Wix
A drag-and-drop website builder with templates designed for actors and performers
Overview
Wix is one of the most popular website builders in the world, offering a drag-and-drop editor that makes it easy for actors to build professional-looking portfolio sites without any coding knowledge. It includes a library of entertainment and portfolio-specific templates.
Setting up a Wix site involves choosing a template, customizing it with your headshots, resume, reel, and bio, and publishing to a free Wix subdomain or a custom domain. The free plan includes Wix branding, while the $16 per month plan removes ads and connects your own domain.
How It Works
Wix sites are mobile-responsive out of the box, which matters because casting directors and agents often browse actor sites on phones and tablets. The built-in SEO tools help your site appear in search results when people Google your name.
The free tier is functional but limited by Wix branding and ads. For actors who want a professional web presence, the paid plan starting at $16 per month is a reasonable investment that pays for itself in credibility.
Who Uses It
Wix is an excellent entry point for actors who want a polished website without hiring a web designer. Start with a free site and upgrade once you are ready to connect a custom domain.
Pricing & Plans
Wix offers a free tier that includes a Wix-branded subdomain (yourname.wixsite.com), basic templates, and limited storage, though it displays Wix ads on your site. The Light plan at $17 per month (billed annually) removes Wix ads and connects a custom domain, which is the minimum tier most actors should consider for a professional web presence. The Core plan at $29 per month adds online payments, analytics, and increased storage. The Business plan at $36 per month includes advanced marketing tools and unlimited collaborators. For actors, the Light plan at $17 per month is typically sufficient, providing a clean, branded website with your custom domain, no ads, and enough storage for headshots, resume, and embedded reel videos. Annual billing is required for the best rates, with monthly billing available at higher prices, and Wix frequently offers promotional discounts for first-year subscribers.
Pros & Cons
What's Great
Wix's drag-and-drop editor is genuinely the easiest website builder to use for people with zero technical experience, allowing actors to create a polished portfolio site in a single afternoon without writing a line of code. The entertainment and portfolio-specific templates are designed with actor needs in mind, including layouts for headshot galleries, bio sections, embedded reels, and resume downloads that follow industry presentation standards. Wix's mobile editor lets you customize the mobile version of your site independently, ensuring casting directors and agents who view your site on phones see a clean, well-organized layout rather than a compressed desktop view. The built-in SEO tools guide you through optimizing your site so it appears when people search your name on Google, which is increasingly important as industry professionals routinely Google actors before meetings and auditions. Wix's App Market adds functionality through integrations including social media feeds, booking calendars, and email newsletter signup forms that help actors build a direct audience. The free tier is genuinely functional enough to get started, allowing you to build and publish a complete portfolio site at zero cost while you decide whether the custom domain upgrade is worth the investment.
What Could Be Better
The free tier's Wix-branded subdomain and visible ads create an unprofessional impression that can undermine your credibility with casting directors and agents who expect a polished web presence from serious performers. Wix's drag-and-drop flexibility can be a double-edged sword — the lack of design constraints means it is easy to create a cluttered, inconsistent site if you do not have a clear visual vision, and many self-built Wix sites look amateurish despite the quality templates. The platform locks you into its ecosystem — you cannot export your Wix site or easily migrate your content to another platform if you outgrow Wix or find a better solution, creating vendor dependence. Wix's loading speed, while acceptable, is generally slower than Squarespace or custom-built sites, which can create a less-than-ideal user experience for visitors on slower connections. The template selection, while extensive, can lead to sites that look recognizably Wix-made, which some industry professionals may perceive as less polished than a custom design or a Squarespace site. Ongoing costs add up over time — the $17 per month Light plan costs $204 per year, which is a meaningful ongoing expense for actors between bookings.
Our Recommendation
Wix is recommended as the best starting point for actors who want to build a professional portfolio website themselves without any technical skills or significant upfront investment. The platform is ideal for actors who need a functional website quickly — you can have a complete site live within hours using a portfolio template, which is valuable when you need a web presence for an upcoming meeting or submission. If design quality is your highest priority and you are willing to pay a premium for visual excellence, Squarespace may be a better choice, but Wix offers more flexibility and a free starting tier. Actors who want a blog alongside their portfolio should consider WordPress for its superior content management, but for a straightforward headshot-resume-reel portfolio site, Wix is simpler and faster. Start with the free tier to build and test your site, then upgrade to the Light plan once you are satisfied with the layout and ready to connect your custom domain.
Pro Tips
Choose a clean, minimalist template from Wix's entertainment or portfolio categories rather than building from scratch, as these templates are designed with performer websites in mind and provide a professional foundation. Secure your name as a custom domain (FirstnameLastname.com) as early as possible, even before upgrading your Wix plan, as your name-domain is one of the most valuable assets in your acting career and once claimed by someone else it is very difficult to recover. Keep your site focused on the essentials that casting directors and agents want to see: headshots, resume, reel, and contact information, resisting the temptation to add too many pages or features that dilute the core message. Embed your Vimeo reel rather than uploading video directly to Wix, as Vimeo's player is more professional and allows you to update your reel without editing your website. Test your site on both desktop and mobile devices before sharing it with industry contacts, and ask a trusted friend or acting coach to review it for any errors, broken links, or design issues you may have missed.
