Webnode Review: A Quick Website Builder for Startups

Computer screen with Webnode pricing on screen.

It can be tough to get your business website built and ready to go. Whether you build your website yourself or hire a developer, the process can be time-consuming and expensive, requiring a lot of detailed, hard work. But with a convenient and easy-to-use website builder, your startup’s website can be off the ground in no time. One especially fast website builder is Webnode.

Overview

The Webnode website builder is affordable and easy to get started with. It may not have the bells and whistles that some other website builders have, but its simplicity could be its strength. Webnode might be perfect if you don’t have a lot of technical skills, you don’t need a more full-featured website builder, or you simply have to get your website up in a day.

Building a business website from a Webnode template is simple and quick. Every template includes the basics of search engine optimization (SEO), so you don’t need to be an SEO expert to get started.

It may not have a very robust ecommerce feature set, but for a restaurant, artist, freelancer, or service-based startup, Webnode will cover the basics and do it cheaply and quickly.

In just a few hours, you could create and launch a professional website for your startup using Webnode.

Webnode Pros and Cons

Pros

  1. Webnode is one of the easiest website builders to use.
  2. Webnode offers highly competitive pricing.
  3. All templates are optimized for search engines.
  4. You’ll have access to all the essential features and tools you’d expect from a website builder. 
  5. You’ll reap the benefits of fast site speed.
  6. Your customer data will be secure since all Webnode websites utilize established security systems including HTTPS with SSL encryption.

Cons

  1. Once you’ve chosen a template, you can’t change your mind. This can be problematic if you rebrand your company or change your mind halfway through building your website.
  2. Although you will have access to essential features, you won’t have access to all the features you’d have with other website builders.
  3. Although Webnode has ecommerce capabilities, its offerings are much more limited than other builders. If you’re starting an ecommerce business, consider other ecommerce-focused builders before purchasing a website package.

Webnode Pricing and Features

This easy-to-use website builder has several different options for pricing and plans. Webnode plans are divided into two sections: Premium Website Plans and Premium Ecommerce Plans. The Webnode Standard plan and Webnode Profi plan appear in both categories so we’ll cover them in the Premium Ecommerce section.

Note that the minimum term of a Webnode plan is one year, and the prices below reflect a one-year plan. You can save more by signing up for a longer term. Webnode Premium plans come with a 15-day money-back guarantee, so you can try them out for two weeks to decide if you want to keep them.

Webnode Premium Website Plans

There are four Premium Website plans — Limited, Mini, Standard, and Profi. Webnode Standard and Profi plans are more tailored to ecommerce businesses, so we’ll cover those with the ecommerce plans. The prices are listed as a monthly cost, but be aware that you are charged annually. You can usually get a lower price by agreeing to a longer term.

Webnode review.

Webnode Limited = $3.90/mo.

The Webnode Limited plan will make an attractive and professional-looking website in less than a day, but it will limit the professionalism of your site. You will have to use an assigned Webnode domain instead of your own personal domain if you do not choose to buy a custom domain separately. Webnode will also display its own ads on your site. Basic site analytics are included but limited to the previous 30 days. 

When to use: In some rare cases, the Webnode Limited plan might check all your boxes. For instance, if you simply need to have a bare-bones website online immediately, and especially if you already own a domain name, it could be helpful for getting your site up and running. However, not having your own domain name and being forced to display Webnode ads will be a deal-breaker for most. As your business and your needs grow, you may want to upgrade to another Webnode Premium plan.

Webnode Mini = $7.50/mo.

With the Webnode Mini plan, you can connect your own personal domain and get a free domain voucher for your first year. You also get one email address at your custom domain, which immediately ups your brand’s professionalism and authority. Webnode will still display its own ads on your website and there is still no option to include a store, but you will have access to Webnode analytics for the entire history of your website.

When to use: The Webnode Mini plan is a good low-cost package for most any artist, freelancer, or small business looking to get a professional website up fast. The Webnode Mini plan even includes the option to embed a video on your homepage. 

Webnode Premium Ecommerce Plans

In addition to personal website options, Webnode also offers Premium Ecommerce plans for anyone looking to open an online store. As mentioned earlier, the Standard and Profi plans appear in both categories, but the Webnode Business plan only appears in this category. If you expect to need a store on your website, you should choose a Premium Ecommerce plan.

Note that the prices listed are monthly, but you are billed annually. You can usually get a lower price by agreeing to a longer term instead of the minimum one-year term.

Webnode review.

Webnode Standard = $12.90/mo.

With the Webnode Standard plan, you get one year of custom domain registration and up to 20 email addresses at your domain. Storage and bandwidth are increased substantially, and ads are removed. Ecommerce options are available on the Webnode Standard plan, including a basic store, membership for up to 100 users, a form builder for customers or clients to send messages or set appointments, and integration with Google Analytics and Google AdSense. But, if your store needs to include advanced features like product variations or international shipping, you may need to upgrade to a more advanced plan.

When to use: New and small ecommerce businesses will most likely find the Webnode Standard plan perfectly meets their needs. As your business grows, you’ll always have the ability to upgrade to one of the higher-tier plans if necessary.

Webnode Profi = $22.90/mo.

The Webnode Profi plan has all the same features as the Webnode Standard plan, but with some added bonuses. Not only does it offer more storage and unlimited bandwidth, but it also expands ecommerce capabilities to include international shipping, product variations, discount settings, and integration with third-party marketplaces like Google, Facebook, and eBay. Product search and the ability to manually editor orders on customers’ behalf make your store more user-friendly.

When to use: With its expanded storage and bandwidth, plus international shipping, the Webnode Profi ecommerce plan is good for any online store looking to expand. 

Webnode Business = $31.90/mo.

For larger ecommerce operations or simply for those who want finer control over their stores, we recommend the Webnode Business plan. Storage is upgraded further to 15 GB, and much more fine-tuning is available in the store. You can manually add orders to the site, use automated invoicing, accept multiple currencies, and customize all emails sent to customers, giving you total control over the branding of your communications. Still, even as the best available, the Business plan is not the most full-featured ecommerce website builder out there.

When to use: The Webnode Business plan is best for businesses that need a very large online store, need to accept foreign currencies, or simply want finer control over the tone of their communications, but don’t need all the flexibility and customization of a more involved website builder.

Recommended

Because Webnode only remove ads at the Standard plan level, we recommend the Standard plan or above. Photographers, videographers, artists, or other businesses that might need extra storage space and bandwidth may benefit from the Webnode Profi plan.

How Does Webnode Compare?

Comparing Webnode competitors is a great way to find out if Webnode is the best website builder for your business. Not only does this showcase where Webnode may be lacking or excelling, but it can also provide a quick way to glance at pricing and features for a Webnode alternative.

We chose GoDaddy, our pick for best website builder for startups.

Competitor - GoDaddy

While Webnode can be a solid website builder for startups, it is still not our #1 pick. The GoDaddy website builder remains at the top of our Best Website Builders list due to benefits like endless customization options, powerful add-ons, and 24/7 human customer service. GoDaddy offers an affordable, easy-to-use website builder that allows you to quickly have a website up and running. In just a matter of minutes, you can create a fast, mobile-friendly business website with very little effort.

For more information, read our review of GoDaddy here.

Pricing: GoDaddy Website Builder plans begin at $9.99/month, including email and social media marketing tools. Webnode Premium plans start at only $3.90/month, but for a comparable plan, you’d need to pay $7.50/month.

Features: GoDaddy is very simple to use, even for beginners. You don’t have to be tech-savvy to have a great-looking GoDaddy website running within minutes. GoDaddy websites are automatically mobile-optimized so you never have to worry about losing a visitor to slow pages. Your new startup website also comes with valuable SEO, email, and marketing tools to help you grow your business. 

Customer Support: Both GoDaddy and Webnode offer priority customer support to higher-level plans, but GoDaddy consistently offers more support for all its customers. Webnode’s customer service is only available five days per week, and its response time is slower than GoDaddy’s.

Number of Users:  GoDaddy is fairly popular, boasting over 20 million customers worldwide. Webnode, however, has over 40 million users, making it a slightly more popular website builder.

Should You Use Webnode?

With its wide variety of pricing plans and quick website builder, Webnode is sure to have a plan for almost any small business owner or freelancer looking to get their first site off the ground and build their brand. It’s super quick and simple to sign up and begin building right away, but it is not very flexible or robust. If you have a medium or large business, or you need more advanced ecommerce features, check out our Best Website Builder Review or try our top pick for the best website builder, GoDaddy.

Frequently Asked Questions for Webnode

How easy is it to get set up?

Webnode offers one of the easiest ways to get started. It may not be the most flexible website builder, but that also makes it a particularly quick and consistent process.

Is there a free version?

Yes, there is! But it comes with ads and limited capabilities so we don’t recommend it. You can always test drive any of the Webnode Premium plans with a 15-day free trial.

What extra features or perks are included?

All Webnode plans come with access to its customer support — though it is limited to five days per week and can be somewhat slow. Most of Webnode’s Premium plans come with a voucher for one year of custom domain registration.