| Jimdo standout features | |
| Site editor | ADI-style builder with modular editing |
| Mobile-responsive templates | 40 |
| Free domain | Yes, for the first year on paid plans |
| SSL | Yes. All plans come with a free SSL certificate |
| Mobile app | Android and iOS app for coding version accounts |
| Pages per site | Free plans limited to 5 pages; paid plans 10 to unlimited |
| Support | 24/7 support via email for all paid plans; none for free plan |
What Are the Pros and Cons of Jimdo Website Builder?
Jimdo may not be as well known as some of its competitors, but it’s making a name for itself with its ease of use and speed. Keep this list of pros and cons in mind as you decide whether Jimdo’s website builder is right for you.
Pros of Jimdo
- Speedy in many ways: You can create a website in literal minutes with Jimdo’s ADI-assisted site builder. Also, Jimdo page loads are faster than most other website builders.
- Easy to use: There’s no denying how easy it is to use Jimdo to create a website. There is a bit of a learning curve, but it’s a simple interface once you get used to it.
- Mobile-optimized sites: Between the speediness of page loads and the mobile-responsive template designs, Jimdo is one of the best site builders for mobile sites.
Cons of Jimdo
- Lots of limitations: Jimdo limits so much, from storage and bandwidth to the number of pages. These limitations may help page load speed, but you’ll still have to deal with them.
- Support: If you have a free plan, expect zero support from the Jimdo team — you’ll only have access to the help center. But if you have a paid plan, you get faster support when paying for high-tier subscriptions.
- It can be buggy: The site builder didn’t save my changes multiple times, and the screen went white a few times.
1. Your choice of two site builders
Jimdo follows the trend of using artificial intelligence to help you create websites quickly with its site builder. Using the ADI shaved time off the building process for me, but the strict system doesn’t give you a lot of choices. You can skip the AI-powered site creator help if you want more design flexibility.
The coding site builder lets you design your site how you want it — and you get more template options. But you don’t get the built-in image picker or editor. With that said, you can add a blog.
If you go through the “make it for me” ADI-style builder, you’ll get these options:
- Recommended styles, such as modern, minimal, fresh, dark, natural, or elegant, to name a few
- Color palettes for buttons, borders, and text
- Template preference
- Change your theme’s layout one “block” at a time
As for what you can’t do, I couldn’t find a way to swap out my template easily. It makes little sense — Jimdo offers 40 templates to start, but if you go the ADI builder route, you only get two options.
Honestly, the design process was a bit frustrating. Modularly creating your site feels too strict and runs the risk of frustrating users with minimal experience using no-code builders. I like that I can remove an element and the site builder readjust the remaining elements to center the content and photos.
If you choose the coding version of Jimdo’s site editor, you get a few questions at the start, meant to help narrow your choices. And if you want more choices, skip that step to see more templates.
The only way to get a real blog on Jimdo is to start with the coding site editor. There are workarounds to get a blog-like page on the other site editor, but it won’t have comments or meta descriptions.
I found the Jimdo blog to be easy enough to use, but it feels so outdated. As you add an element and content, you have to hit the save button after each one. With that said, you get a lot more options to build with the coding editor.
Adding the HTML/Widget element is only possible on the coding site editor. It will allow you to add third-party apps that aren’t on the Jimdo app marketplace.
2. Modern and clean templates
If you’re looking for well-designed templates (or themes, as they’re also known), Jimdo has a handful. I found more than three dozen templates you can start with, but you can modify them in hundreds of different ways. The designs themselves are on par with some of the top website builders known for sleek designs, such as Squarespace.
3. Almost everything about Jimdo is speedy
Despite my misgivings about the built-in image picker’s lack of a search function, all the other tools seem to have been created with speed in mind. For example:
- Pages: You can add a pre-built privacy policy or terms of service page to your site. Change the content if you want, but they’re fairly complete.
- Layouts: You can modify the look of blocks, or sections, of your site. All the layouts are prebuilt, so pick what you like most, add your content, and voila.
- Color palette: There are many suggested palettes with two colors from which you can choose, seemingly based on the images on your site. You can choose the colors yourself, though.
These tools, including the handholding of the ADI-style site builder, are meant to help you get a website up and running quickly.
Blazing page load times
Jimdo is the fastest site builder compared to 24 other content management systems (CMS) and site builders. That’s kind of a big deal when you consider that Google gives better rankings to websites with quick page load times.
4. A highly-rated mobile app
Most website builders today offer proprietary mobile apps for blogging, design, and order fulfillment on your site when you can’t be at your desk. The only caveat is that there is no app for the ADI-assisted site builder — the app only works for the coding version of Jimdo. I was able to use a mobile browser to log in to my Jimdo account to modify my ADI site, though.
5. There’s a logo creator for new businesses
If it seems like Jimdo is targeting a specific demographic, there’s a reason. A logo creation tool is most helpful for new businesses that don’t even have branding yet. Established businesses and personal users likely won’t have much use for this free tool.
The tool is simple: you can choose from icons, fonts, borders, and colors. I don’t think it adds a ton of value because you could easily build a logo with any free online image editor, but logo creation tools are quickly becoming table stakes for website builders. The so-so execution of this feature feels a little “us too.”
With that said, it could be very useful for those new to websites or who plan to create multiple businesses and don’t mind cookie-cutter logo designs.
What Are Some Good Alternatives to Jimdo?
As great as Jimdo is for beginners who have no desire to control their design, it might not be for everyone. If you’re looking for a more affordable website builder that offers more design flexibility, or better SEO features, consider an alternative to Jimdo. Opting for one of the best web hosting providers paired with a popular CMS might be better.
Here’s how Jimdo does against some of the top-ranking website builders the Digital.com team suggests:
Frequently Asked Questions About Jimdo
What makes Jimdo unique?
What are the disadvantages of using Jimdo?
Is Jimdo really free?
Is Jimdo better than WordPress?
Is Jimdo easy to use?
How I Rated Jimdo
Although you could learn a lot from research on Jimdo alone, I chose to test both of its site editors and all the features to give you the most comprehensive Jimdo review possible. Small businesses, freelancers, and personal users want affordable service, but pricing isn’t the only factor I considered when ranking Jimdo.
Ease of use is equally (or even more) important than pricing for some people, so I weighed this heavier than other factors. I also looked at specific features and limitations, such as the lack of a blog on the ADI-assisted site editor and the extremely limited storage and bandwidth on the low-tier plans.
Overall, Jimdo scores well in some areas but not so well in others, placing it in the middle of the pack of its competitors. If you need a site builder with a relatively small price tag that creates everything for your website but the content, Jimdo may be the best choice for you.
