Wix rolls out tool for building apps without any coding

New product complements company’s drag-and-drop website builder, other web development services

Luke Tress is a JTA reporter and a former editor and reporter in New York for The Times of Israel.

Illustrative image of a Wix-made app. (Courtesy/Wix)
Illustrative image of a Wix-made app. (Courtesy/Wix)

Israeli software company Wix has launched a new tool that gives customers the ability to build mobile apps, further rounding out its package of web development services.

The new product, called Branded App by Wix, will let customers like small businesses build a tailor-made app without any coding, the company said on Tuesday.

The app tool complements the company’s drag-and-drop website builder to provide users with a digital brand platform without any coding skills.

Wix can now provide users with a domain name, the ability to create and manage a customizable website and a native mobile app for iOS and Android, among other services. Wix customers can build an app with the new tool for an additional fee.

Store owners using apps see average growth of 162 percent in online transactions, Wix said, citing its own data.

The app builder lets users create and design their own app, with personalized app icon, layout and content. Users can add and manage product pages, booking services, forums, groups, chat functions, blogs and push notifications.

The app automatically integrates with the customer’s existing Wix website, and activity on the two platforms is synced via Wix’s dashboard, so, for example, a new store item added to the website will also appear on the app.

The product is suitable for such businesses as fitness centers, restaurants, stores, blogs and event companies. The app builder will continue to see new upgrades in the coming months, the company said.

The platform will allow business owners “to enhance their customers’ experience, grow their businesses and ultimately compete with today’s biggest brands,” said Wix’s Ronny Elkayam.

The app is currently available on presale for $100 per month. The price will rise to $200 per month in the fall, plus fees from Apple and Google for their app stores.

Wix is one of Israel’s leading software-as-a-service companies with over 200 million registered users. The company has headquarters in Tel Aviv and offices in the US, Germany, Ireland, Ukraine, Brazil and Japan, among other locations.

Illustrative image of the Wix app-builder. (Courtesy/Wix)

The company reported a boom in business last year as the pandemic forced more business online. Its 2020 revenue jumped 30% to $989 million, with fourth quarter revenue up 38% year on year, although the firm still saw a net loss of $217 million for the year. It will report its second quarter results for 2021 on Wednesday.

Wix said in February it had registered 31 million new users in 2020 and had 5.5 million premium subscribers at the end of the year. The company runs a “freemium” business model, meaning customers using the most basic product do not pay a fee.

The firm was set up in 2006, held an initial public offering on the Nasdaq in 2013 and trades under the ticker WIX at a market cap of $15.3 billion. Its share price is up around six percent in 2021.

Most Popular
read more: