Why Search Functionality in Wix Comes with Ecommerce Plans and Not Business Websites

When building a website on Wix, one of the most common questions business owners ask is: “Why does the search functionality only come with Wix Ecommerce plans and not with standard business website plans?

It’s a fair concern, especially if you’re running a service / product-based business or a portfolio site where visitors might want to quickly find specific content. Let’s dive into this in detail.

Understanding Wix Website Plans

Wix offers a range of website plans depending on your needs. The two most popular categories are:

1. Business Website Plans – Designed for professionals, consultants, service providers, and small businesses who primarily want to showcase information about their work, build brand presence, and connect with customers.

   
   

   These sites typically feature:

   
   

   • Informational pages (About Us, Services / product, Contact)

   • Forms for inquiries

     
     

2. Ecommerce Plans – Specifically designed for online stores and product-based businesses. These plans are tailored to allow users to:

   
   

   • List and categorize products

   • Offer a shopping cart and checkout system

   • Manage inventory, payments, and shipping

   • Provide advanced features like customer accounts, product filters, and site-wide search

Why Search is Linked to Ecommerce

The search functionality in Wix isn’t just about typing a word and showing results—it’s tied to a database of structured content. Here’s why it comes only with Ecommerce:

1. Product-Centric Structure

   
   

   • Ecommerce websites have products stored in a structured catalog (titles, categories, tags, prices, images).

   • Wix uses this catalog to power the search function, allowing users to filter and find products quickly.

     
     

2. Built-in User Experience Requirement

   
   

   • An online store without a search bar can frustrate shoppers.

   • Search is considered a core necessity for ecommerce, much like a shopping cart or checkout option.

     
     

3. Technical Backend

   
   

   • Search requires indexing of a large number of items.

   • For business websites, pages and blogs are less structured compared to products. While you can add a blog search, a full site-wide search bar is considered an advanced feature reserved for ecommerce.

     
     

4. Plan Differentiation

   
   

   • Wix, like most platforms, differentiates features to match pricing tiers.

   • Business websites focus on branding and lead generation, while ecommerce focuses on conversions and transactions—hence the advanced features like search, product filters, and inventory management are bundled only with Ecommerce.

     
     

Conclusion

The reason search functionality is included with Wix Ecommerce plans and not standard business websites boils down to structure, necessity, and plan differentiation. Ecommerce websites need advanced features like search to function effectively, while business websites are designed more for showcasing and branding.

In short, think of it this way:👉 Business website = Show your brand, services, and connect with customers.👉 Ecommerce website = Sell products with powerful tools like search, filters, and inventory management.