First Impression: What am I saying on Wix ADI?
My beginnings with Wix Editor were not that great, but at least I have the new Surface :) (if you’re interested in finding out what these two things have in common, read the older post Thanks to Wix I bought a new computer).
Today I decided to test Wix’s alternative way of website creation: Wix ADI — Artificial Design Intelligence. First, I had to choose the type of the website that I would like to create and then I was provided with other features to be included e.g. Take bookings & appointments, Get subscribers and Create a blog. Next I had to choose the preferred style and as the last step Wix ADI created my website. Ta-dah!
While creating the web page, Wix ADI uses a pink dot as a cursor that is to imitate the clicking through the individual sections and settings when building the website. It looks the same way as any recorded video tutorial, but I have to admit, it makes a pretty good wow effect. It only takes a short while. By the way, I had some fun with the status messages e.g. “Loading awesomeness” or “Creating awesome stuff” :)
What do I evaluate positively (pros)
I like the introductory Wizard that accompanies user with the basic settings. Some sections are even added automatically on behalf of the user — e.g. addition of “Create a blog” section (in case it was ticked in optional settings). The template itself is chosen by Wix ADI at the start based on the website type that’s been selected by the user (similar to Wix Editor). The whole page is built on this template then.
What’s great on Wix ADI is also its ability to find and populate various data to the website about the user and his/her business, e.g. based on the Google Maps address or Facebook account. It can pull the general information, but also a photo. Very wise, but a little bit scary, right?
As another Wix ADI advantage I consider the simple addition of new sections by clicking on the + button.
… and then you just need to use drag & drop in order to add the desired section from the left sidebar:
What do I see as a problem (cons)
The online builder speed is the Achilles heel of Wix. This applies to ADI as well as to Wix Editor. Loading is fast until the moment when multiple elements are added what slows down the page editing significantly.
Regarding the UI… Based on my experience with UI Wix so far, I don’t consider it to be one of my favorites. Why? I find it a bit cumbersome and not clear enough at the first glance (even though website building using Wix ADI seems a bit more user friendly than with Wix Editor).
I’ve found couple of non-logical issues though, e.g.:
- The text cannot be manipulated freely (dragging and moving the paragraph), neither placed wherever I want
- You cannot create space for a new text
- If I want to switch from one saved website to another, I have to do it via My Account. But you cannot access My Account from ADI UI (at least I couldn’t do that).
Update: I couldn’t believe that it is not possible to add such an elementary thing as a text box. So I tried to find some way to solve it and I came across a solution. In the menu at the top, there is an item Site which contains an item Go To Editor. Once redirected to Wix Editor, new text box can be added without any problems.
This example shows how clumsy the Wix ADI UI is. I think such essential thing as switching to editing mode should be much more noticeable for the user to find it more quickly and comfortably.
So how to summarize my first impressions of Wix ADI?
It’s ok. It is certainly a pleasant change in comparison to various common Page Builders that are more difficult to use for website building. Overall, working with Wix ADI wasn’t too bad, but I couldn’t always manage to position the individual items wherever I wanted them to be placed.
On the other side, I appreciate the predefined templates. They’re good especially for non-designers, i.e. those users, who don’t know exactly how to arrange the website elements correctly on the page (it’s good also for the end-users of the website from the functionality point of view, because UI/UX of the predefined templates is well worked-out).
That’s why I think the biggest potential of Wix ADI is for those users who want to create simple online presentations, as well as for those users who want something finished quickly. It won’t be perfect, but it will be wrapped in a nice-looking package. And that’s sufficient sometimes.
