About Editor Extensions

Editor extensions, also called editor add-ons, extend the Wix editors by adding a dedicated panel to the Tools menu. The panel can offer design tools, content generators, accessibility helpers, and other features that improve the site-building experience. Site owners install an editor extension from the Wix App Market or from the Tools menu in the editor, and then access it from the same Tools menu while building their site.

The add-on panel

Editor extensions deliver their functionality through a panel in the editor. The panel is rendered as an iframe, so you can build and deploy it with any tools or frameworks you choose. The iframe loads HTML you host on your own server, with the URL configured in the App Dashboard when you set up the extension.

The panel can call Wix APIs to read site data and interact with editor elements. The Editor API currently exposes a narrow surface for editor-element interaction, including getting and setting text element content and getting and setting image element sources. The rest of the Wix platform APIs are available for backend and business-solution work from inside the panel.

Editor extensions vs. other extension types

Editor extensions are different from site widgets and dashboard extensions in what they extend.

• Editor extensions: Add tools to the editing experience itself. They run inside the editor for the site owner while they're building or editing the site, and they don't appear on the published site or in the live dashboard.
• Site widgets and other site extensions: Appear on the published site for visitors.
• Dashboard extensions: Appear in the Wix dashboard for the site owner and collaborators managing the business.

The extension type to pick depends on who needs to see and use the feature, the editor (editor extension), site visitors (site widget or other site extension), or the dashboard user (dashboard extension).

Editor extensions across development paths

Editor extensions can only be authored as a self-hosted iframe. Sites receive them by installing an app, and Wix-managed apps must include a self-managed component to ship one:

• Sites receive editor extensions by installing an app from the Wix App Market that includes one.
• Wix-managed headless projects: Don't support editor extensions. Headless projects have no Wix editor.
• Self-managed headless projects: Don't support editor extensions. Headless projects have no Wix editor.
• Wix-managed apps can't author editor extensions through the Wix CLI. To ship one as part of your app, include a self-managed component for the editor extension.
• Self-managed apps author editor extensions directly as a self-hosted iframe. You host the panel's HTML on your own server and configure the URL in the App Dashboard. For implementation, see Add a Self-Hosted Editor Add-on Extension in Build Apps.
• Blocks apps don't support editor extensions.

See also

• About Editor Add-on Extensions in Build Apps.
• Tutorial: Create an Editor Add-on that Imports Icons from a Library in Build Apps.