It is relatively easy to create your own website. In the past, you had to spend hours reading HTML or hire an expensive programmer. With a homepage construction kit these times belong to the past.
Construction kits such as Jimdo or Strato enable you to build a homepage to design. All changes can be made comfortably from home, for which it would otherwise require a web agency. Especially for small online shops that have to watch their budget, this is an important point.
Homepage construction kit: Curse or blessing?
Especially designers and programmers don't leave a good hair on their head. For them, they are unloving content management systems that beginners should stay away from. This is harsh criticism that comes as no surprise: After all, their (expensive) services are no longer needed.
The truth lies in the middle. It depends on what requirements you have for a website. In most cases the scope of services of a modular system is completely sufficient. However, there are enormous differences in quality between the providers.
Many service providers advertise with "free" homepages: If you want more services or your own domain, you have to commit yourself to the provider in the long term. A quick change is impossible because the data cannot be exported. Please plan for these costs.
The following test reports will help you to decide on the best provider.
#1. Jimdo
With Jimdo, you can create a homepage from about 150 templates. If you're less technically gifted, you'll enjoy the In-Page concept: All pages can be edited directly without detours.
Visually, this provider has a lot of "upsides": The templates make a high-quality impression and can be edited individually. Jimdo allows you to change images, colors, backgrounds, and other components. You can insert your own pictures wherever you want. In addition, you can use image galleries, a blog, contact forms, and a newsletter. If a function is missing, you can even include an HTML source code.
If you like it even more individual, you can create your own layouts. This way only experts will recognize that you are using a homepage construction kit. You can do this at home on your PC and on the road on your smartphone.
Jimdo meets important SEO criteria because it uses Responsive Web Design. This means that the website is beautiful to look at on the go. Of course, this also applies to the online shop, which can be expanded as needed. The maximum scope requires the most expensive tariff in order to be able to offer unlimited products. In the free standard tariff you can make global settings, while other options cost extra money. You can then optimize individual pages.
You can choose between JimdoFree, JimdoPro, and JimdoBusiness. Use the free basic version to familiarize yourself with the program. It comes with 500 megabytes of storage space.
+ High quality optics
+ Editing of all contents possible
+ Full Responsive
- Free only global SEO settings
#2. WiX
Compared to Jimdo, WiX offers its customers several hundred templates. They're optimized for all kinds of devices and therefore full response.
Working with the program is relatively simple: First you select a template and edit the desired area with a click. Practical introductory videos explain each editing step to you. Before you put a website online, you can test it with the preview function. This way you can see possible errors and correct them without your customers noticing.
As with any other homepage construction kit, you can also build important tools into WiX. Already integrated are common suspects such as a blog, the chat function, an online shop or the newsletter. The internal member area is especially practical. While other construction kits only offer their own programs, you can purchase tools from external providers here. The tool "WiX SEO Wizard" helps you with search engine optimization. Additionally, there are many useful tips on how to make your contributions more effective. If you need even more SEO, Google Analytics can be installed quickly and easily.
A total of five different packages are available, of which the free version only provides basic functions. To test the provider, this is completely sufficient.
+ Beautiful templates & layouts
+ Intuitive operation
+ Explanation videos
- Free basic function could have more functions
#3. 1&1
The focus of 1&1 is on small and medium-sized companies. Therefore there are many layouts for all kinds of professions like doctors, cooks or painters. The editing of a website is done with the drag and drop editor, which is easy to use by beginners.
As with all other construction kits you can use plugins like forum, guestbook or newsletter. Altogether about 300 tools are waiting for their use.
The provider 1&1 offers you its own statistics tool and you can also install Google Analytics. With the Plus tariff you get the "Social Media Center" for marketing measures in social networks. This tariff includes an SEO-assistant, which supports you in search engine optimization. The Pro version allows you to create a full-fledged online shop, including Amazon or eBay connection. With the cheap tariffs you can sell up to 10 free products, while this limit now increases to 1,000 goods or services.
You can test each tariff free of charge for 30 days. Please remember to cancel on time, otherwise you will be charged for the Contract are bound.
+ Layouts for many professional groups
+ Simple operation
+ Free trial period for all tariffs
- Expensive tariff for large online shops
#4. Strato
At Strato you have a massive choice of surfaces. You can choose your favourite from almost 500 layouts! Now customize the design according to your wishes. You can do this in the practical WYSIWYG editor, which is always right next to the element you want to edit.
The wide range of layouts is noticeable in the quality. Strato should invest a little more effort in modern templates.
You can move the individual tools by drag & drop, just like you know it from the competition. There is a large selection of about 450 widgets like photo albums, cards or social media options. The appearance can be customized using the WYSIWYG editor. Please note that only half of all widgets are Full Responsive. The other half must be made mobile with a tool.
In contrast to the competition, you will not receive any ready-made texts with this homepage construction kit. This is to avoid duplicate content. Therefore, there are important tips on how content can have a positive effect on the ranking.
+ Many layouts
+ Valuable SEO tips
+ Useful tools
- Design could be better
- Some widgets not Full Responsive
#5. Yola
The homepage construction kit of Yola seems a bit complicated at first sight. With the competition it is easier to find your way around.
As usual, the editing is done with drag & drop. If you have a larger website, this quickly becomes a challenge with Yola: If you have more than 15 individual pages, the overview gets lost. There are many practical widgets for this, such as PayPal connection or multimedia solutions. You can also integrate CSS and HTML codes.
In the SEO area Yola scores positively. So you can edit each meta description individually and make further settings page by page.
In general, this provider is more suitable for smaller projects.
+ Sensible SEO
+ Ambitious company
+ Great widgets
- Competition easier to use
- Clarity
Tip: Test the free basic version
Before you finally decide on a homepage construction kit, you should try out several providers. There is always a basic version available, which often lacks setting options. For a first overview this is more than sufficient. Whether you like the interface and the user-friendliness will become clear after a few minutes.
Remember: In the end, the result is what counts.
