Wix Marketplace is Failing the Customers Looking for the Best

When hundreds of five-star reviews mean less than fifty, something’s wrong.

Wix has built a remarkable platform that empowers small businesses, entrepreneurs, and agencies like mine to build beautiful, effective websites for amazing customers. But there’s one corner of the Wix ecosystem that needs serious attention: the Wix Marketplace.

The idea behind the Marketplace is solid, connect customers with qualified web designers and developers who can bring their visions to life. But the execution is flawed, especially when it comes to how designers are ranked and displayed to potential clients.

Right now, Wix ranks agencies primarily by job completion rate, along with some basic filters like project type and location. While completion rate is important, it’s only a small piece of the puzzle, and in some cases, it creates a completely misleading picture.

Here’s the problem: agencies that have completed hundreds of projects with hundreds of five-star reviews can get buried in search results simply because their completion rate dipped for a short period of time. Maybe they were overbooked and declined a few requests. Maybe they focused on long-term client relationships instead of quick one-offs. In contrast, a brand-new agency that just finished their first Wix job might show up higher, even if they have a handful of reviews and limited track record.

That’s not just frustrating for agencies who’ve worked hard to earn their reputations, it’s bad for customers, too.

Customers want the best fit. They want proven excellence. A designer with 300 five-star reviews is far more valuable and trustworthy than someone with a dozen 5-star review and limited history. But today, Wix doesn’t even let customers sort by number of reviews or by combined rating + review volume. It’s all hidden behind an opaque algorithm that prioritizes completion rate over credibility and consistency.

This hurts everyone:

• Customers waste time browsing less qualified options.

• Top agencies lose visibility they’ve worked years to earn.

• Wix’s own brand suffers when users can’t find the best talent the platform has to offer.

The solution is simple and fair:

1. Add a “Sort by Rating” option that combines star rating and number of reviews—just like every major marketplace or review platform does (Google, Amazon, Yelp, etc.).

2. Include a “New and Rising” filter so that newer designers still have a chance to shine and gain exposure. A level playing field doesn’t mean hiding the all-stars.

3. Give customers control. Let them decide what “best” means, whether that’s experience, rating, location, or price.

The Marketplace should be a tool that helps customers find the best possible match for their project, not just the most recently active vendor.

I say this not just as a longtime Wix Partner and agency owner, but as someone who truly believes in this platform. Fixing this doesn’t require a new algorithm. Just give customers more sort choices so they can decide on their own and let merit speak for itself.

Steve Crayne

Starting Gate Marketing