“At the end of the day, I like to solve problems and help companies have something that looks good and works well.”

For David Camacho Baron, web development started with Wix. As the team leader of YourWeb.co.nz, a New Zealand-based agency focused on graphic design, web development, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and more, the developer came to Wix to help him save time. While he’s more than capable of building out custom sites from scratch with his background in software engineering, Wix streamlined so much of the complexity that comes with just getting started on a new project that it just made sense to use the platform.

“I remember a long time ago, I was just following Wix as an option that solved the problem,” he says in an interview. “I’d have to do an easy thing for a friend and try to do it with Wix. It was very user friendly. In the beginning, it was just for fun and then things escalated from there.”

More than 10 years later, Camacho Baron is still proudly using Wix—not only for frontend work as a designer, but also for the backend capabilities made possible with Velo, Wix’s platform for full stack web development. Velo has allowed him to move beyond the limitations of the Wix editor to offer custom JavaScript solutions to his clients, who regularly come to YourWeb.co.nz for help with their eCommerce stores, fintech startups, personal websites, and more.

We caught up with Camacho Baron to learn more about how YourWeb.co.nz uses Wix and Velo to solve real-world problems for clients across industries.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q&A with David Camacho Baron, YourWeb.co.nz Team Leader

Q: When did you use Wix for the first time? What attracted you to the platform initially? What motivated you to get started with Wix?

A: I started using Wix a long time ago when it was [using Adobe Flash Player], before the HTML5 revolution. In the beginning, it was more like playing around.

Usually, there’s a misconception when you’re studying software engineering that everyone makes websites. If you have a friend or a family who has a small business, [they often ask], “Oh, David, you know about computers, right? Can you help me with the website?” I used to love to design websites anyway.

That was the beginning, just for fun. So I remember a long time ago, I was just following Wix as an option that solved the problem. I’d have to do an easy thing for a friend and try to do it with Wix. It was very user friendly. In the beginning, it was just for fun and then things escalated from there.

Q: Was there something you were attracted to about Wix over another sitebuilder? Was it just the simplicity?

A: Yeah. I think like most of us, we got engaged with Wix thanks to the user-friendly platform that you guys have. The drag-and-drop concept was revolutionary for Wix. Wix was one of the pioneers in implementing this solution when it was [using] Flash.

I like how the company grew during that transition [from Flash to HTML5]. I’ve been using Wix since the day they launched the HTML5 editor. It has been a long journey, and it was very interesting to see all that.

Q: How does starting a business like YourWeb.co.nz map onto that narrative? You were making websites for friends and family, but when did you start the business?

A: Yeah, I think like many [web developers], I had a full-time job. I was doing this as a part-time job in the evenings just for fun, or for some cash flow. But over time, as things went well, you start to think, “Okay, I need more time [to dedicate to web development].” I used to work in the IT department of a bank, and I was making similar profits with my own small web design business than what I was getting paid as a full-time job.

I had the thought that, “Okay, I need to make a decision. Because if this business is gonna grow, I need to invest more time.” I couldn't handle both. I just decided that I had to quit my job to start my own business.

Q: Yeah, it's a big jump. What kind of sites were you working on at that time? Was there anything that stood out to you as a big challenge? Was there a big contract or anything like that, which allowed you the flexibility and freedom to go out on your own and start the business?

A: This was ten or twelve years ago, and it’s hard to remember the specifics. When I was just starting the business, I was often dealing with restaurants that just wanted good-looking websites. We could do everything they wanted in terms of the design, but I do remember that most of these customers had no idea what Wix was. At that time, they were just looking for a web designer. I never had to mention that I'm using Wix, they just wanted the result, regardless of the platform. As long as it looks good and it works, that solves the problem. At the time, I realized my passion was about solving the problem.

But soon enough, the company started growing and bigger companies came onboard. I started feeling like I couldn’t take on certain projects because they weren’t possible with Wix. I felt that I had to stay with small businesses, restaurants, bars, or one-person companies who need portfolio websites. One company in particular needed an audit system. They needed a specific inventory feature—they wanted an online system that would update the inventory once an online order was made.

We had to implement the feature outside of Wix. I remember thinking the website was fine for Wix. Our alternative required setting up different hosting to replicate an entire system outside of Wix to make it work, [which required a lot of additional time and resources].

At the end of the day, I like to solve problems and help companies have something that looks good and works well. And nowadays with Velo, you can do everything.

Q: You've been using Velo for quite a while, right? Back when it was Corvid, and when it was Wix Code before that. What were some of the things that you were building early on with Velo (then Wix Code)? What did they look like? When did you recognize the need for a product like Velo or Wix Code with your designs?

A: At that time, we had a reoccurring issue with the lack of the Wix Forms. Any complex form needed to be built outside of Wix. Once they started talking about Wix Code, the first thing that came to my mind was that we had a couple customers that were paying for Wix and for a third-party app just to have a form in their website, which was impossible on Wix initially.

With Wix Code, we were able to have everything under the same platform. Clients didn’t need to pay for multiple apps. Instead, they could have everything inside of the same website.

Q: How familiar were you with JavaScript at this point? I know that you have a background as a software engineer and that you worked in IT. Was there a learning curve with JavaScript? Was it difficult to make the jump from non-JS engineer to Wix developer?

If you have that background, it's easy to pick it up. At that time, I was doing other jobs and just using Wix for web design. I went a long time without actually coding myself. But thanks to Wix Code, I was like, “Okay, let’s get back into it.” It’s quite friendly and easy to pick up.

Most developers will agree that Wix has very clear documentation. All of the references and APIs, everything is so clean and easy, with clear examples and videos. I know that in some cases, people [reading the Velo documentation] don't have a background degree in software engineering to help them pick it up.

It’s so easy to pick up that even if you have some basic coding skills, you will get it. It's quite useful. And I think we are all happy that every time we find a [JavaScript] function that we need, we go to the reference, where we have examples and explanations. The piece of code that we need everything is there.

Q: That's really cool to hear, and it sounds like we're doing our job. Which Velo APIs have you used? And which ones do you use frequently?

A: All of us are using wix-data for everything that has to do with database integration. For the past few months, we have been getting a lot of eCommerce customers. So we end up working with the backend of Wix Stores a lot.

Q: One thing that is interesting about Wix and Velo is that so many places have a clear distinction between the design process and the development process. But when you're working with a low-code platform like Wix, you are doing both at the same time in most cases. Or you're designing the site and then you're adding Velo on top of it later. Does that get complicated in your design process? How does that dynamic play out as you work on these sites with your team?

A: So far it works very well. I've been teaching [the designers on my team] about the repeaters, the dynamic pages—a couple concepts that don’t require coding quite yet. They understand what kind of layout and design we need for the developer to jump in and actually customize things.

Q: You mentioned the postal integration we were talking about earlier. Do you want to talk about that a little bit and describe what it is?

A: I have two examples. Within Wix Stores, one specific request we got was for an eCommerce site for a distributor of fresh food. Usually the food has a short expiration date. At the moment in Wix Stores, there is no functionality to filter by expiration date. If you have over 500 products and they all have different expiration dates, it’s not easy to filter by expiration date.

So we developed functionality that allows the admin of the shop to log in each day and filter the stock by expiration date. At the moment, I know that this is not possible with Wix Storage, but eventually it will be possible. [Our client] was very happy with the result. I know that many people have the same issue of being able to filter [in their own way].

The other example. I'm based in New Zealand. And in New Zealand, there are only a few shipping companies, and we have integrated with three of them already. This means that every Wix order that lands in our system—with its shipping information, customer information, everything—[is automatically submitted] to the shipping company in New Zealand. [Our clients] receive the order in their system, and then go and pick up the product.

We're happy to offer those kinds of solutions to the local community. At the moment, we are focusing on New Zealand’s Wix users, and we like to position ourselves on Google and promote ourselves as Wix New Zealand partners.

Q: How do you offer this to other Wix developers or designers in New Zealand? Are there companies that you partner with that are also recognizing that they have the same need that you do?

A: That's actually a good question. I think I need partnerships. To be honest, we are relying a lot on the Wix Marketplace. That keeps us busy during COVID. Last year, it was quiet because we have a filter in place that means we only receive requests in New Zealand. I will say 89% of the requests made in New Zealand came through us and we have a good reputation and good reviews. We get a lot of new customers and new requests through the Wix Marketplace.

Q: Is there a strong Wix community in New Zealand? Are a lot of developers there using Wix?

A: Not that I'm aware of. I do want to reach out to more Wix developers, I only know of a few. And we actually have mutual customers. It’s a nice small country with a population of 5 million people. For now, I'm here in New Zealand focusing on Velo.

We're doing an offer, where if you have a Wix account and you're based in New Zealand, we will spend an hour reviewing your website. We go in the backend, check things, and see how you’re performing on Google. What things can be done better, or what new functionalities can we add? We send them a small report, but it's up to the Wix users to implement them by themselves. Or they can work with us and we can [implement the changes] for them. That's another strategy that we're trying to do to reach out more Wix users and Wix Partners, so we can connect.

Q: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Is Search Engine Optimization (SEO) a big part of what you do?

A: SEO, it's a very trendy topic. I think there’s still a misconception that Wix is not [SEO-friendly]. But we have very clear examples of Wix websites ranking No. 1 with specific keyword searches. We like to show customers who are not confident in Wix’s SEO reputation that it’s about the content of your website and the strategy.

At the end of the day, if you have good content on the website with these specific keywords, Google is not gonna check [which platform the site was built with]. It's all about the content, regardless of the platform.

Q: Yeah, and it’s something that's always changing. Is there anything else you want to add about what you do about how you feel about Wix and Velo? Would you recommend the platform to other developers just getting started?

A: No, nothing else to add. Maybe I would encourage anyone who is trying Wix for the first time—you know, new developers at the [university level], you will learn the basics of JavaScript and web design, which is good. But then once you’re out of school and in the business world, there are so many platforms and so many solutions nowadays. Usually a developer or designer will focus on a specific tool and become an expert on it and keep going.

I would like to say confidently to any new developer coming into the industry that they can feel confident to say that not only am I a JavaScript Developer, I’m also a Velo expert. Because Wix is becoming way more advanced every day and way more complex in terms of capabilities and functionalities for the industry.