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Global vision: Avishai Abrahami is chief executive and co-founder of Wix – it has helped 130m people globally become digital entrepreneurs
Creating a sleek, professional-looking website with extra features like shopping carts, videos and chatbots is usually beyond the skill-set of most small business entrepreneurs.
Instead, they often end up using their own time to design basic websites or hire professional developers, which can set them back thousands of pounds.
However, leading development platform Wix is offering a solution with through its ‘one stop shop’ builder Ascend, which launched last month.
It claims Ascend will cut the need to hire expensive designers, search engine optimisation experts and developers.
With many possibly tempted into creating a new business website this year – or refreshing a current one, the tool could be a good solution.
In an exclusive interview with This is Money prior to the launch in New York, Avishai Abrahami, co-founder and chief executive of Wix explained that through Ascend, the company is going beyond website building to help businesses drive customers to their websites, increasing engagement with products or services on offer.
Abrahami says: ‘Ascend has a complete suite of marketing solutions and we have integrated 20 different products into a “one stop shop”.
‘The focus is on converting visitors to drive the business forward and encourage customers to make purchases.’
Wix has enabled around 130million people globally to become entrepreneurs through being able to easily build their own website for free.
Ascend is available as an additional subscription for Wix customers with three monthly pricing options, starting with Basic at $10 (£7.88), Professional $24 (£18.92) and Unlimited at $49 (£38.63).
Ascent is available as an additional subscription with the Basic package starting from $10
Abrahami claims that Ascend’s price packages are worth the investment, highlighting buying the right plug-ins, running online marketing campaigns and hiring SEO experts would cost businesses more.
Abrahami says: ‘The data shows that our products are delivering real results to our customers and their success is what drives us.
‘We have packaged these products within Ascend to be comprehensive, automated, and seamlessly engineered directly from the Wix platform.’
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What does Ascend offer?
Abrahami explains that Ascend is a major upgrade from previous Wix offerings and that it has many features that differentiate it from the competition.
He points out that with the likes of WordPress, entrepreneurs have to subscribe to multiple plug-ins (a software component that adds features like shopping carts and other tools to websites) to get the exact same result.
He explains: ‘You have to get one plug-in for email marketing and another to push your videos on Instagram and they don’t talk to each other.
‘They look different and act differently. It will be twenty times the effort and you won’t have the comfort of integration.’
Essentially, Ascend offers a solution to those who are less savvy when it comes to marketing and attracting customers – a hard feat when you’re not only fighting competitors but trying to understand the machinations surrounding Google’s ranking system.
For example, expert seo montreal is a bugbear for most entrepreneurs because they find it intimidating, time-consuming and the learning curve steep.
Many have forged out a career in SEO optimisation but, again, accessing such experts can be expensive.
Abrahami maintains that Wix’s Ascend makes hiring SEO experts an obsolete exercise.
According to Wix, 70% of its websites make it to the front page of Google through use of its SEO Wiz tool
He points to a competition that Wix initiated in 2016 where the company pitted itself against 1,000 SEO experts and offered $50,000 prize. Only two managed to beat Wix.
Abrahami says: ‘We are now working with one of them, but think about it – 998 SEO experts trying to earn $50,000 lost to a Wix website – that’s incredible. And since then, we’ve got better.
‘With us you will be indexed in a few seconds rather than having to wait for the normal two weeks.
‘Our SEO Wiz tool does everything for you and 70 per cent of Wix customers have made it to the first page of Google.
Wix’s Ascend offers many ways in which entrepreneurs can market their businesses
‘With the other 30 per cent obviously Google has to rank how they want and it’s very hard to get to first place.
‘If you want the number one spot for your online gambling website it can be quite tricky as you’re going against an army.’
Another main benefit to Wix is that it enables entrepreneurs to carry on with their day-to-day tasks such as attending meetings and conferences while liaising with their customers remotely.
If they are unable to talk to clients, Ascend’s chat tool enables them to respond to queries through automated responses.
According to Wix, entrepreneurs can boost repeat visits by 278 per cent through the use of the chat tool.
Ascend’s video maker also cuts out the need to hire professionals to create videos to explain or market products and services.
There’s no need to hire studios or get creative with lighting.
Abrahami says: ‘Ascend allows you to make videos in three steps as we have sophisticated artificial intelligence that uses your images to create video.’
Does Ascend provide a solution to everything?
Not all 20 tools are currently available. Matt Rosenberg Wix’s spokesperson explains that some tools will be introduced shortly, that have not yet been revealed.
He adds: ‘It includes products that were built to expand the integration between Wix vertical products and Ascend.
‘For example, the quick response keyboard which allows a business owner to quickly send a product from their inventory over chat.’
Not all 20 products were launched simultaneously when Wix announced the introduction of Ascend.
If you already have an established website on another platform with loads of content, calculators and other tools Abrahami admits that switching to Wix with a very ‘sophisticated system’ may be harder.
But it’s something that Wix is working on and Abrahami points out that, in most instances, switching is easy and websites are converted in a few days.
Abrahami adds that for super professionals there are things that Wix’s Ascend may not offer, such as advanced campaigns but that it suffices for the average business owner’s needs.
He points out that for more complex needs or coding that’s beyond a business owner’s knowledge there’s always the ability to tap into Wix’s Arena, which enables entrepreneurs to hire designers, coders and other professionals from around the world.
Avishai Abrahami, co-founder and CEO of Wix (right) at the launch of Ascend in New York
Website design of the future
Abrahami warns entrepreneurs that website design will only become more complex in the future, pointing to the way in which they have evolved since the 90s.
‘In 1997 websites were very basic – it was a page and maybe an image. In 2004, we started to see galleries and music and a few years later we started to see that people could transact on sites – you could buy things and talk to people.
‘Now websites have to be responsive and we have more automatic ways of communicating.’
Abrahami adds that virtual reality will be the way forward. ‘Websites will need to offer a VR type of service so that people can examine merchandise and have a gallery where customers can move around rooms.
‘As time passes this is how the majority will operate.’
How we used Wix to boost our businesses
This is Money interviewed three business owners about their use and experience of the Wix development platform.
Hila Rawet Karni is the owner of London-based Industrial Jewellery and has been loyal to Wix for ten years
Hila Rawet Karni is the owner of London-based Industrial Jewellery and creates her own original modern jewellery.
‘I’ve been going for ten years and started with beta version of Wix ten years ago.
‘Every time I think it’s not right for me they find a solution and I stay loyal. They are very responsive.
‘A lot of the stuff I have used before but didn’t have the features and used the beta version.
‘I’ve used chat before and email marketing but it’s now very different and it makes a difference.
‘Chat now integrates with my phone so I can chat through my phone.
‘The conversation is quite seamless, and I can choose a product in the chat that links to the website.
‘They have gone ahead and made the features better. For me the one thing I haven’t used and this morning am trying to figure being able to see the historical data of my clients.
Matt Gardner is the owner of the Hearts & Tears website, which offers vintage motorcycle tours through Nepal
‘Usually CRM software is very expensive and having it all on Wix is quite a big upgrade.’
Matt Gardner is the owner of the Hearts & Tears website, which offers vintage motorcycle tours through Nepal:
‘I’ve been using Wix for three years from 2014. I transferred my domain and it wasn’t too complicated.
‘I managed to do it myself within about 48 hours despite not being a “tech guy”.
‘I’m looking forward to using Ascend’s new tools including the new inbox and take advantage of being able to send out invoices and the talking services all from one centralised location.
Jenn Nicken founder of The Chef & The Dish, which offers private cooking classes with top chefs from around the world:
Jenn Nicken, owner of The Chef & The Dish
‘The chat function has become a powerful tool that allows us to engage with web visitors in a meaningful conversation.
‘As a globally unique business, the chat feature allows us to quickly convey what we do, and answer questions potential clients have about how our experience works.
‘During that conversation, we can connect them to classes that are of their culinary interest, or dietary needs.
‘We can automatically provide first-time clients a discount code, and store that information in their member profile.
‘All in all, it allows us to provide great and personalised service to make their experience even more enjoyable.’
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