does it provide a free plan but also four paid pricing plans. Thus, you can choose the perfect one based on your business's needs.

Remember that the free Wix plan will show ads on your website. This is something you won't face with Google website builder. Moreover, you can also connect your branded domain.

You can choose the paid versions of Google Workspace. But that won't prove beneficial for your website. You will only get extra storage and Gemini as complimented services.

Wix vs Google Sites: Choose the right one

This is everything you need to know about Google website builder vs Wix. While Google Sites has a simpler user interface and seamless website building process, the customizations aren’t up to mark. Thus, Google Sites may not prove effective in creating a complicated website with Google Sites. 

On the other hand, Wix website builder provides you with multiple customization options, even for your eCommerce websites. However, the learning curve will be slightly steeper. 

Remember that choosing between Wix and Google sites will depend on your unique needs and budget. So first, determine what type of website you want and how much you’re prepared to invest in. 

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