The 1and1 IONOS Website Builder promises users the ability to quickly build an online presence using stunning customizable templates, versatile editing and design tools, business-oriented web apps, and an exciting assortment of marketing tools. You can choose from up to 10,000 industry-specific templates that have been built to be fully-responsive. It does feel a little clunky compared to other website builders, and it lacks standard features such as site exporting and a mobile site editor. But all in all, this builder gets the job done, helping you create an online presence without too much of a hassle.
1&1 IONOS is a Solid, Business-First Site Builder That Always Gets the Job Done
In this day and age, creating and editing your website should not be a monstrous task best left to the tech whizzes. With a solid website builder, you can create your own amazing website with just a few clicks and a basic understanding of technology. This is what 1&1 promises — the ability to simply build an online presence using stunning customizable templates, versatile editing and design tools, business web apps and an exciting assortment of marketing tools.
Whatever your industry, 1&1 IONOS lets you choose from over 1000 website designs that can be automatically optimized for desktop and mobile devices. Looking to cater to your international customer base? You will love the integrated Google translator tool that easily translates your website content in over 50 languages. A really cool feature of this site builder is its intuitive editor that lets you seamlessly move elements to build vibrant webpages.
Admittedly, 1&1 IONOS feels a little bit clunky when compared to other site builders. It lacks standard features such as the ability to export your website and a mobile editor but this in no way makes it a less suitable platform for building fantastic websites for any type of business.
Templates
4.8
Plenty of Responsive, Sleek Templates with Access to HTML and CSS
Endless choice: With 1&1 IONOS, you have a choice of up to 10,000 attractive templates for every industry you could possibly think of including construction, travel, photography, medicine, and so much more.
Responsive: 1&1 IONOS takes the fuss out of switching theme layouts – you can change layouts as much as you need to with the assurance that your content will be transferred to the new layout.
Drag and drop: One of the coolest features of this site builder is the ability to simply drag and drop the many elements available to build great-looking webpages. Building a page has never been easier!
Features
4.7
Building Your Own Website Will Be a Total Breeze
Blog: A business website is not complete without a blog. 1&1’s blogging tool makes it super easy to build one; just drag and drop the blog element and you’re good to go. The MyWebsite Blog mobile app available on the Apple store lets you post blog posts using your smartphone or tablet. This is a pretty awesome addition given 1&1’s lack of a fully-fledged mobile editing option.
HTML/CSS Editing: Got basic code knowledge? You will love the ability to add your own HTML/CSS code to build custom layouts. Not only can you add your own Javascript code, you can also insert your own images into your custom layout.
Image Editor: If you like to play around with images, 1&1’s intuitive image editor is a great tool to get your creative juices going. From cropping to resizing, you can do it all without worrying about distorting the image as you add it to your website.
Integrated Storefront: Adding an online storefront to your site is a matter of dragging and dropping the PayPal Mini Shop from the control panel and voila! You are just a few steps away from pushing out product orders.
Admittedly, some of the 1&1 IONOS tools are somewhat awkward and may require a slightly longer learning curve. Nevertheless, these tools do get the job done. The Setup Wizard is especially helpful with its wealth of information to help you set up your online presence. With the responsive template designs you can select and change layouts on the fly, and move elements around to fit both small and standard screens.
Support
4.8
1&1 IONOS provides you with a lot of material to help make it easier to build your website and ensure its success. This includes their unique guide to digital success online and online tutorials, in addition to the familiar live chat and phone support.
In my interactions with the customer service people at 1&1 IONOS, they were very helpful and got back to me promptly. In addition to the detailed online guide that gives you plenty of information on how to use the site builder, they have phone support and 24/7 live chat, which is a big plus. Do have a look at their video tutorials for well-done visual guides on how to go about building your online presence.
Pricing
4.6
What Is the Cost of Building Your Own Website?
1&1 IONOS has recently made the switch from a four-tier pricing structure to a three-tier one. Their bottom tier, the Essential package, offers everything you need to build a personal website, including prefilled templates, a free domain and email account, and social media widgets. Basically, the essentials. As you move up, the Business and Pro packages include business widgets and the opportunity to make your website multilingual. The pro package also takes it one step further by offering tools for tailored content, SEO tutorials, and their own email marketing tool for up to 300 emails.
Please note there are separate packages to build an e-commerce website. The plans are named the same as the regular website builder tiered structure, but offer e-commerce related options, including payment methods, shipping methods, marketing tools, and online marketplace access, including eBay and Amazon. All e-commerce packages let you sell up to 200,000 products, but you can contact 1&1 IONOS if your inventory goes beyond that number, for extra assistance. With all packages you can use more than one picture per product and have a variety of design templates.
It is essential to note that 1&1 IONOS does not offer a free plan, nor a free trial. On the plus side, they do have a no questions asked, 30-day money-back guarantee. But with their packages starting at $1/month, it still remains a good value as compared with other website builders.
Very very poor treatment of a loyal customer, I have been with 1and1 for over 12 years and have had over 50 domain names with them and a have had their most expensive hosting package with them. I have spent thousands of pounds with this hosting company over the years, even though I could have got a better price elsewhere, but I stayed with them. Everything turned sour when their systems made a mess up off everything and 1and1 tried to blame me for it. I had 10 domain names which were coming up for renewal and I did not want them renewed as I no longer had any need for them, the 1and1 control panel wasn’t working at the time so I phoned 1and1 support, after waiting 25 mins to get through to someone, I did I explained to them months before the renewal date that I no longer wish to renew these domain names, but the control panel isn’t working, the person over the phone said that’s no problem sir I can take care of that for you, which domain names would you like to set to expire, I gave him the list of the domain names, he told me that’s all sorted for you sir, there’s nothing else you need to do, and these domain names won’t renew. To my surprise couple of months later I find out I have been billed for these domain names that I clearly said I did not want renewing. I got on the phone to them straight away sent them numerous emails wanting explanation as to why they have charged me for those domain names I did not want renewing and they were not having any of it, they kept on saying the domain name has been renewed and cant be refunded back, you need to make the payment. I refused to pay for those domain names I did not want, I have phone records of my long discussion I have been having with them regarding my domain name. They left me with no option but to refuse to pay for my monthly hosting package, I made my position clear they needed to minus the domain name charges which I have been billed incorrectly for and re invoice me again which has the correct amount I was happy to pay for what I owe, they were not having any of it. I then get letters and phone calls from debt collection agencies after money that I owe, which really got me upset, angry and frustrated. To this day it is still not resolved, they are not admitting their mistake they made, all this over a few domain names, I have spent over £18k with this hosting company over 12 years and this is how they treat a loyal customer. They have locked my account so I can’t access of my details and now deleted all my work I have had with them that I built up over 12 years. I have luckily got back ups of all my work, but lost 3 months worth of valuable data from my site. I have now started migrating my business to inmoitionhosting and I have been with them for 2 month now and I am really impressed with the level of support from the team there, customer service is fantastic, and the hosting package is really fast and it is perfectly suited to run the X-CART shopping cart which I host there, really good price point. If anyone from 1and1 ionos team is reading this message, you should be ashamed of yourselves, I normally don’t do things like this, I was so upset about the whole situation that I had to put thing is writing of my experience with 1and1 Ionos.
The amount of time wasted dealing with incompetent service reps is uncredible! No one should get involved with 1and1 and anyone who is doing business with them should switch before they cause a major failure in services. Reps have minimal training and have problems communicating. Supervisors har difficult to connect with.
1&1 has gone through a recent upheaval and 'everything' has changed. 1&1 has been purchased and whoever purchased it has changed everything that 1&1 stood for.
1&1 used to be awesome, but no more. Entry prices are still decent, however their prices for existing customers has skyrocketed, and customer service is horrible. While you WILL speak to 'someone', that someone will ALWAYS place you on hold to contact the person who will make the decision that needs to be done. NO ONE at 1&1
Stay Away.
If you are in the market for a website builder, 1&1 IONOS is worth a try. It comes with great features such as responsive templates, an easy to integrate online shop solution and a wide array of business web apps and marketing tools. Building pages with 1&1 IONOS is as simple as just dragging and dropping and with strategic Undo and Redo buttons, and an auto-save function, making changes and keeping your work safe has never been easier.
However, there are quite a few let downs when it comes to usability. A cluttered interface, slow loading times, and limited options for customization make this site builder a little clunky compared to its competitors. But make no mistake, there is a good reason why 1&1 IONOS has been in the industry for a very long time – this site builder is really about getting down to business and helping you create an online presence without too much of a hassle.
Donna is a passionate writer who is all about creating engaging and thought-provoking content for the tech and online world. She is an avid lover of new technology and internet trends.
