When Apple ended the MobileMe website hosting feature and stopped updating iWeb in June of 2012, I knew I needed to find new options for hosting and updating my website. Initially, I simply moved the files from MobileMe to Bluehost, but that didn’t help me if I needed to make changes to the site.

iWeb was outstanding for its ease of use and WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) interface, and there weren’t a lot of comparable options out there to replace it. Many of the other web development platforms either had a steep learning curve or required coding knowledge.

Over the past couple of years, I tried EverWeb (also known as EasyWeb), WordPress, and even toyed with Sandvox [Note July 2026: Sandvox appears to have been abandoned] and Freeway Express (Publisher Softpress closed on July 4, 2016), but none matched the ease of use and integration of publishing a site of the iWeb/MobileMe combination. Then I found Wix. It seemed to answer all of the visual design and integrated publishing questions I had. Today I have a beautiful new site that took less than a week to create, including writing all the copy.

I’ve found Wix to be a worthy replacement. While it has a few drawbacks, overall, it made creating a replacement of my old site so easy and fast that I decided I can live with them.

Pros:

• Many different templates available.
• So easy that you can have a full website up and running in an afternoon.
• Zero coding or technical knowledge required.
• Drag and drop editing.
• One-click publishing to your website.
• Plugins for popular services like MailChimp, Google Analytics, and many more are easily available.
• Advanced features like blogs and shopping carts are available.

Cons:

• Oddly formatted web addresses (i.e. example.com/#!mypage/cftp instead of example.com/mypage).
• Slightly slower page loading times than other options.
• Template and design are tied to the hosting subscription, so you can’t take the files to another hosting provider and still expect the forms to work.

Overall, I think Wix is a viable replacement for the iWeb/MobileMe combination. Its ease of use and integration make it a smart choice for someone who wants a professional looking site that they can get up in running in no time.