Overview: Site123 is a user-friendly website builder that empowers individuals and businesses to create professional-looking websites with ease and efficiency. With its intuitive interface, pre-designed templates, and a range of features, Site123 provides a hassle-free solution for building websites without the need for technical expertise or coding skills.
One of the standout features of Site123 is its simplicity and ease of use. The platform offers a straightforward website creation process, guiding users step by step through the setup and customization process. Users can choose from a variety of professionally designed templates that are suitable for various industries and website types, including business websites, portfolios, online stores, blogs, and more. These templates can be customized using the drag-and-drop editor, allowing users to easily add and arrange elements such as text, images, videos, and forms to create a personalized website.
Site123 provides a range of essential features to enhance the functionality and interactivity of websites. Users can incorporate contact forms, social media buttons, photo galleries, video players, and other interactive elements seamlessly into their websites. The platform also offers built-in e-commerce capabilities, enabling users to set up online stores and manage product catalogs, inventory, and secure payment options.
Responsive design is a key focus for Site123. All websites created using Site123 are automatically optimized for mobile devices, ensuring a consistent and user-friendly experience across different screen sizes. This is particularly important in today's mobile-driven world, where users access websites from a variety of devices.
Additionally, Site123 provides powerful SEO tools to optimize websites for search engines. Users can easily customize page titles, meta descriptions, and URLs to improve their website's visibility in search engine results. The platform also generates sitemaps and provides options for integrating Google Analytics, allowing users to track website traffic and performance.
Site123 offers reliable web hosting, ensuring that websites are fast and accessible to visitors. The platform handles the technical aspects of hosting, including security, backups, and server maintenance, allowing users to focus on creating and managing their websites without worrying about the underlying infrastructure.
Customer support is a priority for Site123. The platform provides a comprehensive knowledge base and video tutorials to assist users in navigating the website creation process. Additionally, users can access 24/7 customer support through live chat or email, ensuring that any questions or issues are promptly addressed.
Site123 is a user-friendly website builder that simplifies the process of creating professional websites. With its intuitive interface, pre-designed templates, responsive design, e-commerce capabilities, SEO tools, and reliable hosting, Site123 offers a comprehensive solution for individuals and businesses seeking to establish a strong online presence. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced user, Site123 provides the tools and features to create attractive, functional, and mobile-responsive websites in a straightforward and efficient manner.
Features:
Every SITE123 website is free to use indefinitely. They do offer a free plan. However, to enhance your site features, and to connect a unique custom domain name you can buy one of the packages plans. There are four packages: Basic, Advanced, Professional, and Gold. The basic plan starts at $10.8 per month (for a minimum of 3 months contract to a max 36 months contract). With all the paid plans you get a free domain for 1 year and the ability to create email accounts, and much more. SITE123 allows you to make a multi-lingual website You can also buy additional email accounts separate of the package plans. All four plans include hosting, HTTPS security and removable SITE123 floating tags. All the plans come with their own cloud hosting, making sure your website is secured and available all the time. All the premium plans come with a 14-day money back guarantee. They offer a 24/7 live support. SITE123 even allows you to make a multi-lingual website.
Free plan- includes hosting and web editor with all its tools and you get 500MB storage, 1 GB bandwidth and a subdomain
Paid plans- You can select a plan for 3 months, 12 months, 243 months or 36 months. The longer period you choose the less price per month. There are 4 paid plans- Basic, Advanced, Professional and Gold. There are discounts if you pay upfront for a 12 months, 24 months or 36 months basis. The savings will be of 11%, 22%, and 33%, respectively
See additional pricing details below (Prices for 12-months)-
- Security- SITE123's websites come with SSL certification and are PCI compliant. No need to pay any extra for security.
- Backups and restore- No backup and restore function available. However, the handy autosave feature ensures that you don't lose all your site's content. All your content can be restored to the last autosave.
- Uptime and performance- SITE123 doesn't mention an uptime guarantee, but they do indicate that your site will be stored on hundreds of CDN servers spread acroos the globe. This makes the navigation quick which is good for mobile users as they are typically using slower networks.
- SEO- SITE123 offers SEO tools to make sure your website ranks higher on search engines such as Google. The HTML includes the appropriate tags, and automatically redirects the user from your previous old site or page if necessary. It also automatically generates a sitemap for your pages so the search engine users can use with ease. The SEO structure lets you set each page's title meta tag, description meta tag, keywords, and image meta tags.
- Analytics- SITE123 is compatible with a number of integrations for reporting and analytics, which includes Google Analytics, Google Webmaster Tools, Sumo, and many more. You can easily gain information about your visitors, traffic patterns, and visitor behaviour.
- Integrations and plug-ins- SITE123 allows you to link out to 25 different social media platforms . SITE123 does indeed feature a Google Maps integration and is also is integrated with Bandsintown, a tool for bands to promote themselves, and Soundcloud, which hosts audio tracks. For paid subscribers, SITE123 includes a number of third-party plugins that could be added by pasting an embed code into the provided space. You can implement website plugins such as live chat, analytic tools, and webmaster tools, though there are some form building and eCommerce tools offered as well. You can also integrate your preferred web apps into your website. For seamless integration some of the available plugins include:
- Google Analytics for SEO
- Hotjar for UX and conversion optimization
- Drip for multichannel marketing
- Zendesk and Facebook Chat for customer support
- App market- The SITE123 App Market full of apps that can be installed to extend the feature set and functionality of your website. App categories include (but are not limited to)- analytics, marketing, forms, galleries, social. There are also apps designed to help you include e-commerce functionality, such as payment processors, pricing, and even some full e-commerce suites.
- Free Hosting: SITE123 offers free hosting on a secured CDN server. Your site is accessible through the free SITE123 subdomain, but if you wish to use a custom domain with your site you have to upgrade to any of the paid subscription plans.
- Free Image and Icons Library: You can use any of the pictures or icons in the free libraries provided by SITE123, if you need additional content for your site. You can access stock images and icons that make your site much more aesthetically pleasing.
- Payments- for eCommerce, SITE123 offers 12 different payment gateway options, including Square, Stripe, and PayPal.
- Responsive- All the SITE123 websites are responsive by default. The website looks great with all kinds of devices and screen resolutions. Your website is automatically adjusted to smartphones and tablets. Furthermore, if you have an app for your business, you can provide a link to the appropriate app store so that your users can download it from their mobile device.
- Contact form- SITE123 offers different contact form layouts.
- Form builder- Make fantastic custom forms on your website with an easy-to-use form builder tool. It's also possible to add new fields if you need more customization. You can add a wide array of elements to it - text fields, checkboxes, radio boxes, etc. and arrange these elements as you like. If you want a more advanced form builder, paid subscribers can take advantage of the integration with 123FormBuilder.
- Password protection- You can set a specific password and a member's area with personal logins. Pictures or videos aren't protected if someone has the direct link
- Newsletter tool- A simple newsletter tool is integrated. You can send up to 10.000 messages per month to your subscribers with the highest plan.
- Advertisement free- You need to pick the Pro or VIP plan. Otherwise Strikingly will show a logo in the footer and add "on Strikingly" in the SEO-title.
- Depth of navigation- Even though you can decide whether the links in your menu should open a new different page or should scroll down on the same single page, you can only add one level.
- Widgets- You can add more features to your website via the plugin settings. However, there's no way to add external code via HTML which limits your possibilities to add new features that aren't available in the editor.
- Monetization- It is not possible to work with some typical banner code as you can't insert external source code. Though you can add affiliate links in your texts.
- Visitor statistics- There is an internal statistics tool, giving you a basic traffic overview including your most popular content. You can also connect Google Analytics with your website.
- HTML code- It is not possible to add external code
- Favicon- Use a favicon to stand out and be remembered. The favicon is the most memorable symbol people will associate with your website
- Share image- Upload a share image that will appear on social media when your website is shared. SITE123 gives you this great way of branding your business
- Cookie Consent Plugin- Let your visitors know you are collecting information by using SITE123's cookie consent plugin. Activate the tool and notify your clients today
- Dropdown Menus- Sort your web pages with dropdown menu tools for better navigation on your site. Organize your pages and give your visitors the best user experience
- Marketing- SITE123's email marketing feature lets you build subscribers for your email newsletter. You can choose from a set of mailing list templates to email your newsletter subscribers.
Other features in detail:
- Domain and email- With the paid plans you get a free domain for 1year and the ability to create email accounts. With the easy to use domain name search tool you can find, confirm, and create domains, register and secure it for your website easily. You can choose from more than 130 domain TLDs which includes country coded domains and domains that are registered trademarks. From .com to local domains, you get the domain of your choice. Also there are more than 365 great domain extensions. You can even buy a domain from another domain provider and connect it easily to your SITE123 website. SITE123 provides you a custom sub-domain free of cost and allows you to create subdomains under your domain which is quite useful when you want to creat multiple versions of your site.
Using the 'redirect domains' tool, you can point as many domains as you want to your website. You can even move your domain between SITE123 website. If you registered a domain through SITE123 and want to use it with a different SITE123 website, you can remove the connection from the first website and then add it to the other website.
You also get an email for your domain There are two ways you can get emails for your domain - either through your paid plan, or through manually buying additional mailboxes. You can create your own personalized mailbox with their affiliated mailbox feature under your domain.
- Templates- SITE123 offers more than 180 free website templates with a similar base design, with large hero images, cantered headlines, and parallax scrolling by default. There are ten recommended template categories- business, blog, event, restaurant, online store, etc. You will see mock-ups which shows how each template looks various devices. You can preview a working version and see how it will look on desktop or mobile devices, by clicking on any template. All the templates are free to use. With the free plan you can use the basic form of the templates. Limited changes are allowed to fonts, colours, and other design elements. To be able to use other interesting customization options and add-on features, you have to upgrade to a paid plan. All templates are mobile-responsive.
- Edit and change design of the template at any time, before, during, or after publishing to suit your company business
- The development team can even create templates suited for your type of business
- The in-house translation tool allows you to translate any template into dozens of different languages
- Add custom plug-ins to template
Website Builder- SITE123's web builder provides a range of easy to replace, ready-made styles and layouts that allow you to set up a totally professional website in minutes. The designs are divided into general categories like business, online store, or portfolio. They then break down into more specific subcategories. There's no complicated setup process since you can do everything in your browser. It also comes with a blog and online store. The advanced wizard with its prebuilt styles and layouts guides you through the website building process and help you set up an online presence without any effort. The web wizard features an integrated image bank which contains hundreds of quality images that can be used without any limitations and help you make an attractive website. Once your website is published, the web wizard allows you to manage and update it at any time and from anywhere in the world. Using the built-in wizard, abundant help features, and video tutorials, you can quickly setup a website that reflects your brand in just minutes. SITE123 take care of all the back-end server configuration, responsive design, and SEO
Editing features- From the editor, you can customize your website's layout, colour theme, menu style, header, footer, buttons, and fonts. You can even add social media icons. All of the editing features contains the following tabs: Homepage, Pages, Design, Settings, Preview, and Save.
- Homepage tab- change the copy, design, and layout of the landing page your users see when they first navigate to your site.
- Pages tab- add additional sections/pages to your site. If you want a one-page website, you can choose to show your site on a single page or you can build a multi-page site.
- You can use resources found in the content libraries.
- Design tab- change the appearance, layout, style (color scheme and link style, font, menu options, footer layout, and favicon and social media-related images.
- Settings tab- toggle various configuration options for your site like website type, e-commerce settings, SEO options, language support, plugins, and so on.
- Live Preview- Preview the changes you make to your site at any time. You can choose to preview your site for desktop (both full-screen and not), a tablet, and a smartphone.
Dashboard- Once you create your website with SITE123 you can manage the features through user friendly account dashboard. Under the Activities panel, you'll get a quick view of how your website is performing, including form submissions, sales, and mailing list signups. You can also view and manage any plugins or apps that you install. Under the Settings button, you can reset your website to its last published version, which is quite helpful if you make edits that you do not want to keep. Resetting your site will permanently delete all of your recent changes.
Online Store- SITE123 supports basic e-commerce. It allows you to easily add an always-open online store and pick from beautiful ecommerce templates. Choose your type of online store, add your products, define important settings such as tax and shipping, and then start selling online right away. Upload your products, add descriptions and multiple images to showcase your goods. Make any change or addition to your store from any device. Take payments with Paypal and credit cards, using major online payment methods and processors. Your online shop will look perfect on any device. You can create and manage coupons, custom product pricing according to variants like color and size, manually track product supply, set shipping and taxes according to the location of your customer. The online store comes with support to sell digital products. The gateway companies included with your online store are- 2Checkout, Braintree, and Stripe.
Other things that you can do:
- Insert your bank wire details into your online store settings to give you an offline option to online payment solutions
- Choose from over 80 different currencies
- Add conversion codes to get information about where your clients are coming from and how to improve your online business
- Customize the pricing of each product. Beyond setting the individual product's price, you can add product options. These product options can each have an associated price value which will add to the base product's price tag
- Alter the shipping methods and tax rates depending on country
- Track your inventory manually or automatically
- Upload multiple images for each product you have in your store
Blog- SITE123 has some really great and essential features to help you create a blog. Analytics, social bookmarking, a search feature and an RSS feed make it a solid choice to be the home of your posts. You can make your blog website for free and if you want to expand your blog's features and capabilities, you can upgrade your package at any time. To start with the blog- pick your design, customize your settings, upload your blog topic content, and then share your blog with the world. Post regularly and share all of your posts easily on all of the social media platforms. Build your blog and grow your community with the comment systems and subscription options. Respond to your blog readers and use the RSS tool to let people track your posts easily.
Other things that you can do:
- Monetize your blog- include paid advertising, sell online goods, or take advantage of our affiliate marketing program
- Connect a domain to your blog
- Blog templates and free themes are available
- Manually approve each comment or set the system to automatically approve all comments
- Reply to posting readers with your own comments
- Schedule your blog- set the exact date and time you want your blog posts to be released. Plan ahead with what content you want to release. Organize the intended direction and message you want to send
- Users can comment on your blog using Facebook or Disqus
- All SITE123 blogs come automatically with their own RSS link. These RSS links can be inserted by your audience into their RSS readers so that you community and can easily stay updated
- Restaurant reservations and menu- With SITE123's reservation tool accept table reservations on your website. Make an excellent menu for your restaurant website. With SITE123's menu page lets you bring new clients and customers with great design and features.
- Musician Tools- Build your music website with great musician tools and spread your music worldwide. The SITE123 musician tools offer many features.
Other features:
SITE123 offers a straightforward user experience with an easy to use editor and user-friendly dashboard. You can edit your website's content, navigation, and general design, SITE123 guides you through the creation process by staging forceful interventions when necessary to guide you along the correct path. However, it is not a drag and drop editor so you cannot freely place elements anywhere on your page. You can enjoy an easier website set-up process. Just pick a wireframe layout and upload your content. All SITE123 website are responsive on all devices. SITE123 focuses on quick building, at every step. The platform is quite beginner friendly. They have options for starting a blog, an online store, or a portfolio which is an easy and smooth process. When you are signing in for the first time SITE123 gives you a quick guided tour which is an excellent feature for beginners. Each pop-up includes basic tips, as well as quick videos and SITE123 tutorials.
You can easily preview changes and see how your finished product will look like before going live. Signing up for the platform is a simple, three step process and it's straightforward, easy to understand, and efficient. All in all, SITE123 offers an intuitive and easy to use website building tools.
Devices Supported:
- Web-Based, Cloud
- iPhone / iPad
- Android
Language Supported:
Up to 5 languages can be added easily through the paid plans. Choose the language you want to add from a menu, and the system will automatically create a translation. It can also be edited manually. SITE123 itself is available 21 languages, including English
If you're unsatisfied, you can get a full refund of all fees paid if you cancel within 14 days of initiating service.
Is SITE123 the right website builder tool?
Support and help center:
Live chat support is available in English 24/7, and in 16 other languages at various times. You can even download transcripts of your live chat. You can also reach the support team via email.
Self-help resources- There are hundreds of Q&As with 20+ categories, with descriptive answers and links to SITE123 tutorials on YouTube. There are also great FAQ blocks at the end of almost every page. You can view the dozens of video tutorials available on SITE123's YouTube site.
Social media- SITE123 maintains an active presence on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn, so you can certainly contact the team using any of these platforms.
In-editor Chatbot- Another great feature is instant access to support materials while using the editor. You can type various keywords (into the question mark button that pops up a text box) and run a search to find relevant knowledge base information. This function also allows you to chat with an agent, or send a message to the support team
- Create a free website, no credit card required.
- No coding required, quite beginner friendly
- Free domain registration, with a purchase of annual package
- Easy to use ecommerce website builder with great templates and features
- Allows you to create a free blog with fantastic features
- Responsive web design and mobile- friendly website
- Safe and secure free web hosting
- SEO tools that give a perfectly optimized website
- Easy to use app market, add amazing web apps to boost your website
- Free gallery full of media and hundreds of mobile responsive templates
- Allows you to create a multi lingual website
- Custom form builder
- Option to display logo on your website
- Flexibility to choose a single-page or a multi-page website.
- Great email marketing, social media integration, password protection for website
- Free email accounts with advanced, professional and gold package
- No transaction fee for sales you make on your online shop
- Excellent tech support and 24/7 online chat
Cons
- To make an ad-free website you need the paid plans
- Quite expensive for what it offers
- Design limitations- you cannot change the page layout; you can choose from pre-made layouts
- You cannot switch the template once your site goes live
- You cannot edit the HTML and CSS
- No option for site backup
- You cannot download your website as SITE123 is a proprietary web service
- You want to make an unlimited pages website- SITE123 allows you to make an unlimited number of pages but with a limitation of overall storage amount (that varies as per your subscription plan)
- You want unlimited sites: SITE123 allows you to create a single website or multiple websites under one account and manage all of them with a single admin username. However, if you're using a paid plan, you still need to pay for each site individually (on monthly or annual basis).
- You are looking for an in-built email marketing feature. Instead of using a third-party email marketing service, SITE123 includes built-in tools so that you can you can easily communicate with your clients and stay in touch with your users via newsletters
- You want to create beginner- friendly website. With the intuitive editing interface, no prior design experience or technical knowledge is required
Not recommended if:
- You are looking for an unlimited bandwidth and unlimited storage. Even the highest paid plan gives you 270GB storage and 135Gb bandwidth
- You are a fan of the drag and drop website builder as you cannot drag and drop with SITE123's website builder. You can only upload you content
- You want to create an ad-free website free of cost. If you want to get rid of all SITE123 ads you will need the advanced plan or higher.
With SITE123 you can build a perfectly functional and attractive website. SITE123 offers diverse website categories (for restaurant owners, musician and more) and their multi-language management is a great feature. SITE123 has translated their site builder into 69 different languages and automatically turns the menus and navigation features of your site for you. Their editor also has a unique side-by-side viewing option that you can use as you translate your site from one language to another. The editor is easy to use and quite powerful. SITE123 offers more than 100 pre-built website designs. Most features are available free of charge (with SITE123 subdomain its banner), but the paid plans (with multi-language features) are reasonably priced. Discounts are available with long term contracts, reducing the month-to-month cost. SITE123 offers an extensive array of self-help materials. You can also reach their customer support team via email or 24/7 live chat.
However, there are few drawbacks like free users have very limited font choices and basic paid plan users can't add plugins or apps. Also, it comes with a limited navigation menu feature. It's not possible to add some subcategories, and you can insert or tweak the HTML code. But if we ignore the few odds and ends, SITE123 is quite straightforward and beginner-friendly solution, overall.
