Web.com Review: All the Pros and Cons
Web.com is a web services company that specializes in helping small businesses build and enhance their online presence by providing services directly and enabling users to complete them on their own using Web.com's proprietary software.
The Jacksonville, Florida-based company was founded in 1999 and now has over three million users. With so much time and experience in such a specific market, how does Web.com rank among its broader market peers? We signed up to find out.
Web.com Highlights
Web.com is a service that primarily exists to perform services for companies like marketing, social media management, and website hosting. They also offer a website builder that is meant to cater to those looking to quickly and easily create a website for their personal or business needs.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Web.com focuses on eCommerce and this is made clear from their array of tools centered on providing next-level eCommerce functionality.
- Apps enable further expansion options that culminate in a highly functional website.
Cons
- The website builder is nowhere near as strong as Wix or Weebly and can be buggy, freezing up at inopportune times. The user interface is downright archaic.
- All package prices are much more expensive than most website building platforms, cementing Web.com as a business-only provider.
Ease of Use
Signing up for an account is fast, but it's not as easy and straightforward as on other platforms. The first thing you will see after creating your account is four tutorial videos which show you how to build different aspects of your website.
It takes around ten minutes to watch all of the videos but, because they are short and generalized, when you begin creating your website you are going to need a good amount of prior computer knowledge to create something that is both visually appealing and easily accessible.
Web.com offers hundreds of mobile-optimized templates. You can even choose them based on specific categories of industries. The HTML and CSS codes of these themes cannot be edited, however, removing some of the flexibility offered by other services.
User Interface
The Web.com user interface is... bad. Nothing makes it more apparent that the company sees itself as a business service provider - as opposed to a do it yourself website creator - than its builder software. Not only is it archaic when compared to Wix or Weebly, it fails to stand out even on its own merits.
Although the website builder is easy enough to use, making changes can result in the software reacting in strange and buggy ways. For example, when we attempted to change a background element, it jumped to the front of the entire page. When we attempted to revert back to the original position, it deleted itself.
Aside from troubles with the builder, Web.com does not have a blogging feature, membership system, or multilingual support. These lacking features can severely affect the functionality of your website.
Pricing
Like most website building platforms, Web.com offers paid packages, as well as their initial free plan. Check out the chart below to learn more about the paid packages that Web.com has to offer:
Package Name | Website Builder | Website and Online Marketing | Website, Marketing, and Store |
Description | For first-time website builders. | For small businesses that want marketing tools to drive traffic to their site. | For businesses that will sell products or take payments on their website. |
First Month Price | $1.95 | $2.95 | $3.95 |
Price After First Month | $22.95 per month | $32.95 per month | $42.95 per month |
Package Includes |
| Everything in Website Builder | Everything in Website Builder and Online Marketing |
Additional Things the Package Includes |
|
|
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Since the Website Building and Online Marketing plan is only $10 more than the Website Builder plan, many people choose the Website Building and Online Marketing plan. After all, you do get a lot more features and exposure, just for an extra $10.
Customer Support
Web.com offers the same quality customer service options regardless of the plan type. There are a few ways that you can contact Web.com. For general questions and technical support with features like email, hosting, and the site builder, you can contact a representative at 1-800-932-4678.
If you have a question regarding SEO, web design, or marketing plans, you can contact a representative at 1-800-311-2707. In addition to having the option of calling customer service for a question or problem regarding one of the services, you have the option of contacting customer support for a free consultation regarding your website. You can access this feature, by calling 1-800-862-8658. Finally, you can email customer service, with any questions or issues, at customersupport@web.com.
Finally, you can email customer service, with any questions or issues, at customersupport@web.com.
Final Thoughts
Web.com is expensive, lacks a modern vibe, and is a terrible website building platform for personal users. Business users may find the company's services useful for their needs, but anyone looking for software that can create high-level work should steer clear and search for greener pastures.
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