This morning, Wix announced a new product for business owners called Branded App by Wix, which allows users to develop native apps without writing code. The publicly-traded company provides tools for people and businesses to manage their online presence, but it’s most well-known for its drag-and-drop website builder. Now, the platform is expanding its user-friendly approach by making it possible for anyone to build an app without learning how to code.
“Users came to us with the need to create a native app that is branded with their name and logo,” said Ronny Elkayam, SVP of Mobile, App Market & Strategic Products at Wix. “Many of our users are businesses, and businesses have a desire to portray a situation that they are bigger than they are. They want to follow the big businesses that have native apps.”
At $200 per month, Branded App by Wix is no small investment; users will also have to pay a yearly $99 fee to be on the App Store, and a one-time $25 fee for Google Play. But according to Wix, native mobile apps can help businesses ultimately drive more sales. For users that already have a Wix website, the app builder can automatically integrate features from their website, making the process more simple.
“If you’re a restaurant, and you have your menu configured on your website for online ordering, the same menu is going to show up on the app. You don’t need to configure it. Any purchases or any orders from that menu are going to show up in your dashboard,” Elkayam said.
Out of Wix’s 200 million users, 5 million are paid subscribers. For businesses, Wix’s most popular plan is $27 per month for a website, which includes access to e-commerce features. Even users with a free website (which has limited capabilities and is emblazoned with the Wix logo) can create an app — Branded App by Wix is a new product, not an additional feature for existing subscribers. Business owners can customize their app’s icon, layout, and content, including product pages, booking services, forums and groups, chat functions, blogs, push notifications, and more. Wix will automatically update users’ apps to remain compatible with the latest versions of iOS and Android.
A competitor in the no-code app building space, Bubble charges between $29 and $529 per month, with a free plan for users to learn how to use the product and develop their app. But Bubble’s offerings are web-based, while Wix’s apps are native, which means they can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play.
In 2020, Wix had 31 million new users — Elkayam said that Wix’s growth increased under the conditions of the coronavirus pandemic. The company will announce its Q2 earnings tomorrow, but in Q1, the company had $304 million in revenue, up 41% year-over-year.
After beta testing with hundreds of users, Branded App by Wix is now available to all users. Those who sign up during the temporary “presale” will get the product for 50% off for life.