Wix Stores vs. Storenvy

When it comes to ease-of-use, there are two sides to Wix.

Updating your product catalog, managing orders, and running email marketing campaigns through the central dashboard is straightforward.

The star of the show, however, is the Wix website editor. Users can make a myriad of changes to their site’s look-and-feel (along with individual pages)via a wide array of customization features.

The only issue is the sheer number of features. There’s a lot! So while Wix’s editor is intuitive and easy-to-use once you’ve wrapped your head around the feature-set, there is a small learning curve initially.

“Great website builder! I think a lot of people writing reviews are inexperienced and haven't put the time into learning how to use Wix extensively and as a result I see a lot of frustration.” Tobi

“I love Wix! I’ve never once had a problem with Wix. The SEO has improved over the years and the ease of duplicating and creating new pages is unbeatable. The mobile response is fantastic.

“It is the easiest, most equipped, most high quality website builder ever. I asked for customer support's help three times and have always received an answer within 24 hours (in English).”

Storenvy is one of the easiest-to-use solutions we’ve reviewed. People with little design and technical experience will find it particularly appealing. It’s a browser-based solution and a central dashboard provides access to various areas for managing store operations, including orders, marketing, marketplace listings, storefront design, and so on. The website builder - which allows for limited CSS and HTML changes - is also very intuitive.

The initial set-up can be a little complicated, but overall we found that managing day-to-day tasks was straightforward.

"Storenvy is super customizable and I really appreciate that. Etsy is bigger and a bit more well known, though."

"I've been on Storenvy for awhile now and it's pretty simple."

"I like Storenvy! It's free to make a store and list stuff, but they take a processing fee."

Few other website builders on the market offer the same level of design flexibility as Wix. For retailers that want a high level of design freedom without the need to interact with any code, Wix is a no-brainer. Because of the broad feature-set, retailers can control the branding and look-and-feel of their store to a very precise level.

All of that said, Wix isn’t limited to “non-developers”. Code-savvy webmasters can make deeper backend changes and take advantage of a powerful set of APIs. So the platform isn’t just limited to people without coding experience.

Users also have access to a library of nearly 100 free templates.

Storenvy has a website builder along with an HTML and CSS editor. Users with coding experience can make virtually any changes they want. Non-technical users, on the other hand, have more limited control over their storefront. Using only the site-builder, it’s possible to change colors, text, banners, background images, and certain parts of the layout. Retailers have access to a range of themes, some of which have an extra charge (usually around thirty dollars). It’s also possible to purchase a custom domain name for your store.

While the design features aren’t out of this world, they’re very easy to use and among the best we’ve seen for an independent store that’s coupled with a third-party marketplace.

Wix is very competitive on price. The basic plan costs $20/month and includes access to the online store builder, shopping cart with multiple shipping rules, multichannel sales, and Wix payment gateway.

Wix also offers a handful of sweeteners, including a free domain (for one year), ad credit, and professional logo design.

The whole ecommerce feature set is available on all plans. The more expensive plans - “Business Unlimited” and “Business VIP” - provide extra storage and (in the case of the VIP option) first-in-line customer support. If you need more than 50GB of storage, you’ll have to speak to Wix directly.

Storenvy provides very good value for money, especially when compared to other ecommerce platforms, which can run up to hundreds of dollars.

There are three plans available. “Hobbyist” is free and allows for up to 1000 listings. “Plus” is $14.99/month and has additional features like discounts. “Pro” is $29.99/month and includes automation tools.

Payments are handled via either Stripe or Paypal, and associated fees apply. There are no additional fees for products sold through your store. If an item is sold via a listing on the marketplace, you will be charged 15% of the final sale price (which includes shipping).

Retailers can also opt in to the “Managed Marketing” scheme. If you decide to do this, Storenvy will advertise products on your behalf on sites like Facebook and Google, taking 25% of each sale.

While the quality of support provided by Wix is generally excellent, users only have the option of submitting a support ticket or requesting a callback. No live chat options are available.

English-language support is available 24/7 and support is also offered in a limited number of foreign languages during business hours.

VIP support, which essentially pushes you to the front of the line, is available on the Business VIP plan.

Customer service for sellers is a bit of a mixed bag on Storenvy. Technical support is via email or the contact form. There is no phone or live-chat assistance. What’s more, it can take up to twenty-four hours to receive a response. There are no premium support packages on the paid plans.

Reviews online of individuals who have interacted with the support team are mixed, with many citing poor experiences. That said, it’s important to remember that the majority of online reviews are from customers (not fellow sellers) and independent store-owners are often responsible for handling issues, so Storenvy isn’t always to blame.

Retailers also have access to extensive documentation and a Facebook community group.

One of the big positives about Wix is that it provides all necessary core ecommerce features, including multichannel selling and shipping rules, on all of its plans. You don’t need to sign up to the most expensive package to get the functionality you need.

What’s more, many secondary features are offered. Related product listings, cart abandonment emails, and access to Modalyst dropshipping (to add extra products to your store) are available to all users.

But the standout feature is the drag-and-drop website builder. While there is a slight learning curve, this powerful tool enables you to customize your store without any previous coding experience.

So if you’re looking for a comprehensive solution with a high degree of design freedom, Wix is the way to go.

We think that Storenvy is one of the best solutions available to small independent sellers. It combines all the benefits of a fully independent store with access to an active marketplace. What’s more, additional services like “Managed Marketing” (Storenvy will market your products through third-party sites like Facebook) can be immensely useful to retailers without much advertising experience. It also has an excellent free plan and a fair, transparent pricing structure.

Larger retailers will find it insufficient for their needs and a more feature-rich platform like Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, etc. will be preferable. That said, there are still opportunities for these retailers to take advantage of the marketplace.