Wix vs Google Sites: What Sets Them Apart in [2024]?

Wix and Google Sites offer free, easy-to-use website builders but differ in features, templates, and customization options. I tested both platforms extensively, and here’s what I found.

Google Sites’ user-friendliness makes it ideal for simple, collaborative projects like internal team sites or educational portfolios. Using it with a Google Workspace account allows you to unlock project management tools and more collaboration features – perfect for group work. However, its design options are limited to basic templates, with few customization options available.

On the other hand, Wix supports businesses and creators looking for creative freedom. It offers hundreds of templates, robust SEO tools, and advanced features like animations and video backgrounds. While the interface may require a slight learning curve, it delivers superior control for e-commerce and professional branding.

I prefer Wix for its flexibility, but keep reading to see if Google Sites’ simplicity meets your needs and which platform is better for e-commerce and search engine optimization (SEO).

Templates

Wix Beats Google Sites Both in Quality and Quantity

Wix offers over 800 free templates across 18 categories, providing a wealth of design options at no cost. In comparison, Google Sites includes only 17 free templates. While these templates are functional and easy to use, they lack the visual variety and advanced customization of Wix’s offerings.

It’s worth noting that Google Sites provides access to premium template options through third-party providers like Kirksville Web Design, expanding its design potential if you’re willing to invest in paid templates. Still, each template in Wix’s massive selection stands out for its expert design. The selection covers various styles, from minimalist and elegant options for professional websites to fun offerings for creatives.

Fully customizable with a gridless drag-and-drop editor, Wix’s templates allow you to place elements exactly where you want, so you can easily design unique websites. However, the gridless structure can make it challenging to maintain consistent alignment and spacing, especially for beginners.

Google Sites takes a different approach with a grid-based, point-and-click editor. This structured layout automatically aligns elements for a clean, uniform appearance, making it simpler to create professional-looking designs. However, this ease of use comes at the cost of creative freedom, as you’re limited to predefined layout structures and positioning.

If you prioritize creative freedom and don’t mind refining details, Wix is the better choice. For those seeking simplicity and straightforward alignment, Google Sites offers an easier, albeit more restricted, option​.

Features and Ease of Use

Google Sites Is as Easy as It Gets, but Wix Comes With Far Better Features

Building a website using Google Sites takes a few minutes. Thanks to its simple interface and intuitive editor, you can get a presentable site in the time it takes for your coffee to brew. However, like other Google products, Google Sites sacrifices expanded functionality for ease of use.

Though you get some handy Google product integrations, Google Sites’ features pretty much begin and end with adding headlines, images, and text boxes. It’s ideal for super simple sites, like a classroom information page for teachers, a centralized page for game nights with friends, or a digital space to host your resume. However, if you need extra tools for e-commerce and SEO, Wix is the better option.

For storage, Google Sites provides 100 MB per site on its free plan. While this may suffice for small projects, it can feel restrictive for media-heavy sites. If you upgrade to a Google Workspace plan, you’ll enjoy 30 GB to 5 TB of storage per user, significantly enhancing flexibility for larger teams or more resource-intensive websites.

On the other hand, Wix offers 500 MB of storage on its free plan. This larger allocation per free site allows for the storage of more images, videos, and other content without requiring an upgrade.

Apps & Add-Ons

Google Sites Integrates With Google Products, but Wix Offers Hundreds of Apps

One of Google Sites’ greatest features is its seamless integration with other Google products. You can directly add YouTube videos and Sheets files and even integrate your Google Calendar into your website. It’s a straightforward way to create a cohesive digital workspace, especially if you’re already a Google enthusiast.

While Google Sites works well for personal projects, it becomes even more powerful for small businesses when paired with a Google Workspace account. This allows you to create an internal company website with extra features like appointment scheduling via Google Calendar. With Google Workspace’s granular user management and security controls, you can manage who can access and edit your site.

However, Wix decidedly takes the win in this category, too. It offers hundreds of proprietary and third-party integrations. Wix provides suitable alternatives to nearly every product in Google Workspace (there are apps for calendar, document, and spreadsheet sharing). Beyond that, Wix’s app market lets you integrate custom RSS feeds into your site, edit images and videos, localize your site for different regions, and much more.

Blogging

Wix Has Comprehensive Blogging Tools – Google Sites Falls Short

Wix outshines Google Sites by offering a dedicated Wix Blog app, so you can personalize your blog’s layout to align with your website’s style, organize your posts, and create categories for easy navigation.

The app comes with features like tags, comment management, and social sharing tools. You can also integrate monetization elements such as subscription forms or ads, which are perfect for content creators and businesses. Plus, if you already have content on WordPress, you can easily import those posts into your Wix blog.

On the other hand, Google Sites lacks a true blogging feature. While you can create pages for updates or articles, it doesn’t have an RSS feed, post categorization, or automated post archiving. This makes it more suitable for static content than dynamic blogging needs. If regular updates and audience interaction are important to you, Wix offers more robust and user-friendly blogging tools.

E-Commerce

Wix Comes With Rich E-commerce Tools, Which Google Sites Lacks

If selling online is your priority, Wix is the clear choice for e-commerce compared to Google Sites. Wix offers an all-in-one e-commerce platform that allows you to customize product options, add shipping options, sell on other sales channels (e.g., Amazon), and connect to Wix Point-of-Sale (POS) hardware. You can manage discounts, abandoned carts, and inventory directly, making it ideal for businesses scaling online operations.

Google Sites, on the other hand, lacks native e-commerce capabilities. It relies on embedding code from online shop platforms like Shopify or Ecwid, which require extra setup and sometimes technical expertise. While this provides flexibility for basic stores, it falls short for dynamic e-commerce needs. Wix clearly wins here.

Marketing

Wix Gives You Built-in Tools and Apps to Make Yourself Known Online

Regarding marketing tools, Wix does better than Google Sites with its robust built-in features and app integrations. It provides a dedicated email marketing suite, allowing you to send up to 200 emails for free monthly, with additional options via its email marketing plans. Wix also includes social media marketing tools and apps for integrating marketing platforms like Mailchimp and HubSpot for streamlined campaigns.

Google Sites leans heavily on integration with Google Workspace. While it doesn’t offer standalone email marketing tools like Wix, you can go to Google Workspace Marketplace to access marketing and analytics apps such as newsletter and social media management tools. For comprehensive marketing, Wix is the better choice.

SEO

You Get Advanced SEO Tools With Wix, While Google Sites Offers the Basics

Google Sites offers basic SEO capabilities, such as the ability to customize page titles, image alt tags, and URLs. It also integrates with Google Analytics, which makes tracking performance straightforward. However, it lacks advanced SEO tools, such as generating or uploading XML sitemaps for Google Search Console. This means your site’s indexing process is less optimized than platforms that automate sitemap submissions​.

Wix offers tools to fine-tune your site’s SEO as much as you want. With Wix, you can edit the metadata properties of almost every element on your site and even get personalized recommendations to improve traffic.

Even if you ever feel limited, plenty of great SEO apps on the Wix app store will help you improve your search engine rankings even further. Plus, Wix’s SEO Setup Checklist guides you step-by-step in optimizing your site for search engines, offering keyword recommendations and best practices tailored to your content.

Pricing

Wix Offers Advanced Functionality and a Wide Range of Pricing Options

Both Wix and Google Sites give you complete access to their respective editors for free, but Wix gives you much more editing freedom. When you’re ready to take your site to the next level, Wix offers paid plans that expand the platform’s functionality. Google Sites requires you to pay for a Google Workspace plan for better Google Sites security, 24/7 support, backup, and project management tools.

Here’s What You Get for Free

You can access all of Google Sites’ features for free with a Google account. Complete access to Wix’s extensive editing features is also free. Neither includes a free domain in hosting. If you want to connect a custom domain, you need to purchase one from a third-party marketplace (with Google Sites) or upgrade to a paid plan and connect a custom domain (with Wix).

Here’s What You Get If You Pay

Besides its free plan, Wix also offers four paid plans that give you access to a broader selection of features. Light lets you connect a custom domain to your site and removes all Wix advertising. Core gives you access to visitor analytics and increases the available storage space.

Business and Business Elite offer advanced e-commerce features to help you create and run any online business. These features include shopping carts, inventory tracking, integrations with various payment processors, scheduling tools, and more.

Upgrading to a paid Google Workspace account enhances Google Sites with premium support, video conferencing, and the ability to create threads for sharing files and managing tasks through Google Chat. These upgrades make it a powerful tool for creating intranet sites, project hubs, and team portals. Take a look at the comparison table below for more details.

Support

Wix Offers More Ways To Contact Support for All Users

Google Sites offers several options for support, but not much is available if you don’t sign up for a paid Google Workspace plan. For immediate help, it provides a pretty comprehensive set of support documents and a lively community forum for free.

At the same time, you can submit feedback directly from the site editor to help improve the platform. But if you’re a Google Workspace customer, you benefit from premium support, including 24/7 live chat, email, and phone assistance.

Though Wix’s support has room to improve, it at least offers something for all users. Besides a helpful knowledge base and comprehensive forums, Wix also provides chatbot, live chat, and email support. Plus, it has callback services in English (24/7) and other languages.

Although the responses aren’t always immediate, you can contact Wix directly with any doubts about your site, which is more than I can say for Google Sites – unless you pay for Google Workspace.

Google Sites Keeps Things Simple, but Wix Shines for Professional Websites

Google Sites and Wix cater to different needs. Thanks to its simplicity, integration with Google Workspace, and collaborative features, Google Sites is best for creating simple websites, such as portfolios or intranet pages. It’s quick to set up and works well for beginners or internal use cases.

Wix, on the other hand, excels when you need creative control and advanced functionality. Its drag-and-drop editor, rich template library, and features like SEO, blogging, and e-commerce tools make it better suited for professional websites and online stores. Both platforms offer free plans, but Wix’s tools and advanced features make it a better choice if you’re serious about building a professional site.

Below, you’ll find a quick comparison of how the two builders stack up against each other.

FAQ

Is Wix better than Google Sites?

Wix is better if you need advanced SEO tools, customizable templates, and built-in blogging and e-commerce. Unlike Google Sites, it automatically submits sitemaps to Google Search Console and allows full control over meta tags. Google Sites lacks these capabilities and is better suited for static informational websites or internal team hubs.

Which is easier to use, Google Sites or Wix?

Google Sites is much easier to use, thanks to its point-and-click editor that organizes elements on a grid, making it ideal for beginners. While slightly more complex, Wix offers a gridless drag-and-drop editor, allowing you to place elements anywhere for greater creative freedom.

Is Google Sites good for my business website?

Google Sites is a good option if you need straightforward website templates and collaborative website creation tools for portfolios or internal company websites. It’s especially effective when paired with a Google Workspace subscription, which unlocks features like increased storage and project management.

What’s the best website builder in 2024?

The best website builder in 2024 depends on your specific needs. A high-budget online store with complex requirements will need more than just a simple professional portfolio. For tailored recommendations, check out our updated list of the best website builders in 2024.