Launch Your Online Business in Just 7 Days
You’ve decided to take the plunge and start an online business. First things first — you’re going to need a website.
There are two options:
You can do everything yourself, pay for the website and hosting separately, and then vet hundreds of web design agencies to create your website.
Alternatively, you can use a free website builder like Webnode.
In this review, we’ll take a look at all the features and benefits of Webnode, the pricing, as well as a good alternative to Webnode, so you can make the best decision for your business.
Let’s dive in!
Webnode is exactly what it says on the tin: a free online website builder.
It allows you to create a beautiful website from scratch without having to write a single line of code.
If you need a store to go with your website, you also have the option to create an online store with Webnode.
Source: Webnode
One of the main benefits of Webnode is the website templates.
Normally, you’d have to get a web designer to code your site into being or convert a theme. Either way, it’s a lengthy process and can get quite pricey.
With Webnode, you can browse hundreds of templates until you find the right fit for your business.
Then, using a simple drag-and-drop editor, you can customize it to your heart’s content.
Source: Webnode
You can also create an online store with Webnode.
However, the builder used to create the online store doesn’t run as smoothly, so if ecommerce is your thing, perhaps consider an alternative like systeme.io.
Source: Webnode
First things first: Webnode differentiates between standard websites and online stores.
Standard Webnode websites are meant for:
The process of creating such a website is pretty simple.
After signing up, you pick and customize a template, add your content (information, posts, images, and/or videos), and presto!
You’ve got a website!
The main benefit of Webnode is creating a multilingual website.
Got a global audience?
No problem. Simply translate your pages and offer support in whichever language your audience needs.
Source: Webnode
Webnode really caters to bloggers, so if you’re a blogger, you’ll love the integrated SEO tools.
With these tools, you’ll be able to specify:
You can also optimize your images — a picture is worth a thousand words, so making sure your images are easy to find is a great way to boost SEO.
Additionally, Webnode’s site templates provide a good user experience, and they’re responsive — your website will adapt to different devices (from phones to desktop computers), which are important Google ranking signals.
These features aren’t a lot, but they’re enough to get you started.
Eventually, you’ll likely want to integrate apps like Google Analytics and Google Search Console into your website.
Google Analytics will help you keep track of your traffic, plus see how often visitors engage and what works well.
Google Search Console is an app that can help you optimize your site by showing you how well it’s performing in web searches.
So you have an easy-to-use website builder that has many different templates, is adaptable to multiple screen sizes, has some SEO tools, and happens to be multilingual.
However, that’s pretty much it when it comes to Webnode websites. Honestly, it’s a little underwhelming.
Source: Webnode
As with the website builder, you’ll be able to choose a template and visually create your online store.
No coding skills needed.
However, Webnode is not ideal for ecommerce, and it shows — the online store builder isn’t as smooth as the website builder.
When it comes to ecommerce-specific features, Webnode offers order management.
It’s a pretty simple system, so don’t expect much.
You’ll see your incoming and fulfilled orders, but you’ll have to coordinate everything else yourself or use a third-party tool.
With Webnode, payment options are a bit limited.
You have access to PayPal, wire transfer, and credit card options. There’s also a payment on pickup option — this is fine if your customers are local.
However, with an online store, most of your customers will need shipping — with Webnode, delivery can be done through DHL or FedEx.
Webnode stores also allow you to set up discounts and promo codes to boost sales.
Again — this is a little underwhelming.
Limited payment and delivery options will probably lose you customers.
For a small store, this might work, but once your business grows, you’ll need a more efficient platform.
Other website builders, like systeme.io, offer a lot more.
If you run an online store, your analytics are the alpha and omega of your optimization.
Webnode will let you track data such as:
For everything else, you’ll need to connect Google Analytics or specialized third-party analytics tools.
What are Webnode email accounts?
Source: Webnode
Normally, when you pay for website hosting, you get an email account.
Webnode doesn’t deviate from the norm.
You’ll be able to set up your email account(s) and communicate with your customers.
Does Webnode have a membership site option?
Source: Webnode
Sort of!
You'll be able to cordon off a certain part of your website for registered members.
However, there’s no easy way to set up payment for your site to truly turn into a membership platform.
You’ll have to manually manage members and give them access to restricted parts of your site.
Domains
You can also purchase a domain through Webnode, but with basic .com domains starting at $18 per year, it’s just not worth it.
Fortunately, the second, third, and fourth plans come with a free domain included.
Okay, the Webnode pricing page is where it gets a little complicated.
There are 4 premium website plans and 2 e-shop plans specifically for online stores.
Webnode does have a free plan.
You can create your website free of charge — however, it comes with a few caveats:
Unfortunately, if your website is registered with someone else’s domain (webnode.com), you won’t get the SEO benefits nor will you look professional to your customers.
And if you want to connect your domain, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid plan.
Source: Webnode
The Limited plan at $3.90/month is, as the name suggests, limited.
You’ll only get 100MB of storage and 1GB of bandwidth.
So that’s a few photos, and you’ve run out of space. You can’t get plenty of visitors with that bandwidth, either.
Other features included in the Limited plan are:
And that’s it.
Seriously, don’t even consider this one, unless you’re a blogger.
In that case, you might be able to get by with those kinds of limitations if you’re not a travel or food blogger that relies on pictures.
The Mini plan at $7.50/month is somewhat better. Apart from getting a free domain, this plan also includes:
This is a relatively solid offer but again — those bandwidth and storage limits are really problematic.
Also, with both the Limited and Mini plans, you’ll need to contend with Webnode ads on your site.
The Standard Webnode plan for $12.90/month allows you to run an online store, create a multilingual site, and onboard members.
You get a lot more to work with, including:
Additionally, we're not a fan of the fact that you can’t integrate Google Analytics in earlier plans.
Google Analytics is absolutely indispensable for running a profitable website.
It will show you where your traffic comes from and how visitors interact with your site.
You can really tell that Webnode was primarily made for bloggers because it offers AdSense integration.
AdSense is Google’s platform for monetizing your blog by displaying ads on your website.
It’s still one of the best ways for bloggers to monetize their blogs, so the integration is a nice touch.
Finally, the Profi plan is Webnode’s most powerful plan at $22.90/month.
But is it worth it?
Here’s what you’ll be getting with Webnode Profi:
Not bad but, honestly, you could’ve gotten that for much less with some of the standard hosting providers.
Source: Webnode
There are two e-shop plans to choose from.
The Standard Plan at $12.90/month gives you basically the same features as the Standard website plan.
Since it’s a shop though, you’ll get the product import function as well and access to store analytics.
For a small store with a limited number of products, this might work, but with only 2GB storage space, expanding your shop will be difficult.
The Profi Plan at $22.90/month is better suited to running an actual business.
Along with everything in the Standard Plan, the Profi Plan provides more shop specific tools such as:
Honestly, some of these features, such as product variants that allow you to sell your products in different colors and sizes, should really be available in any standard package.
So, in order to really run a successful online store, you would need at least the Profi Plan.
If you want to run an online store with Webnode, you can, but if you’re serious about ecommerce, it might be best to shop elsewhere.
Webnode does have some advantages.
Webnode is really designed with bloggers in mind.
So, if you’re a blogger, especially if you’re new to the world of blogging, Webnode might be a good option for you.
However, it’s still worth shopping around a little and consider alternatives, like systeme.io.
While Webnode offers an ecommerce option, it comes with very limited features — even the Profi Plan is still quite basic compared to other ecommerce alternatives out there.
To run a successful business, you’d need an optimized shopping cart, effective conversion funnels, and a variety of payment options — and that’s just to start with.
So, if running a business is what you have in mind, Webnode is not the best option.
Systeme.io’s logo
Systeme.io is more than a website builder — it’s the complete package.
With systeme.io, you’ll not only be able to build amazing websites for your blogs, but you’ll also have access to tools that will help you make money from your blog and draw more traffic to your blog.
Systeme.io also allows you to build an online store and gives you the tools to run effective marketing campaigns to boost sales.
Systeme.io gives you access to the following:
For a start-up blogger, this might seem like a bit much — keep in mind: options mean freedom.
With all these tools, you can grow your blog and expand as much as you like, perhaps even dip your toe into the possibilities of merchandise, without having to migrate to another platform down the line.
For starters, systeme.io offers more features.
Webnode is just a free website builder.
Systeme.io helps you build a beautiful website, but you can also build, implement, and automate your entire marketing strategy.
Webnode has limited storage space which could become an issue if your blog relies heavily on images.
With systeme.io you get unlimited storage space with the free plan — do you need lots of images for your blog? No problem!
Systeme.io’s page editor comes with a lot more elements you can completely customize.
And it’s still pretty simple — you just have to drag and drop!
Webnode has limited ecommerce facilities.
With systeme.io, you have access to an enticing shop and marketing tools.
On the other hand, systeme.io also provides you with a variety of alternatives to monetize your website, such as access to membership sites or evergreen webinars and online courses.
Systeme.io's pricing
Systeme.io has a freemium plan and 3 paid plans.
The great thing is that you’ll be able to run a successful business only using the free plan!
With the free plan, you already get:
The Start Up plan for $27/month adds extra of everything as well as a custom domain.
The Webinar plan for $47/month adds more of everything as well as Evergreen webinars.
The Enterprise plan for $97/month gives you unlimited of everything!
However, if you’re just starting up and still experimenting with your voice and what you want, or if you’re a small business owner or a blogger, you’ll get pretty far with the free plan.
Once you’re ready to grow and upgrade, taking your business to the next level is easy and affordable with systeme.io.
As website builders go, Webnode is not a bad option — it provides some really good tools and a wide variety of templates.
The SEO tools, the ease of use, and Google Adsense integrations mean it’s well suited to bloggers.
So, if you’re just starting, Webnode is a solid starting point.
However, if ecommerce is more your thing, odds are, Webnode will not take you very far — the tools and options are simply too limited.
Systeme.io is a great alternative to Webnode for both ecommerce websites and blogs — we have the tools you need to be successful no matter where your creativity takes you.
So what do you say?
Are you ready to not only start your business but to succeed?
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