Webnode is a free online website builder that enables anyone to create an amazing website within a few minutes without the need for any design or coding skills. The editor allows you to create a website with advanced features in just a few clicks and there are over 100 professionally designed templates for you to choose from. For all of the online entrepreneurs reading this, Webnode is ecommerce ready so you can start selling almost immediately.
The platform has been steadily growing since 2008 and now has over 40 million users. With numbers like that Webnode must be doing something right, so we decided to test the platform ourselves and write a detailed review outlining the pros and cons of the website builder.
Can Webnode compete against the likes of Wix and Squarespace? Read on to find out.
If you don’t feel like reading the full review right now, no worries. You can save some time by skipping ahead to the bottom line to find out if Webnode is the right platform for you.
The Webnode homepage claims that their platform is ‘the easiest way to make your own website’ which suggests they are targeting beginner web developers, small to medium businesses and individuals looking to create an online presence for the first time.
The platform has ready-made templates for a variety of business and personal needs ranging from portfolio & CVs right through to professional business pages.
The powerful ecommerce features that let you set up and create an online store within minutes make it an ideal platform for anyone wanting to sell products online.
If you want to have a look at some of the template designs for your particular niche, head over to the Webnode template page and have a browse.
The Webnode platform aims to take the complexity out of building a website to make it possible for anyone, regardless of their web development experience and skills, to build a website from scratch. The platform has all the features needed to run a successful online business and the designs to make you look professional. Instead of writing code to get everything up and running, you just need to point and click.
The editor combines elements from point-and-click and drag-and-drop editors which gives users a decent amount of creative freedom while making it easy to add, delete, and rearrange different elements and features.
The drag-and-drop editor is a little bit clunky and when testing we found that it wasn’t easy to move content to exactly where you wanted without messing up other features. It felt a bit like moving an unformatted image around a word document (we’ve all been there…). However, there is an undo button so it’s easy to go back to where you started and try again.
Getting started with Webnode is really straightforward and is completed within 4 simple steps.
It’s really as easy as that! From there you’ll have to wait a couple of minutes for Webnode to work its magic and then you’ll have a fully functioning website ready for you to start editing.
Before you start there is a short one-minute onboarding video, it doesn’t really tell you much but it might be worth watching if you have never used a website builder before. The links to suggested videos at the end will tell you about various aspects of the platform in more detail.
Our Website Builder Ninjas were impressed by the level of design that has gone into each of the ready-made templates, it beats a lot of its competitors and rivals the best. There are over 100 to choose from and because of the freedom that comes with the drag-and-drop editor, you will be able to create a truly unique website that can stand out from the crowd. Being able to put your own stamp on something is important when lots of other people will be using the same templates.
Adding in new content blocks is done by clicking on one of the plus icon buttons you will see as you move your cursor around the screen. After you’ve clicked on it you will see a menu with all the different types of content blocks which include text boxes, heading boxes, product lists, order forms, photo galleries, and much more.
What’s great about content blocks on Webnode is that they are fully customizable. You can add, delete, and rearrange whatever you want to suit your needs. This is a big plus because it gives users more creative freedom compared with other platforms and is similar to what you experience with the Wix editor.
The Webnode editor comes with a bank of professional images and videos that you can use to bring your site to life or you can upload your own. There’s no search function on the image store so it can take some time to find the image you need, but hey, it’s free!
There is also a simple image editor where you can apply filters, color overlays, and animations as well as a cropping tool that makes it easy to resize your images.
There’s lots more to learn about the Webnode editor and if you want to find out more, head over to the Webnode knowledge base and explore the ‘how to edit your website guides’?
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Webnode is a website builder platform with all the features you would need to run a successful online business or personal page. There are also a number of standout features on the Webnode platform.
For example, there is a multi language feature that makes it easy to translate your home page and entire website content into multiple languages. This means you and your business can go global with just a few clicks. However, this feature is only available if you have a premium subscription. Follow the link for the how-to guide.
For some of you, the ability to customize will be really important and Webnode has thought of this by allowing you to embed HTML codes into your website. This will allow you to add additional functions you may need that Webnode doesn’t offer. Unfortunately, Webnode doesn’t have an app market to add in third-party elements to your site but finding third-party HTML code and adding it yourself will work out to about the same thing, it will just take a little longer.
It’s vital to understand how your site will perform in terms of SEO, so here at Website Builder Ninja we conduct our own SEO audit on every platform we review so that you know what you’re getting yourself into.
So, what’s our verdict for Webnode? Overall, it’s pretty good, however, like most website builders they haven’t got everything to do with SEO running perfectly.
Starting with the positives we can see Webnode has got basic SEO functions like the ability to input HTML headings (H1, H2, H3, etc.), edit titles, and meta-descriptions. Sitemaps are automatically made to help google index your pages and you can write image alt tags to give context to an image for the visually impaired.
Webnode also scored the highest on the google page speed test when compared with every other builder we have audited so far. This is a critical point because Google considers page speed as a direct ranking factor and will choose to rank faster websites above others.
So far so good, however, we did notice a few problems with the platforms SEO functions. For example, our test highlighted crawl errors that showed there are inner redirects for no reason. While this doesn’t affect the functionality of your site, Google’s search bots will consider this as bad practice which will make it more challenging to rank well.
Unfortunately, there was no schema present which is a form of microdata that creates rich snippets. Sites with rich snippets on average rank higher so it’s a shame Webnode has not supported this functionality.
To finish on a high note, the platform does offer a great custom code editor that will allow you or an SEO expert to fix any issues that Webnode may have missed.
Overall then, despite the great page speed, there are a few issues that could make it difficult to compete in a competitive SEO environment. However, for most users, this won’t be too much of an issue and you can always dive into the code if you need to improve it to keep up with competitors.
Setting up an ecommerce website is really easy with Webnode, you can either select that you want an online store during the onboarding process or you can add in an ecommerce page to any other design template in the same way you would add any new page. It will only take a couple of clicks whichever way you do it.
Did we mention that you can list up to 10,000 products on Webnode online stores?
Like most ecommerce builders you’ll be able to do everything yourself from listing products, uploading images, managing inventories, and looking into store analytics without needing any outside help and without needing to add any third party features to your website.
All Webnode ecommerce stores are designed to be mobile responsive so your customers can browse and purchase straight from their mobiles.
Webnode doesn’t have its own bookings and reservation functions, however, you can add in a third-party solution like Reservio by adding a reservations button which is programmed with the third-party HTML code.
If reading ‘HTML code’ has made you nervous, don’t worry, it’s not as difficult as it sounds. Webnode has made a simple step-by-step guide that most people will have no difficulty with.
Webnode keeps it simple with payment options giving you the choice to integrate Paypal, stripe, or accept cash-on-arrival.
Although you won’t get charged any commission from Webnode, Paypal and Stripe will charge a % per transaction for all sales on your website.
Webnode does offer a 15-day free trial which enables you to create a website with a subdomain and test out some of the features that the platform has to offer. Free sites will be limited to 100mb of storage and 1GB of bandwidth so, if you’re serious about your online presence you will want to upgrade ASAP once you’re happy you know how to use the basic features of the platform.
Webnode offers 4 pricing plans that include limited, mini, standard and profi.
The limited plan is basically just a paid free trial and the mini plan is also very limited and still includes Webnode branding so you probably won’t want to bother with them. So the real entry-level plan is the standard plan which starts at $11.95 a month. This includes 2GB of storage, 10GB of bandwidth, access to ecommerce features, google analytics, up to 2 languages, and 5 backups.
The main difference between the standard plan and the profi plan is with the profi plan you get unlimited access to the features described above.
Overall the support is pretty disappointing when compared with other website builder platforms on the market due to the lack of phone and live chat support.
There is a FAQ section and knowledge base that are filled with useful tips and information to overcome common problems. In particular, the knowledge base is really helpful and should guide you through most of the basic elements of the platform.
However, if you need direct feedback you will need to email Webnode or fill out a contact form and wait for a response. They say there will be a maximum wait of 24 hours and when we tested the system we got a response after around 2 ½ hours.
Once you’ve submitted a contact form and have received a ticket ID, you can reach out on Facebook messenger for a faster response.
For general inquiries email: [email protected]
For support email: [email protected]
So, can Webnode compete with the market leaders? In short, it can for some features but there are a few areas that let it down.
The standout features for Webnode have got to be the template designs that will enable everyone to create a good-looking professional website with ease and the multilanguage tool which enables you to translate your site into multiple languages and go global with just a few clicks. This is supported by a powerful ecommerce solution that lets you list up to 10,000 products and integrate Paypal for safe and secure payments.
The lack of technical and customer support is disappointing and the usability of the drag-and-drop editor will never compete with Wix. However, Webnode is one of the cheapest on the market, so if the downsides don’t bother you that much, you can save a few bucks a month and reinvest it into your business. If you like the sound of Webnode after reading this review and want to start your free trial, head over the Webnode now and try it out yourself.
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