Imagine you run an online gift shop. Customers love your products, but they often struggle to decide what to buy. To make shopping easier, you want to add a “Find the Perfect Gift” quiz to your website. Visitors would answer a few simple questions, and the quiz would recommend the ideal product.

If you use a website builder like Wix, you could go to their app marketplace and find a tool like Quizell or Fyrebox to make your quiz. Third-party extensions like these make it easy to create interactive quizzes without coding. They provide a straightforward way to engage customers and drive sales. However, they also come with limitations. In some cases, a custom-built quiz may be a better long-term investment, offering more control, flexibility, and automation.

Let’s break down how these third-party apps work, their potential drawbacks, and why a custom solution might be the best choice for your small business.

Using Third-Party Quiz Apps on Your Site

Two popular options for creating a quiz for your website are the ones we mentioned earlier: Quizell and Fyrebox. These are offered as integrations on website builder platforms like Wix and others. Here’s a little more about each of them:

• Quizell – This app is specifically designed for product recommendation quizzes. It helps businesses guide customers toward the right purchase by asking relevant questions and displaying results based on answers.

• Fyrebox – Fyrebox allows users to create interactive quizzes in various formats, including multiple-choice, true/false, and even chatbot-style quizzes. It also supports lead collection and integrates with email marketing tools.

If you were to just compare these options, Quizell seems like a better solution for our use case of wanting to help the customers of your small business pick out a gift. So, let’s dive a little deeper into the features of this app.

Quizell is an AI-powered tool that users can integrate with their small business website to build quizzes without any technical expertise. It uses AI to analyze user responses and deliver personalized product or service recommendations. It can also be used to assign scores to quiz answers to provide quantified summaries of user responses. And it can plug in user-specific data into quizzes, such as names or previous answers, to create a tailored and memorable experience that drives engagement.

Overall, it’s an app that a small business owner can use to quickly set up a visually appealing quiz, customize the questions, and even collect customer emails. For businesses that want a plug-and-play solution, this could provide an easy way to add interactive content. But, are there downsides?

Limitations of Third-Party Quiz Apps

While quiz apps like Quizell offer convenience, they have their drawbacks. Some of the key limitations include:

• Limited Customization: While you can tweak quiz questions and colors, most third-party apps have pre-set design templates that may not match your brand perfectly.

• Basic Product Recommendations: Apps like Quizell help suggest products, but they don’t offer advanced logic or automation beyond simple rule-based recommendations.

• Restricted Integrations: Many of these apps don’t integrate deeply with other business tools. For example, if you want the quiz to automatically send a personalized email follow-up based on a customer’s responses, you might need workarounds.

• Subscription Costs: Most quiz apps require a monthly or annual subscription. While the initial cost is low, expenses can add up over time, especially if you need premium features.

So, sure, if you don’t have any complex needs for your quiz, these apps may be a sufficient solution. But if you want more control over quiz functionality and automation, a custom-built solution may be the better route. Let’s look at why that is.

When a Custom Quiz is the Better Option

A custom-built quiz allows for complete control over the user experience and backend automation. Instead of being limited by a third-party app’s features, a business can develop a quiz tailored to its exact needs.

With a custom quiz, you can:

• Seamlessly integrate with your marketing tools: Automatically send emails based on quiz results, add customers to different mailing lists, or trigger promotions based on responses.

• Offer a more personalized experience: Implement advanced logic to suggest hyper-specific products based on multiple data points.

• Match your branding exactly: A custom quiz can be designed to fit perfectly with your website’s look and feel, avoiding the limitations of pre-made templates.

• Integrate with an existing site or a custom website: A software development team could create a custom quiz that works within your existing site, like one created using a website builder like Wix, or they could build a fully custom website that includes a more advanced quiz experience.

For example, let’s say your gift shop wants a quiz that not only suggests a product, but also sends a follow-up email with a discount code, remembers the customer’s choices for future visits, and connects with your CRM to track customer preferences. A third-party app might not support these features—but a custom-built quiz can be developed to do exactly what your business needs.

You Decide: Third-Party App or Custom Solution

If you need a quick and simple way to add a quiz to your site, third-party apps like Quizell and Fyrebox provide an easy solution. They work well for basic product recommendations and engagement.

However, if you want a quiz that does more—such as deeper automation, personalized customer follow-ups, and full integration with your business tools—investing in a custom-built solution may be the better choice. Whether integrated with an existing Wix site or developed as part of a standalone custom website, a custom quiz can give small businesses a competitive edge.

If you’re considering adding a quiz to your site but aren’t sure which route to take, use the information provided here to inform your decision.