HTML5 Web publishing platform Wix.com will launch an app market Tuesday for selling of third-party applications built with the company's automated Web development technology. Called Wix App Market, the platform also enables customers to integrate applications from the market with their own websites.
An SDK will be offered that enables developers to build and offer Web applications to the Wix.com user base. The company claims to have 25 million users, who come to Wix.com to build websites for business usage and other purposes.
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The app market will launch with applications for such things as photo feeds, blogging, music playlists, an online community, and e-mail marketing. Most applications in the market will be subscription-based, with a revenue split of 70 percent for the developer and 30 percent for Wix.com.
Wix features a drag-and-drop Web design platform geared to small businesses, in which non-technical people can assemble websites by using prepared templates. The company looks to make it easy to build websites. "When you build a website, it's still fairly intimidating to most people," said Eric Mason, Wix director of communications.
Sites built with Wix can run on desktop computers or mobile devices. Anyone who can navigate a Word document or PowerPoint presentation can build a website on Wix, Mason said.
Underlying Wix are HTML5 technologies including an HTML5 editor; Wix.com previously catered to Adobe Flash but in March began emphasizing HTML5 instead. A Flash editor still is available, however.
