Wix SEO Readiness Checker
Your Wix SEO Score
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Complete the checklist above to receive personalized recommendations for improving your Wix SEO.
Key Takeaways
- Wix now offers most on‑page SEO tools you need, but page speed and advanced redirects can still hold you back.
- Use the built‑in Wix SEO Wiz, customize meta data, and publish a clean sitemap to get indexed quickly.
- Optimize images, limit third‑party apps, and enable Velo (formerly Corvid) for finer control over technical SEO.
- Know Wix’s biggest limits-canonical handling, 301 bulk redirects, and server‑side schema-and how to work around them.
- Follow the step‑by‑step checklist at the end to turn a Wix site into a search‑engine‑friendly property.
You’ve spent time picking a Wix template, dragging elements into place, and publishing your site. The next question most owners ask is, "Will Google actually rank this?" Wix SEO has come a long way since the early days when search bots struggled with the platform’s JavaScript‑heavy output. In this guide we’ll break down exactly what Wix does right, where it falls short, and what you can do today to improve rankings.
Wix is a cloud‑based website builder that lets anyone drag‑and‑drop pages without writing code. It offers hosting, templates, a built‑in SEO wizard, and a marketplace of apps for added functionality. Because it handles servers, SSL, and CDN automatically, many small businesses love the convenience. The real test for SEO, however, lies in how well Wix’s generated HTML, URLs, and performance metrics line up with Google’s ranking signals.
How Wix Handles Core SEO Elements
Google’s crawler cares about a handful of fundamentals: title tags, meta descriptions, headings, clean URLs, sitemaps, and robots.txt. Wix provides UI fields for each of these, but the implementation details matter.
- Title tags & meta descriptions: Each page has dedicated inputs in the SEO panel. Wix automatically appends the site name to every title, which you can edit or remove. The description field is limited to 160 characters, matching Google’s snippet length.
- Heading structure: Wix’s editor lets you set H1‑H6 tags, but the default template often places multiple H1 tags on the same page. Manually adjust heading levels to keep a single H1 that describes the page’s main topic.
- Clean URLs: By default Wix creates URLs like
www.example.com/page-title. You can enable “pretty URLs” to drop thesitesegment and avoid extra hyphens. Note that changing a URL after publishing creates a 301 redirect automatically, but the redirect chain can grow if you edit URLs repeatedly. - Sitemap & robots.txt: Wix generates an XML sitemap (
/sitemap.xml) and a robots.txt file on every site. Both are updated automatically when you add or delete pages, so submit the sitemap to Google Search Console once a month.
Site Performance on Wix
Page speed is a confirmed ranking factor, and Wix’s architecture can affect load times in two ways: the platform’s built‑in CDN and the heavy use of JavaScript for UI interactions.
- Image optimization: Wix automatically compresses uploaded images, but you still have control. Use the Free Image Optimizer app to serve WebP versions and set max dimensions that match your design.
- Limit third‑party apps: Each added app injects extra scripts. Keep the number of apps under five for a typical site, and disable any you don’t need on a per‑page basis.
- Enable lazy loading: Wix’s editor includes a toggle for lazy loading images and videos. Turn it on to defer off‑screen assets until the user scrolls.
- Use Velo for custom code: If you need to add critical CSS or reduce render‑blocking scripts, Velo (Wix’s developer platform) lets you place code in the
<head>tag or defer it withasync/deferattributes.
After applying these tweaks, run a Lighthouse or PageSpeed Insights test. Aim for a score above 80 for both Mobile and Desktop.
Mobile‑Friendliness & Structured Data
Google primarily uses mobile‑first indexing, so a responsive design is non‑negotiable. All Wix templates are mobile‑responsive out of the box, but check the mobile editor for hidden elements that could inflate weight.
- Viewport settings: Wix sets the viewport meta tag automatically. No action needed.
- AMP support: Wix does not offer native AMP pages, but you can add an AMP app that creates a separate AMP version of each page. Use it if a large portion of your traffic comes from mobile searches.
- Structured data: Wix includes basic schema for Articles, Products, and Events through its SEO panel. For customized schema, use Velo to inject JSON‑LD scripts directly into the page head.
Common Limitations and Workarounds
Even with all the tools in place, Wix still has a few constraints that can hurt SEO if you’re not aware.
- Bulk 301 redirects: Wix allows one‑to‑one redirects via the SEO settings, but there’s no native interface for uploading a CSV of 100+ redirects. Workaround: use Velo to write a small serverless function that returns
301responses based on a JSON map. - Canonical tag control: Wix automatically adds a canonical link pointing to the current URL. If you need to point to a different canonical (e.g., blog pagination), you must add custom code through Velo.
- Blog pagination & infinite scroll: Wix Blog uses pagination URLs like
/blog/page/2, but the “next/prev” link rel tags are missing. Manually insert them using Velo to help Google understand the series. - HTTPS on custom domains: Wix provides free SSL, but the certificate can take up to 24hours to propagate after a domain change. During that window, some pages may be served over HTTP, causing mixed‑content warnings.
Step‑by‑Step Wix SEO Checklist
- Run a site audit with Screaming Frog or Sitebulb. Note any missing meta tags, duplicate titles, or broken links.
- Open the Wix SEO Wiz (found under Marketing & SEO → SEO Tools → Wix SEO Wiz). Answer the onboarding questions to generate a personalized action plan.
- For each page, fill in a unique, keyword‑rich title tag (<60characters) and meta description (<160characters). Ensure only one H1 per page.
- Enable pretty URLs and remove any unnecessary folder names (e.g.,
/services/web‑design→/web‑design). - Upload a sitemap to Google Search Console and request indexing for new or updated pages.
- Compress all images before upload, then enable Wix’s built‑in lazy loading.
- Limit third‑party apps to essential ones; disable them on pages where they’re not needed.
- Add JSON‑LD structured data for products, articles, or events via Velo’s
$w.onReadyhook. - Set up 301 redirects for any old URLs using the SEO → URL Redirects panel. For bulk needs, create a Velo redirect script.
- Schedule a monthly performance test (PageSpeed Insights) and fix any drops in the “Largest Contentful Paint” metric.
- Monitor rankings and click‑through rates in Google Search Console. Adjust titles and descriptions based on CTR data.
Wix vs. Traditional CMS (WordPress) - Quick Comparison
| Feature | Wix | WordPress (self‑hosted) |
|---|---|---|
| On‑page SEO UI | Built‑in panels, SEO Wiz, limited bulk editing | Plugins (Yoast, Rank Math) with bulk edit, content analysis |
| URL structure control | Pretty URLs, auto 301 on change, limited nesting | Full permalinks, custom taxonomy, .htaccess control |
| Schema & structured data | Basic article/product schema, custom JSON‑LD via Velo | Advanced schema via plugins or custom code |
| Site speed | CDN + automatic image compression, script overhead | Depends on hosting, theme, and plugin choices |
| Bulk redirects | Not natively supported, requires Velo workaround | Easy with redirection plugins or server config |
If you’re a solo entrepreneur needing a fast launch, Wix’s all‑in‑one approach can be enough, especially after you follow the checklist above. Larger sites with complex taxonomies and heavy traffic usually benefit from the flexibility of WordPress.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Wix pages rank on the first page of Google?
Yes, many Wix sites rank in the top spots if they follow SEO best practices-unique titles, fast load times, mobile‑friendly design, and a clean sitemap. The platform no longer blocks search bots, so visibility depends on the same factors that affect any site.
Does Wix support schema markup for products?
Wix provides basic product schema in its Wix Stores app. For richer markup (e.g., reviews, aggregateRating), insert JSON‑LD via Velo’s $w.onReady hook.
How do I add a 301 redirect for a deleted blog post?
Open the SEO settings, go to URL Redirects, and map the old URL to the new destination. For more than a handful of redirects, create a Velo script that reads a JSON map and returns a 301 status.
Is the Wix SEO Wiz enough for a multi‑language site?
The SEO Wiz helps with basic tags, but for hreflang tags you’ll need to add custom code via Velo or use a multilingual app that inserts the correct language annotations.
Do I need to submit a sitemap again after editing a page?
Wix updates the XML sitemap automatically, but you can click “Submit sitemap” in Google Search Console to prompt a fresh crawl, especially after major structure changes.
Bottom line: Wix isn’t a dead‑end for SEO. With the right tweaks, you can get solid rankings without moving to another platform. Follow the checklist, keep an eye on performance, and use Velo for the technical edge you need.
