Jimdo Website Builder Review:
AI-Powered Websites? Tell Me More...
When setting out to create your own business site, finding the right website builder can be full of twists and turns. Since they initially burst onto the scene, Jimdo has had steady popularity. The Jimdo editor is a smart, AI-based website builder aimed at those of us looking to make a website quickly, without needing to have any coding skills.
To get to know Jimdo better we will be reviewing the pros and cons, pricing and features, as well as comparing them to a similar competitor to see how Jimdo measures up.
Find out where we ranked Jimdo in our Best Website Builders review.
Overview
Jimdo’s whole conception is based around providing entrepreneurs and the self-employed with an easy and accessible way to build their own websites, without needing to know how to code. Their AI-based website builder collects all the necessary information to set up the basic structure of your website by taking you through a series of questions. The Jimdo virtual set-up wizard also connects to your Google™ and Facebook account, gathering any images and useful information to help fully customize your website in a matter of minutes.
With unique and handy features like updating your website anywhere, any time, Jimdo is striving to find ways to cater to those busy small business owners. Jimdo also has one of the more versatile free options around, letting you truly get a feel for what they can do. One of the previous major drawbacks to Jimdo was its limited plan offerings and its lack of options for payment processing outside of the EU. With recent updates, it’s easy to install Stripe© to your Jimdo online store, and Jimdo has expanded to offer several more plans.
Build your business website today with Jimdo.
Jimdo Pros and Cons
Pros
- Jimdo has some of the highest customer reviews in the industry - many satisfied customers all around!
- Both the Jimdo web editor and any website you make with it are mobile-ready. Meaning you can edit on-the-go and know that it will look good on any device at any time.
- Their free version is one of the best around, allowing you a greater sense of what they can do.
- The Jimdo virtual set-up wizard can have your professional website up and running in a matter of minutes. Plus, since the wizard searches the internet for the best images, your site will look good right from the start.
- If you set up your online store with Jimdo, they never take a transaction fee. It’s all your money right from the start.
Cons
- The range of features and paid package options still feels limited, even with recent upgrades. There’s no blog options, no password protection, and no handy app store to connect extra features to your site.
- Because Jimdo is so focused on you never needing to know how to add code to your site, they don’t have a hypertext markup language (HTML) element. So even if you know how to code and want to further customize your site, you can’t.
- Jimdo is only set up to accept payment via PayPal for US ecommerce stores, so if you’re planning on starting an online store, you won’t have a credit card gateway unless you connect Stripe.
- All of Jimdo’s customer service is email only. So if you’re a phone call person, they might not be a good fit.
Jimdo Website Plans
Within the Websites tier, Jimdo has three main options: Play, Start, and Grow. All Jimdo plans are billed annually, there is no month-to-month option.
Play = $0/mo.
For a free plan, the Jimdo Play Plan packs quite a bit in there. With two gigabytes (GB) of bandwidth, you can still offer quite a bit on your site. This plan also comes with 500 megabytes (MB) of storage, as well as access to the Jimdo Image Library— no worries if you don’t have professional images ready for your site, Jimdo has you covered. You can also add a contact form to your website, helping customers reach out and stay in touch. Like all Jimdo sites, their Play Plan comes with mobile-optimization, meaning you can edit on-the-go, and rest assured that your website will look good no matter what device it’s being viewed on. The drawbacks of this plan begin with only being able to display up to five pages on your website. Further, you can’t have your own custom domain, and you’ll have to have Jimdo logos, links, and ads on your site.
When to use: The Jimdo Play Plan is a good way to feel out what Jimdo has to offer. Since they don’t have any sort of free trial period for their premium plans, the Play Plan is a wonderful way to figure out if Jimdo is a good fit. However, it is not recommended for long-term use as those Jimdo banners and ads can get annoying real fast. You also don’t get customer support with this plan, so if you have any questions you’ll have to pay to get them answered.
Start = $9/mo.
For a reasonable price, the Jimdo Start Plan comes with everything included in the Play Plan, as well as 10 GB of bandwidth, 5 GB of storage, and up to 10 website pages. Plus, you can now connect your own domain— free for the first year. And you can set up your business email to match your domain, with one forwarding email address attached. Not only do those pesky ads get removed, but you also get access to advanced statistics and search engine optimization (SEO) and customized instructions on how to fully optimize your site. The only minor drawback of this plan is that customer support will email you back within one to two business days. Not the most prompt response time.
When to use: The Jimdo Start Plan is a solid option for freelancers or artists looking to get a professional website or landing page up and running. Any new or smaller business owners without access to quality images of your brand or services just yet will find the Image Library super useful as well.
Grow = $15/mo.
The Jimdo Grow Plan comes with everything featured in the Start Plan, as well as 20 GB of bandwidth, 15 GB of storage, and you can now have up to 50 pages on your website. Plus, when you connect your professional email account, you can now have up to five forwarding email addresses. At this tier you also get more prompt customer support, with a guarantee they will email you back within four hours. Not only that, but you now have access to social marketing, allowing you to reach new customers with Facebook Pixel® and Facebook Ads® .
When to use: The Jimdo Grow Plan is great for any established or growing small business. With the extra storage and bandwidth you can showcase more of who you are and what you do. And with access to social marketing, you have more insight into what is working well for your brand.
Jimdo Online Store Plans
For their Online Store offerings Jimdo has two plans to choose from: Basic and Business.
Basic = $15/mo.
With the Jimdo Basic Plan, you get pretty much everything included in the Start Plan, but with 10 GB of storage instead of just five. Plus, you can now open your online store with no transaction fees— Jimdo doesn’t skim the top. There are a wide range of payment methods available, but you will have to connect Stripe as a payment processor to access them. Whereas Stripe is free, they do take a percentage of each transaction as a fee.
When to use: For makers looking to branch out from other selling platforms, it’s worth a shot. However, the Jimdo ecommerce options are fairly limited. You can’t list unlimited products, and with the Basic Plan you can’t have various product layouts. If you don’t have a large store but want to get the feel for what running an online shop would be like, this is a good low-cost option.
Business = $19/mo.
The Jimdo Business Plan comes with everything in the Basic Plan, with some extra features. There’s now 20 GB of bandwidth, 15 GB of storage, you can connect up to five forwarding email addresses instead of just one, and you can have up to 50 pages on your website. Plus, you can now offer discount codes to your customers, and sync and sell your products on Facebook and Instagram with Jimdo’s Social Selling. You can also offer variations for your products, giving your customers a wider range of items to shop from. Moreover you can now showcase your products in different layouts. Highlight how good of a deal your customers are getting by having strikethrough prices when you feature sale items. The only major drawback is that even with this being the highest pricing plan Jimdo offers, it’s still only ideal for shops with up to 100 products.
When to use: For those looking to set up a modest online store, the Jimdo Business Plan is here for you. With easy ways to showcase what you have to offer, this is a great way to get your shop up and running. However, if ecommerce is your sole focus, you may want to look elsewhere as these features will feel limited quickly.
Recommended
In all honesty, the Jimdo Start Plan is a steal of a deal. With enough features to get your business website up and running, you’ll be wowing customers with your business email and professional site in no time.
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How Does Jimdo Compare?
Seeing how Jimdo can measure up to a competitor is a great way to find out if Jimdo is a good fit or not. Not only does this showcase where Jimdo may still need some improvement, but also provides a quick way to glance at other pricing and features.
We chose Wix, another popular website builder with similar price points.
Competitor - Wix
Wix is a wildly popular and easy-to-use website editor. Its templates are user-friendly and visually appealing, and the drag-and-drop features allow for a complete sense of control when creating your masterpiece. Overall, Wix is intuitive and capable of keeping in touch with the needs of its users, making things simple and streamlined.
For more information, read our Wix Website Builder Review.
Pricing: Wix also offers a free plan, with ads and limitations as well. And, like Jimdo, Wix has two separate tiers for their paid plans: Website and Business & Ecommerce. However, Wix offers more plan options at both tiers, catering to more users in the process. Most Wix plans are more expensive than Jimdo plans, with the cheapest Wix plan starting at $12 and the most expensive reaching as high as $49 per month.
Features: Wix really takes the cake here. Offering access to an app store and features that allow you to completely customize your website, Wix is the more versatile of the two. Even Wix’s ecommerce features are better, with access to abandoned cart recovery and offering users shipping discounts. Wix also lets you connect and sell on more social media platforms than just Instagram and Facebook.
Customer Support: Both Wix and Jimdo operate on a tiered system for customer support. Meaning the higher your plan level, the more prompt the customer support response. However, Wix also offers phone and chat support, whereas Jimdo only offers email support, regardless of plan level.
Number of Users: Wix is one of the most popular website builders around, boasting over 200 million users. Meanwhile, Jimdo is still growing with a solid 20 million websites hosted through them and counting.
Frequently Asked Questions
How easy is it to get setup?
Incredibly easy! The Jimdo AI-based set-up wizard takes you through a quick questionnaire to create a completely catered-to-you website in a matter of a few minutes. No extra fuss or hassle required.
Is there a free version
Yes there is! And it’s better than most, to be honest. Although it’s not meant for a long-term solution, it is a pretty versatile way to explore what Jimdo has to offer. Of course there will be ads displayed and no way for you to connect your own domain with this version.
What extra features or perks are included?
Jimdo is full of professional pictures in their Image Library, helping you rest easy knowing they are copyright-free. They also recently have added a logo maker and their mobile-responsive editor allows you to update your site anytime, anywhere.
Should You Use Jimdo?
Jimdo is getting there, they are consistently improving and offering more. It’s good to know that, as a company, they can listen to what their customers are saying to offer more options and provide better service. However, some of what they currently offer can feel a bit limiting. Although, if you are looking to have a website up in a few minutes with no fuss, they may be a really good fit. If you still want some more options, check out our Best Website Builder Review or try our top pick for best website builder, GoDaddy.
After all we’ve discussed, we give Jimdo 3.7 out of 5 stars. Jimdo is simple and easy to use. You can have your beautiful website up and running in a matter of minutes.