Jimdo Review

At one end of the hosting spectrum, customers who seek a full-fledged hosting plan and website builder combination can expect to spend upward of $100 per year for a bevy of features and tools that might largely go unused. With Jimdo, however, users that are fine with using a Jimdo subdomain can keep their site online for free for however long they'd like.

Fourteen-day free trials are far more common in the website builder industry, but Jimdo includes a cost-free option among its three packages. Subscribers to the free plan might miss out on some tools for site analytics, search engine optimization, and eCommerce, but Jimdo provides enough basic features that customers won't feel like they were left out in the cold. Without a ticking clock reminding site owners that their cost-free happiness will be short-lived, customers are free to explore the platform and make a fully-informed decision about whether to upgrade.

Every Jimdo website includes roughly 100 professional templates with countless styling options, along with built-in tools for blogging, social media, videos, photo galleries, maps, contact forms, and online stores. Perhaps one of the coolest inclusions is the free HTTPS encryption across all sites — visitors' data will be secure and your website will get a boost in search results.

The two premium options for Jimdo cost $20 per month or less, which is a few dollars per month cheaper than every other competitor we've looked at. Sure, Jimdo doesn't quite offer the same scalability as some of the larger website builders, but we're fine waiting to cross that bridge if needed. The vast majority of users will be quite happy with the services and stability Jimdo provides, all while pocketing the savings.

Jimdo makes the onboarding process exceedingly easy for new customers. Whether you're signing up for a free or paid plan, the first step is to choose a template. You can try several different options in the editor, but we found the system's template filter to be an extremely useful tool that enables users to quickly identify templates that include the desired navigation style or column structure without having to sift through 100 or more options. Jimdo's templates are certainly above average, but likely won't knock your socks off when compared with pricer site builder alternatives.

The main Jimdo interface, Creator, neatly wraps all features in an easy-to-navigate portal. Site owners can quickly and intuitively select new color schemes, change out photos, and add new elements. More experienced users might miss the fine-grain control other builders provide, but we like that Jimdo doesn't give users enough rope with which to hang themselves. You still get the full what-you-see-is-what-you-get, or WYSIWYG, experience, but you won't have to worry about accidentally moving something out of alignment.

Jimdo revamped Creator in late 2017 as it launched a newer system, called Dolphin. Making an easy web design process even easier, Dolphin promises a complete website in three minutes or less. Users answer a series of questions about business information and design preferences, and Dolphin's artificial intelligence will create a ready-to-publish website with relevant text and imagery. Site owners can enjoy the head start and continue editing and tweaking content, rather than planning what needs to happen next.

Whichever path you choose, Jimdo provides plenty of tools to make sure your creation gets seen by the masses. All users can check their website's Google indexing status and listing, and paying customers can create an XML sitemap, meta titles and descriptions, and page URLs. Add in iOS and Android mobile apps for on-the-go editing, and site owners can quickly produce vibrant, dynamic content that builds an audience and pool of customers.