Web.com Reviews 2019 – Is This the Best Website Builder Platform?
Web.com Website Builder Review
Web.com is probably one of the oldest website builders to date, being around for more than 20 years now. True enough, tons of Web.com reviews have been written and published perusing its features and perks. In this post, we will help you decide if Web.com is for you and if it fits your goals in creating a website.
What to know about Web.com
To start with, Web.com is an affiliate of Network Solutions, a company that owns multiple web hosting providers and internet-related services. Some of these are iShoppingCart, SnapNames, Register.com and more. With this, we can say that Web.com has a pretty good reputation considering its background. And since this platform has various web services partners, we can assume that Web.com has a slew of features you can’t find on other platforms.
Before you create a site on Web.com, it’s important for you to know that they cater to a business audience. It shows on their homepage with the line: “You run the business you know. We’ll deliver the marketing it needs.” So does this mean Web.com has no space for non-business niches? Of course not, you can still enjoy their features but it would be maximized if you own a business, be it small or large.
PROS
-Instant website publishing
-Very affordable entry-level pricing
-24/7 customer support
-A drag-and-drop editor that makes designing a breeze
-Widely used on the web
-Business-oriented approach perfect for company owners
CONS
-Bad billing practices
-Lack of site-building help
-The customization can be messy and overwhelming
-No support for tables
-No free trial plan
-Regular plans are overpriced
Overall Review Score: 8.9/10
Key features
Although Web.com seems to start with a bad footing in this review, we still want to give it some positive points for the features it offers. Anyone who wants a drag-and-drop and customizable platform can use Web.com for businesses.
However, be warned because its features are very limited. First of all, it doesn’t have blog support which is already a big turn-off for marketers who are utilizing content for SEO. Another thing is that there are no donations tool, restaurant menus, and music player. For those who want to build an online store, e-commerce features are only available on more expensive packages.
Nevertheless, here are some of the great features we saw here:
Form builders. In this form builder, you can add text, radio buttons, email fields, checkboxes, and more. Just take note that form submissions won’t be saved on your database but rather sent to your email.
Tons of templates. You can have dozens of options when it comes to the themes. However, many of these tend to be lackluster and outdated. We’ve discussed more of this below. Nevertheless, all the themes are mobile responsive.
SSL certifications and domains. When you sign up for a website in Web.com, you’ll get an SSL certificate and a secured domain. The platform is already fully hosted for your convenience.
Business-oriented features. For those who are into business, there would be more useful tools in Web.com. Regardless if you are in dentistry, real estate, wholesaling, automotive, and more, there are ways to make your website shine.
Aside from these, the features are pretty limited. We think this stems from the fact that Web.com is more of a marketing service than a website builder by itself. If you’re looking for a website builder that will also do the marketing for you, Web.com can be the perfect option.
Ease of use
Let’s start from the moment you sign up. If you choose the Do-It-Yourself option, you’ll be asked to pick a domain. It may sound easy, but it will take some time to find a domain that hasn’t been taken plus the fact that the page just keeps on reloading and going nowhere.
Once you had the luck to land a decent domain, you’ll have to create a Web.com account first before you can see the prices. This is a big hassle, unlike the convenience its competitors provides. Once you have an account, you’ll choose a package and pay for it. However, you can’t see any templates yet until you indicate what type of business you have.
This is both tiring and limiting. The platform limits the options based on their pre-set standards. For those who want to explore, it would be a pointless exploit.
It’s like buying a new computer: the salesman overwhelms you with technical information without even letting you try the machine before buying.
Web com themes and designs
One of the biggest sales pitch of Web.com is it has hundreds of templates and designs that users can choose from. This is true and the number of templates is pretty impressive too. However, upon perusing some of the templates, it doesn’t take much time to notice its lack of shine. It’s not as sleek and modern as what you’ll see in WordPress or Wix.
Also, we noticed that some of the themes only differ in color palettes but not in design. One time, we were offered three themes with the same format but with three varying colors. Not really a choice, if we are to be honest.
Still, you can work your way around the templates to customize it. However, this part is also limiting and really messy. The customization tools can be overwhelming for beginners.
Although the templates are mobile responsive, it doesn’t look really good on small screens. The text doesn’t re-arrange itself to adjust on the small display which is a big downside for those who target mobile browsers.
Web.com SEO
When it comes to SEO, our opinion is a bit divided. Let’s look at the ugly parts first. Web.com doesn’t have a built-blog which makes it a challenge to utilize content-based optimization. Also, it doesn’t have any special SEO tool to compensate for the lack of blogging features. It doesn’t have newsletter support either which dampens almost any possible way of reaching out to your audience through written content.
Web.com websites aren’t multilingual either which is a bit discouraging for those with an international audience.
However, SEO in terms of Web.com marketing has better promise. They create local listings for businesses plus they run social media marketing for you. If you opt for the Built It For Me program, a Web.com associate will talk to you to arrange the creation of your website. They will provide everything, from design to copywriting. However, this will come with a hefty price tag.
Integrations
The good thing about Web.com is you can opt to integrate your site to another website builder like WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Xoops, and Geeklog. Aside from that, we can’t see any other plugin or add-on available. You can call them directly to get support for integrating a shopping cart, sales leads, SEO add-ons, and so on. Anyway, this wouldn’t be a problem if you’ll integrate with WordPress.
Take note, too, that Web.com doesn’t have any migration services and you’re on your own when it comes to backing up and transferring your website. You can move your Web.com website to another platform through FTP. The support team may offer a little help.
Pricing
If you’re a new Web.com user, the entry-level cost would be pocket change. However, the succeeding months can become expensive based on the package you’ll avail. There are three available packages with no trial or free versions:
The Pro package is a bit overpriced considering that it only has a few differences with the other offers. Beware, too, because Web.com tends to have bad billing practices. Each month only counts for 28 days. So technically, you pay for a 13-month subscription per year instead of 12.
Also, there’s no free trial. You have to pay for it to see it. When it’s time to cancel, the inconvenience gets even worse. The support team will do everything to stall your cancellation by transferring you multiple times to different lines. It’s like your pesky cable provider who doesn’t want you to quit their service.
Customer support
The 24/7 support for all Web.com packages is pretty impressive. However, your level of support will vary on the package you avail. If you only paid for the Starter, you’re stuck to the email ticketing system.
Another thing is their knowledge base. There are some Web.com tutorial videos but it lacks on the technical aspect. Even if you use the live chat support, you can’t get any technical support in setting up your website. The best bet is phone support which only comes in the most expensive package.
When it comes to sending a support ticket, the system will ask you to log in with a “Secret Word” which we find odd and exhausting.
Web.com reviews pretty much give you the idea about how this website builder fares in terms of convenience, efficiency, and reliability. Like most of its competitors, Web.com has its pros and cons. It’s up to you to decide if it suits your business.