Wix closed out the year in style with their latest Wix Open Studio event, unveiling new features, tools and exciting updates. As part of the alpha testing group, our web studio has had the privilege of exploring and providing feedback on these updates over the past few months. Until now, we couldn’t share much, but we’re thrilled to finally discuss it. It’s incredibly rewarding to see our insights contribute to Wix Studio's evolution and to watch these features roll out to all users. Let’s dive into what’s new as we wrap up 2024!
Visual Sitemap and Wireframe Generator: A Game-Changer for Site Planning
This new Visual Sitemap tool is probably our favourite and we find it so useful and helpful both for clients and us. This fully native Wireframe Generator allows us to create a detailed visual structure of a website. It’s like getting a bird’s-eye view of your entire website, with all the pages and sections within. We can easily modify, edit, rearrange, or move sections between pages with a simple drag-and-drop functionality.
The wireframe generator also lets you label progress stages, making it easier to track the development progress and share the visual sitemap with clients for a clear overview of the project’s scope.
Whether you're managing a large-scale project or simply want to ensure nothing gets overlooked, we’re confident this tool will become your go-to solution
Unified Menu: Next-Level Navigation
Another major update for Wix Studio designers—Unified Menu, combining Horizontal, Vertical, and Hamburger menus into one sleek, easy-to-manage component. No more switching between different menu types — now, you can control everything from one place, ensuring design consistency across all breakpoints.
At Olya Black Studio, we often created custom menus to avoid limitations. With these updates, the process becomes much simpler, giving us more flexibility and saving time without compromising on design.
Functions Builder: Customise Wix Apps to Fit Your Business
The Functions Builder lets us level up Wix apps like Wix Stores, Restaurants, and Loyalty Program by customising them to fit your business perfectly. No complicated coding is required.
Here’s what makes it stand out:
Intuitive Logic Design
Easily map out custom conditions and outcomes with a visual, drag-and-drop interface.
Flexible Options
Start fresh or use templates like “Fragile Packaging Fee” or “Minimum Order Requirement” to kickstart your customisations.
Broad Compatibility
Works seamlessly with key Wix apps to refine processes like checkout flows, customer rewards, or booking systems.
Whether you're streamlining fees, adding purchase requirements, or creating exclusive perks for loyal customers, Functions Builder feels less like tech wizardry and more like smart business management. It’s the perfect tool for businesses that want full control over how their site operates—without the need to bring in a developer.
Wix Studio Accessibility Wizard
This tool helps identify and fix accessibility issues by scanning your website and categorising them into two tabs:
Detected Issues
The Wizard identifies potential accessibility problems across your website (e.g., focus indicators, language settings) and suggests solutions directly within the tool.
Manual Tasks
These are additional tasks that the Wizard can’t automatically detect, like providing alt-text for images or ensuring buttons have descriptive text.
By completing both tasks, you’ll ensure your client’s site is more accessible to all users. However, it’s important to note that while Wix strives to improve accessibility, compliance with specific regional laws is not guaranteed. It’s a good idea to consult an expert for full legal compliance.
Overall, the Accessibility Wizard streamlines the process of making your Wix website more accessible, saving time and effort. We recommend scanning and fixing all issues to make sure your site delivers a smoother, more inclusive experience for everyone.
COMING SOON: AI Chat Assistant
Wix Studio is introducing an AI Chat Assistant that aims to enhance customer interactions and improve website user experience. By scanning your website to understand your products and services, it strives to provide tailored, on-brand responses that guide visitors through their journey—from exploration to purchase.
While the concept is promising and could be a valuable tool for businesses looking to improve customer support and drive conversions, it's important to keep realistic expectations. AI has its limitations, and while this assistant can handle many queries intelligently, it may not replace human expertise in more complex or nuanced situations.
That said, this is an exciting step forward and a commendable initiative. With continuous updates and improvements, it has the potential to become an indispensable feature for many businesses. We’re optimistic about how this tool will evolve and look forward to seeing the value it can bring to our clients’ websites.
It’s exciting to see how Wix Studio continues to evolve, constantly expanding our capabilities and empowering us to deliver even better results for our clients. Watching these updates roll out to a broader audience gives us a sense of being involved in something bigger, and it’s truly satisfying to witness the impact of our feedback on the platform’s growth. The best part? We no longer have to keep these exciting updates to ourselves. For us, that’s always been the hardest—waiting to share the news. We’re thrilled to continue on this journey as Wix keeps pushing boundaries for creators, businesses, and developers. With so many possibilities ahead, we can’t wait to see what 2025 has in store!
