Wix Moves from Virtual to Physical World with Free Workspace in NYC

    NEW YORK, NY, August 04, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Hundreds of Manhattan's creative professionals gathered last week to celebrate the launch of the Wix Lounge. A free workspace equipped with Wi-Fi, bottomless coffee and comfort seating, the Lounge is the first of its kind, offering freelance designers a cool and convenient spot to get work done, meet up with clients and network with like-minded professionals.

The Wix Lounge is hosted by Wix, online software for the creation of customizable Flash websites. A start-up company born in 2006, Wix is a favorite promotional tool for entrepreneurs, small business owners and creative professionals alike, looking for a way to optimize their online presence in a cost and time-efficient way. The Wix platform consists of a drag & drop online interface, so users can click to drag elements such as page parts, images, text, icons, widgets, buttons and more, without having to bother with computer code. The website builder provides an impressive amount of creative flexibility, as users can build fully-customized websites in just a few minutes.

Free drinks, hip tunes and free giveaways contributed to a lively atmosphere. Guests entered a Photobooth to take pictures in the Wix spirit, with creative and quirky signs and props. Live demos of the Wix platform were provided. Guests were even given the chance to vote on Lounge hours of operation. Free giveaways included Apple shuffles given to the first 50 guests to fill out Wix Lounge survey cards.

Victoria Monsul, Director of the Wix Lounge, offered a warm welcome to those in attendance of Thursday evening's gala: "This is something [we] designed with you guys in mind...Come here, work, utilize the space to meet clients, drink coffee on the house, network...This is completely for you." Monsul's full Wix Lounge welcoming speech can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKk2o_GiIgE.

The company states there are currently no plans to monetize the Lounge's space or offerings. Inspiration, creativity and collaboration are core tenets of the Wix brand, and the Lounge is the perfect physical embodiment of the Wix philosophy, and "freemium" business model.

Wix's software is entirely free. A large library of widgets, images, clip art and more are free to use on a user's site, and Wix provides free website hosting for all sites published under the Wix URL. Customers may upgrade to a Wix premium package for additional features such as domain ownership, access to site statistics via Google Analytics, and eCommerce functionality (i.e. turning a website into an online shop, where purchases are made directly from one's site).

Lounge events and activities will include tutorials on how to make a website with live demos, portfolio reviews for designers, artists and photographers, networking events, mash-ups, and more.

Monsul invites Lounge guests to speak up and voice their needs and preferences. "We have a very liberal program here...if you have a suggestion, I'll do my best to address it and incorporate it into the Lounge."

The Lounge is located in Chelsea, at 10 West 18th Street, on the 2nd floor.

www.Wix.com was founded in 2006, and the company is headquartered in New York with offices in Tel Aviv. Mangrove Capital Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners and Benchmark Capital are Wix's investors.

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