About Developing Websites

Developing websites on Wix offers a unique blend of flexibility, ease-of-use, and powerful features. Whether you're a seasoned developer or just starting, Wix provides the tools and technologies needed to craft visually appealing and fully-functional dynamic web applications tailored to your specific needs. This introduction explores the capabilities and benefits of using Wix for website development and what you can expect on your journey as a Wix developer.

Why develop on Wix

Developing a website on Wix provides numerous advantages that streamline the development process and offer extensive customization options.

The following are some of the reasons to develop websites on Wix:

  • Integration with the Wix editor: Wix offers powerful, user-friendly editors that allow you or a designer to design and customize the look and feel of your site with ease. As a developer, you can seamlessly integrate your code with the UI created in the editor to enhance and extend its capabilities.
  • Zero-setup backend: Every Wix site comes with access to a serverless Node.js backend environment that requires no setup. By handling infrastructure, hosting, and scaling for you, Wix lets you concentrate on what matters most—building your code.
  • Wix CMS: Wix's built-in CMS provides a powerful and scalable solution for managing your site's content, complete with robust data APIs that allow you to easily organize, store, and retrieve your data.
  • Wix business solutions: Wix offers a range of business solutions, such as eCommerce, booking systems, and email marketing tools. As a developer, you can leverage these built-in solutions and enhance their functionality with custom code to meet your specific business requirements and provide a tailored experience for your users.
  • 3rd-party integrations: Wix makes it easy to integrate with 3rd-party services and APIs. This flexibility allows you to expand the capabilities of your website by connecting it to external tools and platforms.
  • Developer tools: Wix provides you with a robust suite of tools designed to enhance efficiency, productivity, and security. These features ensure that you can build, manage, and deploy advanced web applications quickly and confidently.

What you can build on Wix

With Wix, you can build a wide variety of functionality into your sites, such as:

  • Interactive UI: Build dynamic, interactive user interfaces.
  • Data-driven content: Utilize data APIs to manage and display CMS content dynamically.
  • 3rd-party integrations: Integrate with 3rd-party payment providers or customize the built-in checkout process to cater to your specific business needs.

Technologies

Wix is built with industry-standard technologies, tailored to fit our platform. This ensures that you can leverage your existing skills to efficiently create and manage dynamic web applications.

The following are some of the technologies Wix uses:

  • JavaScript: When developing a site with Wix, you write both frontend and backend code in JavaScript, calling Wix's JavaScript APIs to incorporate interactive and dynamic functionality.
  • Node.js: Wix provides a robust Node.js environment for running your backend code..
  • MongoDB: Wix uses MongoDB as the database for its CMS system, offering a flexible and scalable solution for managing and storing content.

Developer journey

Are you ready to start your development journey with Wix? Here’s what to expect at each stage of the development process, from a blank canvas to a fully functioning site.

Get started

Begin your journey by getting familiar with the Wix ecosystem and its versatile developer tools. Explore the extensive range of APIs to see how you can enhance your site's capabilities. Consider potential 3rd-party integrations that might complement your development. Take some time to review best practices and any limitations to ensure a smooth development process.

Code

With a solid understanding of Wix and its tools, it's time to start coding. Utilize one or more of the Wix development environments to write, manage, and debug your code. Develop both the frontend and backend to deliver a fully-functional site with an inviting user experience. Remember to integrate the best practices you reviewed earlier, ensuring your code is clean, maintainable, and performant.

Test

While coding, it's crucial to preview and thoroughly test your site to ensure everything functions as intended. Use the built-in tools to test your code in isolation and as a whole. Create test sites to experiment without affecting your live site. Utilize logs to monitor and debug any issues.

Publish

Once you’ve thoroughly tested your site and ensured it’s functioning as intended, it's time to deploy it. Use the editor or the Wix CLI to publish your site.

Maintain

After your site is live, it's important to maintain it to ensure continued smooth operation. Regularly monitor your site using logs and the monitoring dashboard to keep track of performance and to keep tabs on your resource usage. Consider upgrading your premium plan if necessary to scale your site effectively and avoid hitting any plan limitations.

What’s next

Did this help?