SITE123 Review 2024: Easy Setup, But Some Key Limitations

Site123 at a Glance

Should You Use SITE123?

1

SITE123 is very user-friendly and it comes with a nice list of features, including everything from mobile-responsive templates to e-commerce. If you want to build a personal site, a simple site for your new business, or even an online store with a few products, it should be more than enough for your needs. But if your needs are more complex than that, will SITE123 still be able to provide you with the best website possible?

In my colleague’s comparison of the best website builders on the market, SITE123 took one of the top places. So does it strike the ideal balance – easy yet powerful? Does the ease of use mean a lack of functionality? Read on to find out.

Attractive, Mobile-Responsive Templates

SITE123 offers more than 80 website templates. You can scroll through the main Templates page until you find one you like, or you can click on one of ten recommended template categories, such as Business, Blog, Event, Restaurant, or Online Store.

As you browse the templates, you’ll see mock-ups of how each template looks on both computer screens and handheld devices. By clicking on any template, you can preview a working version of it in both formats.

I’m happy to report that all SITE123 templates are free to use, but there’s a significant catch. The free plan allows you to use templates only in their most basic form. What you see on the Templates page is pretty much what you’ll get, with only limited changes allowed to fonts, colors, and other design elements.

Design and Customization

If you want the most interesting customization options and add-on features, you have to upgrade to a paid plan. Though it’s a little frustrating, I found SITE123’s plans are quite affordable and offer fair value for the extra customization they unlock.

Here’s a major plus: All of the templates are mobile-responsive, so you won’t have to do extra work to make your website look good on smartphones or tablets.

1. The best customizations require payment. I’ve said it before, but I feel it’s one of SITE123’s major drawbacks: You can only unlock the full range of editing options for your template by purchasing a paid SITE123 subscription. Even fairly small changes, like accessing the full font library or custom color schemes, require an upgrade.
2. The templates look very similar. Most of the 80+ templates share a very similar base design, with large hero images, centered headlines, and parallax scrolling by default. You can, of course, make changes to individual components (especially if you upgrade), but it’s pretty hard to revamp the overall look. So if you don’t like the aesthetics of the first 25 templates you scroll through, then there’s a good chance that SITE123 isn’t for you.

Although there’s a lot to like about SITE123’s templates, I did find some drawbacks. For one thing, you can’t buy SITE123-compatible templates anywhere else. You also can’t access a template’s source code. So although there is a decent number of customization options available, you can never truly alter or expand the template itself. That said, if you’re a beginner, this probably won’t bother you.

Robust Features, if You’ve Got the Cash

Templates are the foundation of any website builder, but the customization features are where things get really interesting. Overall, SITE123 falls in an interesting place when it comes to features. On one hand, it offers a way more comprehensive toolbox than other beginner-focused builders. However, some of SITE123’s most interesting features are locked behind paid plans. The good news is that if you have room in your budget for them, these features are quite useful for growing a business.

All the Essential E-commerce Features

SITE123 offers easy and fairly robust e-commerce tools. Most of these features are reserved for the two highest subscriptions, called Professional and Gold. But if you’re looking to open an online store, the investment might be worth making. With these two plans, you can:

• Accept online payments through Stripe, PayPal, Square, AmazonPay, and more
• Display an unlimited number of products
• Process an unlimited number of orders per month
• Send up to 10,000 marketing list emails per month
• Gather/display customer ratings and reviews for products
• Allow customers to create personal wish lists, saved to their accounts

SITE123 does not take any sales commission, so the only sales-related added cost is the transaction fee from your chosen payment processor. This is standard across e-commerce platforms, with transaction fees usually hovering around 3%.

Speaking of transactions, you might be wondering, just how secure is SITE123? Good news here – even free users get SSL/HTTPS encryption, so your customers won’t have to wonder whether their information is protected.

It’s also worth noting that you can add an e-commerce website page even with the free plan. You just won’t be able to accept online payments or use your own domain. In my opinion, the free plan isn’t the best option for an online store. That is, unless your customers love making offline bank transfers to a random SITE123 domain (in which case, I have some follow-up questions about who is buying your stuff).

Apps and Plugins for SEO, Live Chat, and More

With either of the top two subscriptions, you’ll have full access to SITE123’s library of plugins and App Market. However, not all of these tools will be included in your plan. You’ll have to pay extra for some of them, even if you’re a Gold subscriber.

Available plugins allow for seamless integration with some of the biggest names out there, including:

• Google Analytics for SEO
• Hotjar for UX and conversion optimization
• Drip for multichannel marketing
• Zendesk and Facebook Chat for customer support

In addition, the SITE123 App Market offers tools for form building, pricing tables, online bookings, and more.

SITE123’s app market can add functionality to any e-commerce shop, blog, and a wide variety of other websites. While it might not be the way to go if you’re looking to create a major e-commerce shop (that’s what platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce are for), the app market can greatly improve your chances of connecting with visitors and expanding your site.

Display Your Website in Multiple Languages

In addition to using the SITE123 website builder itself in 21 different languages, you can set up your website to display in up to five languages (out of hundreds available). Unfortunately, this multilingual option requires a paid subscription. The higher your subscription level, the more languages you can use.

Bottom line: SITE123’s features are versatile enough for many personal and business users, although you get the most functionality by paying the highest price.

It’s Not Drag and Drop, but It’s Definitely Easy

SITE123’s simplified editing bar makes it easy to edit your website’s content, navigation, and general design (within the confines of your template). You might not be able to drag-and-drop elements anywhere on the page, but the ease and speediness of editing your site with SITE123 make up for this small loss in creative freedom.

Website Edits Are Hassle-Free (Within Limits)

All of SITE123’s editing options are listed in a bar at the left-hand side of the screen. Just click on any category, like Pages, to see all of the customization options available.

From the editing bar, you can easily:

• Add, edit, or delete site pages
• Upload photos and videos
• Add new content blocks to any page, like FAQs, galleries, or testimonials
• Add an e-commerce block for products
• Change your site from single-page to multi-page
• Change fonts and colors
• Add call-to-action buttons

Most of these changes are super simple to make with a few clicks. But as I’ve mentioned a few times now, you can only change the elements that are included in your subscription plan. That said, depending on what you need from your website, this might not be a big issue.

You can build a perfectly functional and attractive website on SITE123 using only the free pages. These include useful sections like contact forms, image galleries, blog pages, and even appointment booking – which are paid add-ons with many other site builders. The apps and plugins simply add more power and pizzazz, along with advanced business features like website analytics and marketing.

To add content to a specific page, you’ll have to choose from a list of pre-made sections. As I’ve mentioned, you get limited options for customizing the specific layout of each section, but that doesn’t mean you get none.

If you want to edit any individual element within a page, all you have to do is hover over it and click on the “edit” button. Alternatively, you can edit an entire section by clicking on the gear icon next to “Layouts.”

Overall I’d affirm that SITE123 fulfills its promise of facilitating easy site-building. Is it genuinely the absolute easiest website builder of all time? With the massive number of website builders out there, maybe not. However, its features do offer a great balance of ease and functionality. You definitely don’t need any experience to build a high-quality website with SITE123.

Need Help? You’ll Get a Guided Tour

Whenever you start work on a new site in SITE123, you’ll get a quick “guided tour” of the editing bar. Each pop-up includes basic tips, as well as quick videos and SITE123 tutorials to get you started.

There’s also a box in the lower corner of SITE123 pages for live chat support. I’ll share my experiences with this and other support options in just a bit.

Manage Everything Through a User-Friendly Dashboard

Once you’ve created your website, you’ll manage its features through your 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. Any plugins or apps you install can be viewed and managed here, too.

You can reset your website to its last published version, which is helpful if you make edits that you decide not to keep. To do this, click the arrow next to the publish button in the website editor, select ‘reset changes,’ and confirm when prompted. Just remember that resetting your site will permanently delete all of your recent changes – so be very careful about clicking Reset!

Support Is Refreshingly Fast and Helpful

I’ve reviewed a lot of website builders and other services, and I almost can’t believe I’m saying this: I have no complaints about SITE123’s customer support. None, zero, zilch. The only downside I could name is that phone support isn’t offered. Everything is done by email or live chat.

Normally, I would count a lack of phone support as a negative, despite my personal dislike of the telephone. (Truth: I’ve never quite outgrown my childhood fear of talking to strangers on the phone.) But in this case, it’s really not a problem, because SITE123’s live chat is awesome. Seriously.

24/7 Live Chat

Live chat support is available in English 24/7, and in 16 other languages at various times:

That’s a pretty impressive variety, at least for European languages. And there’s a box for live chat on every page of the site, so you’ll never have to go far to find help.

I’ve used the live chat feature on four separate occasions, and I’ve never waited more than 10 minutes for an answer. The support agents are polite, helpful, and clear, and they give enough information to really answer my questions. They never left me feeling like they’re only interested in upselling me.

Email Support

I can’t think of any reason why you wouldn’t, but if you don’t like live chat, you can always send an email with questions to [email protected]. I sent a message asking about the live chat language options, and received an initial response within about 12 hours. Getting a full answer, including the hours of availability for each language, required some back-and-forth over a couple of days. Still, I was very satisfied in the end.

Bonus: Support Center and Relevant FAQs

Another reason I rate SITE123’s customer support so highly is the detailed, helpful Support Center. There are hundreds of Q&As divided into 20+ categories, with both written answers and links to SITE123 tutorials on YouTube. The answers are clear and direct, so you won’t have to deal with the frustratingly vague answers that don’t get you anywhere.

There are also great FAQ blocks at the end of almost every page. And amazingly, the FAQs are not just copy-pasted across the site; they actually relate to each individual page.

Having FAQs that are truly pertinent to the page you are visiting might seem straightforward. However, I’ve encountered numerous instances where FAQs were utilized as mere page fillers, lacking genuine support. In contrast, SITE123 excels at converting FAQs into the valuable tools they’re intended to be.

Pricing Is Simple: Pay More, Get More

Putting the incredible customer support aside, the real question is whether SITE123 is worth the price tag. So, let’s dive in and find out: how much does SITE123 actually cost?

SITE123 has four paid subscription plans, each of which is available in six payment periods: you can choose subscription terms ranging from 3 months to 120 months (10 years). The longer you subscribe for, the cheaper your monthly rate will be. Of course, since both business and technology change rapidly, it’s hard to be certain that the plan that works for you today will still make sense in three years.

Upgrading to a higher SITE123 plan means getting:

• More storage
• More bandwidth
• Custom domain
• Option to display your site in more languages
• More marketing emails per month
• More custom email addresses
• Access to plugins and apps
• More e-commerce features (like credit card payments, customer wish lists, etc.)

As long as you like the platform overall, a SITE123 paid plan is likely worth the cost. By upgrading just to the Premium plan, you’ll get a much more professional-looking site without the SITE123 branding or domain.

SITE123’s e-commerce packages compare favorably to those of Wix, providing similar features like product pages, internet transactions, email promotions, Google statistics, and sophisticated business additions.

You can pay for any SITE123 plan by PayPal or credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover).

But again, upgrading only makes sense if you really like the SITE123 platform, and the lack of design freedom doesn’t bother you. That’s why I recommend starting with SITE123’s free version. Build a basic website with it and see if you like how it looks and performs. If you’re happy with the balance of simplicity and features, you can easily upgrade to a different plan from your account dashboard.

SITE123 also offers a full 14-day money-back guarantee on all paid plans. But be advised: the cancelation process can be a bit of a hassle.