Jimdo Review: We take Jimdo for a test drive

Jimdo in detail

Criterion	Rating	Comments
Ease of use		Well organized and very intuitive. This is one of the fastest editors we've seen, but be aware that Jimdo has no preview function. This means that all your changes will be saved directly to your live website.
Choice and flexibility of design (templates)		Templates look good but could use a bit more flexibility. Advanced users can create customized templates using HTML and CSS. For smartphones there is a mobile website version.
Advertisement-free	Yes	In Jimdo Pro
Languages		The interface supports eleven languages, while the editor supports all languages. Multi-lingual websites are also possible.
Features
-Proper domain name (e.g. mysite.com)	Yes	Jimdo PRO includes one domain (e.g. .com), while Jimdo BUSINESS includes two. You're allowed to re-direct your existing domain: more info here. The plan also includes e-mail addresses, which you can manage directly from within Jimdo.
- Depth of navigation		Two sub-levels possible. Another level would be nice.
- Widgets (small tools to add extra functionality)		Embedded video (YouTube) and excellent photo galleries keep your website looking good. Facebook and other social media services can be nicely integrated.
- Monetization	Yes	Using banners and/or Google Adsense for example.
- e-Commerce		The store includes a range of payment options and even has its own order management system. The PRO plan allows you to put 15 products on your site, BUSINESS doesn't have a limit. Find our review of the online store here.
- Search-engine optimization (SEO)		Page title, meta tags, meta descriptions and image ALT tags are all editable on the PRO plan. In the Business plan you can also exclude certain pages from search engines. (More on SEO).
- Blog		It's a bit complicated to set up (instructions here). Includes all the standard blog features such as trackbacks and pings, but no categories. Install Disqus if you want more comment features.
- Visitor statistics		The nicely-integrated Google Analytics provides detailed stats.
- Contact form	Yes	Fields are fully customizable with Jimdo's form builder. You can also edit the confirmation message.
- Password protection	Yes	You can protect your site or individual pages. Depending on your Jimdo plan it is possible to create several password-protected areas with different passwords. Blog posts can't be protected. More.
- Add HTML code	Yes	Allows you to add other widgets and tools.
- Storage space	From 500 MB	PRO gives you 5 GB, JimdoBUSINESS offers unlimited storage.
- Forums	No	... but there is a guestbook.
Support	E-Mail, wiki and forums	Generally support quality is good although it could be faster at times, especially PRO support. More on Jimdo's support here.
Fun factor		The fun factor is high with this builder!
Overall rating		Simple, yet packed full of innovative features — Jimdo has put together a convincing package of a website builder, blog, domain name, email address(es) and the option to run a web store.

Conclusion

We think Jimdo is the best all-in-one package that provides everything you need for a small business website. Their paid plans include one or more domain names and email accounts, a great online store and even a simple newsletter tool that allows you to keep in touch with your website's visitors.

It's very easy to understand and it provides excellent options to attract new visitors through search engines. One area where they could improve is in their layouts. Even though the variety is great and they are optimized for mobile devices, they could use a bit more flexibility — their competitor Weebly leads the way in this respect.

Jimdo's pricing is fair and based on one-year contracts. Find a detailed comparison of Jimdo's Pro and Business plans here. To get started we would suggest you try out the free plan and see if you like it.

> Why not start right now? Click here to try Jimdo for free.

Updates

23 Apr 2013 - You can now create voucher discount codes for customers of your online store.
12 Mar 2013 - We've added information about password protection.
11 Oct 2012 - Jimdo adds better options for search engine optimization. More details.
13 Sep 2012 - Video review of the online store added
03 Aug 2012 - A few minor updates
17 Apr 2012 - Jimdo doesn't charge the store sales fee anymore
30 Mar 2012 - Small updates (languages and SEO)
24 Feb 2012 - Updates to Jimdo's form builder
17 Jan 2012 - Video review and video page added
22 Nov 2011 - Jimdo's servers are very fast as we've found out in our server performance check.
30 Aug 2011 - Jimdo is now relying on Google Analytics for stats
20 Jul 2011 - Review of Jimdo's mobile-friendly websites
20 May 2011 - More email accounts for JimdoBUSINESS Users (now 20)
08 May 2011 - Smartphone-friendly templates now available by default
30 Mar 2011 - General update: note added "e-Commerce"
18 Jan 2011 - General update: PRO support could be a little faster, so we took away one star. BUSINESS support is not affected.

 

Last updated: 23 Apr 2013 | Robert Brandl