We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

Wix website price hike

I am a retired nurse who makes jam for a hobby. I was persuaded by friends to sell it and now have a very small successful business. I sell to local shops and cafes and via an honesty stall. I also have a website as I was contacted  by tourists asking  if they could buy more after they’ve gone home. I have 10-20 online orders per year. 

My website is hosted by Wix and I was very proud of the fact I managed to set it up by myself with a lot of sweat and tears! 

I have been paying £266 every 2 years. 
It is due for renewal in the new year and they have today informed me the renewal price is £604. 
I can’t afford this. I don’t sell enough to cover the cost - nor do I want to ‘grow my business’. I’m at capacity making all I can in my kitchen at home. 
I’m disappointed to give up the website, but cannot justify the cost for what is essentially a hobby. 
I’m sure Wix has introduced bells and whistles to the site in the forever upgrades, but I don’t use or understand any of it. 
I have cancelled the automatic renewal today. I would have phoned them to discuss it but cannot find a phone number and I’m not in the mood to go through yet another bot conversation. 

Have others had similar price hikes with Wix? 
Are they trying to get rid of very small businesses? 
«1

Comments

  • Hoenir
    Hoenir Posts: 5,636 Forumite
    1,000 Posts First Anniversary Name Dropper
    Is that £604 for 2 years ? 
  • Petriix
    Petriix Posts: 2,255 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Sumup do a free online shop. I suggest rebuilding it there. Wix are a ripoff.
  • Hoenir said:
    Is that £604 for 2 years ? 
    Yes. £604 for 2 years. So £302 per year. 
    Previously £266 for 2 years so £133 per year. 

    I was expecting an increase but not of that magnitude. 

  • Petriix said:
    Sumup do a free online shop. I suggest rebuilding it there. Wix are a ripoff.
    Thanks. 
    I don’t think I have the wherewithal to rebuild it. It was such hard work before. I don’t think I could go through that again. I’m not in the slightest tech savvy and it took me ages. 
  • Savvy_Sue
    Savvy_Sue Posts: 46,903 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Would it be worth looking for a keen teenager to do the hard work for you?
    Signature removed for peace of mind
  • pramsay13
    pramsay13 Posts: 2,084 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    You can't have it both ways, either you use a free one (with advertising) and learn to do it yourself using online tutorials or videos etc, or pay someone to do it for you. 
    Or don't bother with a website but just have social media pages and use paypal or bank transfer for payments. 
  • I phoned Wix and they gave me two options. 
    I can either downgrade the plan and pay £400. (I thought I was already on the lowest one that accepts payments, but apparently not)
    or I can keep my existing plan and receive a 50% discount - so paying £302! 

    Obviously I have accepted the second option. And learned a lesson. They are just like insurance companies and hope that most people just pay up because they don’t notice or can’t be bothered to challenge it. 

    As I make ‘traditional’ or old fashioned jams and marmalades much of my customer base are older people. Although I do post on Social Media many of my customers simply don’t use it. I personally have never made a purchase through a Social Media advert and would not encourage others to do so. I also found some customers don’t have or use PayPal so I have an additional payment method , Stripe also available. 

    My website was set up initially for a lady in her 90s, living 400 miles from me to purchase Rhubarb and Ginger jam. She’d been given a jar by her daughter who had been a tourist in my village. 

    Anyway my website now lives on for another 2 years. After that I will probably give it up. 
  • cannugec5 said:
    Petriix said:
    Sumup do a free online shop. I suggest rebuilding it there. Wix are a ripoff.
    Thanks. 
    I don’t think I have the wherewithal to rebuild it. It was such hard work before. I don’t think I could go through that again. I’m not in the slightest tech savvy and it took me ages. 
    Do you know anyone, teenager relatives, who would do it for a bit of money?
  • You can get web hosting for £5 a month! 

    Ask someone for help. It's not overly difficult for those with the knowledge. It would take 1 hour max. 
  • cannugec5 said:
    I am a retired nurse who makes jam for a hobby. I was persuaded by friends to sell it and now have a very small successful business. I sell to local shops and cafes and via an honesty stall. I also have a website as I was contacted  by tourists asking  if they could buy more after they’ve gone home. I have 10-20 online orders per year. 

    My website is hosted by Wix and I was very proud of the fact I managed to set it up by myself with a lot of sweat and tears! 

    I have been paying £266 every 2 years. 
    It is due for renewal in the new year and they have today informed me the renewal price is £604. 
    I can’t afford this. I don’t sell enough to cover the cost - nor do I want to ‘grow my business’. I’m at capacity making all I can in my kitchen at home. 
    I’m disappointed to give up the website, but cannot justify the cost for what is essentially a hobby. 
    I’m sure Wix has introduced bells and whistles to the site in the forever upgrades, but I don’t use or understand any of it. 
    I have cancelled the automatic renewal today. I would have phoned them to discuss it but cannot find a phone number and I’m not in the mood to go through yet another bot conversation. 

    Have others had similar price hikes with Wix? 
    Are they trying to get rid of very small businesses? 
    I heard that a lot of people are facing this problem now. I have been using Bowwe for a long time, I highly recommend it, because they do not raise prices and the quality is excellent
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 348.3K Banking & Borrowing
  • 252.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 452.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 240.8K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 617.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 175.6K Life & Family
  • 254K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.