The Good the Bad and the Ugly of WIX

Starting an ePortfolio has released many emotions, ranging from excited, nervous, scared, and finally overwhelmed.  The good news is that I'm finally starting to relax and breathe through the process instead of letting my anxiety rule me.  The bad news is that I'm still unsure what I'm doing.  At this time, I'm winging it the best I can!

When learning about the various sites that can be used to create the ePortfolio, my first thought was Google Sites.  Google is my go-to for everything, and I use it heavily in my personal life and my professional career.  However, I was shocked to hear that it was not a preferred site.  Sure, there are limitations, but building a basic ePortfolio through Google shouldn't present much of an issue.  The negativity towards Google made me start looking at other hosting sites. Ultimately, I  decided to try something different and show I'm willing to try new things.

After reviewing the articles and discussions, I found that an AI site was obviously preferred.  I have experience with AI using Canva, Discord, MidJourney, and ChatGPT, to name a few.  So the next question was which to choose.  There were a lot of articles and videos on WordPress. When I explained this to my husband, who is heavy in IT, he laughed and told me not to use it unless I  wanted to learn coding.  After reading reviews on WordPress, he was right!  As mentioned in Forbes Advisor: "While other CMS platforms come with simple drag-and-drop themes accessible to the most basic user, WordPress is more complicated. To customize website design, users must be familiar with code."  Since I'm already on a tight schedule, learning coding would cause added stress to an already intense project.

Having read positive reviews regarding Wix, I decided to give it a try.  Creating a user profile was easy, but learning which direction to go was trial and error.  I wouldn’t say I liked the AI-generated template for the ePortfolio; it appeared too busy, and the pictures didn’t match my objective.  I tried again but encountered the same result, so I opted for a general template instead and couldn’t be happier with the outcome.  It’s clean, sharp, modern, and straightforward.  It might look basic, but I don’t want them to focus on the extra features when presenting to potential employers.  I need to be able to showcase myself and my work quickly.  

Learning how to use the pages was much more complicated than I anticipated. I’m used to using Sites, so when I needed text wrap, I went through each editing category three times before finally Googling if there was text wrap in Wix. FYI, there is no text wrap in Wix. This led me to try different layouts until one seemed reasonable for the look I was trying to achieve.  

The different functions of Wix remind me a lot of Canva.  They share similar attributes and designs, but Canva offers more for AI, in my opinion.  When I want an AI-generated image in Canva, it is easy to write what I’m looking for, and the image is correct.  On the other hand, Wix gave me pictures that differed from what I was typing into the search box.  I chalked it up as a time-first user and promised myself I would revisit that feature at a later time.

Based on my experience, I recommend Wix to first-time users.  You can create the ePortfolio at no cost unless you want the premium package.  However, it's not necessary for the sole purpose of sharing your creation with colleagues and potential employers.  As always, research and read the pros and cons users have posted along with comparison articles.  Choose the platform that works best for your needs and try it out.  If you're unhappy with the creation, you are free to switch.  I prefer watching YouTube videos to familiarize myself with new information. For Wix, I recommend watching How to Create an EPortfolio using Wix.com, (Lupercio, C. 2020). But be careful; you don't want to spend much time creating your ePortfolio, so decide to start over when you're close to the end.  I recommend making a page and comparing it for yourself.

I’m excited to continue this journey into creating the ePortfolio. To keep me from feeling overwhelmed, I plan to set daily goals aside from what is already recommended on the outline sheet. Spending thirty minutes to an hour a day learning Wix and creating pages will help me reach my ultimate goal of having a well-thought-out ePortfolio to be proud of and share with colleagues and potential employers.

References

Lupercio, Carolina. (2020). HOW TO CREATE AN E-PORTFOLIO USING

WIX.COM. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlsfWFslDmw

Simonson, Jennifer. (2024). WordPress review 2024: features, pros &

cons. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/software/wordpress-review/