How to Build a Website with Wix: A Step-by-Step Tutorial

Head to Wix using the link above and enter your email address, then click Start Now. Once registered, you land on the dashboard and are greeted by the Wix AI assistant. It will ask a series of questions: what your site is about, what to call it, and which features you need.

For example, if you describe yourself as a physical therapist named Julian Weber, the AI will generate a suggested slogan, set the site type, and pre-install relevant apps such as a booking calendar, blog, contact forms, and live chat. This saves meaningful setup time. That said, you can end the chat at any point and click Continue to move on.

After the AI finishes, click Go to Dashboard. This is your central admin area where you can later monitor analytics, run marketing campaigns, manage your inbox, review bookings, and track sales.

From the dashboard to-do list, click the domain setup option. Wix will pre-fill a suggestion based on your business name and check availability. If your preferred domain is taken, Wix offers alternatives with extensions such as

.org

,

.biz

,

.shop

, or

.store

. Pick the closest match or get creative with a different name.

Once you select a domain, you will be prompted to upgrade to a paid plan. If you signed up through the affiliate link, a 50% discount on premium plans may appear during the first few days after sign-up. The Core plan is the recommended starting point for most users: it includes 50 GB of storage, a basic marketing suite, a free domain for one year, and the ability to accept payments with basic e-commerce features. The lower-tier Light plan offers only 2 GB of storage, which is limiting if you plan to upload videos.

All paid plans come with a 14-day money-back guarantee. You can also skip domain setup for now and return to it after building your site.

From the dashboard, click Design Your Website. You will see two options: let the AI generate a full design, or pick a template manually.

Based on testing shown in the video, the AI-generated design can produce issues such as small text, mismatched images, and AI-generated photos with visible flaws (missing fingers, an upside-down keyboard). For now, manually selecting a template is the more reliable approach.

Click Pick a Template and browse by category:

• Business — general professional sites
• Health & Wellness — therapists, fitness, medical
• Beauty & Hair — salons and stylists
• Online Stores — product-based businesses
• Creative — photographers, designers, musicians

Click View on any template to preview it fully—you can click through all pages and buttons before committing. When you find one that closely matches your intended final result, click Edit Site. The closer the template is to your vision, the less editing you will need to do.

Once inside the Wix editor, you will find a left-side control panel for adding elements and pages, and a top bar for switching between pages and toggling desktop versus mobile view.

Clicking on any text element opens familiar styling controls for font, size, bold, italic, and color—similar to Word or PowerPoint. To change global typography across the entire site, go to Site Design and switch the font family there. For instance, swapping a light font variant (such as Futura Light) for a standard weight (Futura) improves readability on mobile and tablet screens.

The editor is drag-and-drop, so you can reposition any element freely. One important rule: keep all content between the two visible border guides. Anything placed in the gray outer areas may not display correctly on mobile devices.

To replace a background or section image, click on it and select Change Background, then choose Image. From there you can:

• Upload files directly from your computer
• Browse Wix's built-in media library
• Search Unsplash, which is integrated as a free stock photo source

For most personal or business sites, uploading your own portrait or brand photography creates a stronger, more authentic impression than stock images.

Click Add Elements in the left panel to access every available component. Key elements include:

• Text — headlines, subheadings, and paragraphs
• Images — single images or galleries
• Buttons — with links to internal pages, external URLs, or downloadable documents
• Video — embed a YouTube video by pasting its URL after dragging the video element onto the canvas

When adding a button, always set its link destination. Options include any page on your site (such as a booking calendar), an external URL (such as a YouTube channel or Instagram profile), or a downloadable file.

To add a YouTube video to a section, delete the existing placeholder content, drag a video element from the panel onto the page between the border guides, click Change Video, and paste the YouTube URL.

To insert a new section between existing ones, click the + icon that appears between sections and select Add a Section. Wix offers pre-built section templates, including:

• Contact forms with an embedded map
• Team member sections with photos, names, roles, and social links
• Service showcases
• Testimonials

For team sections, you can upload individual photos, fill in names and descriptions, and link social profiles such as Facebook or LinkedIn directly from that element.

To add a completely new page, open the Pages & Menu panel and click Add a New Page. Wix provides page templates organized by type—contact, about, services, portfolio, and more. Select a layout, click Add, and Wix builds the page structure for you. You can also hide pages from the navigation menu if you want to keep them off the main nav while still working on them.

For a deeper look at the contact page setup, you can embed a Google Maps element, type in your address, and choose a map style. Resize the map by dragging its edges so visitors can clearly see your location.

The Wix App Market lets you add functional layers beyond basic page building. Click Add Apps in the editor to browse available tools. Under Wix Business Solutions, you will find first-party apps that are free to install:

All these apps install at no additional cost and integrate directly with your dashboard. If the AI set up your site based on your business type, some of these apps may already be installed. You can manage services, set prices, configure appointment durations, and publish offerings directly from the Wix Bookings dashboard.

Before going live, click Preview in the top bar to test your site as a visitor would see it. Check that buttons navigate to the correct pages, images load properly, and the layout looks clean on both desktop and mobile.

When you are satisfied, click Publish. Your site will go live. If you have already connected a custom domain, visitors will reach your site at that address. If not, you can connect the domain through the dashboard at any time.

For more guidance on getting started without spending money, see the step-by-step guide to building a free Wix website. If you are specifically building a portfolio, the free Wix portfolio website guide covers that workflow in detail. You can also read the Wix Review 2026 for an in-depth look at its strengths and limitations.

Wix is a capable, beginner-friendly website builder that handles the full workflow—from domain setup and visual design to bookings and e-commerce—without requiring any code. The drag-and-drop editor is approachable, the template library is extensive, and the built-in App Market adds meaningful functionality at no extra install cost.

The AI design feature is not yet reliable enough to replace manual template selection, but the AI assistant during account setup is genuinely useful for pre-configuring the right apps. For most new users, the Core plan is the right starting point, especially when a discount is available during the first few days after sign-up.

Ready to get started? Try Wix for free and follow the steps above to have your site live today.