Jimdo Website Builder App Review
The Jimdo Creator app presents users with a mixed bag of experiences. While our review gives positive feedback on its simplicity, quick website creation, and appealing designs, limitations and missing features, particularly in the free plan, will be a drawback for many users.FREE | PRO – $9-39/MONTH
OVERALL RATING
HOW WE REVIEWED Jimdo
A diverse group of testers were asked to build a website, from start to finish, to assess the strengths and weaknesses of Jimdo from different perspectives:
Read the full HOW WE REVIEW section
- Ease of Use (User Interface and Design)
- Features & Functionality
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
- Performance & Reliability
- Support & Documentation
- Pricing & Value
SIGN UP PROCESS
Registration
Name, Single Sign On (Google, Apple, ETC)
Setup
Free Package
EASE OF USE
The app’s overall ease of use received an average rating of 72%, with varying performance across the different categories in this section. While there are areas for improvement, the app generally provides an accessible and straightforward platform for website creation.
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User Interface and Design
For a mobile website building app to be considered easy to use, it should have an intuitive and user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate with touch controls. The app should provide clear and concise instructions on how to use its various features and tools, and it should allow users to easily preview their website and make changes on the go.
The app is basically intuitive but there could be more help prompts. For example, I had a hard time deleting things as there was no label (it is a swipe based deletion system)
Intuitive Interface
Out testers found the app easy to use overall, with a mix of high ratings indicating a balanced experience. The app employs an intuitive interface, allowing users to navigate and understand the platform efficiently. The separation of editing features and settings into distinct menus enhances user experience. However, the app could benefit from more informative prompts, especially for tasks like deletion. For instance, the swipe-based deletion system lacks labels, causing confusion. Nevertheless, the interface largely simplifies tasks like reordering elements, a process limited to edit mode in the page explorer.
Learning Curve
The learning curve for the Jimdo app is relatively gentle, catering to users of varying skill levels, including beginners. Most testers found the platform simple and straightforward to use. A minor learning curve emerges from certain features, like changing the color of a title. While individual color changes are not possible, themes allow for broader color adjustments, although compatibility with images might need some experimentation.
Working With Jimdo
The app offers good workflow efficiency, with most testers finding tasks easy to complete with minimal steps. However, a notable delay exists in updating images and text after edits, impacting real-time efficiency. Inline text editing and text formatting appear to be areas needing improvement. Despite these setbacks, the overall process from start to finish remains smooth.
Clarity
A mobile website building app that is clear should be easy to navigate, with clear and concise labels for all buttons and menus. The app should provide intuitive and logical workflows, so that users can easily find the features they need and accomplish their goals without confusion or frustration.
It’s easy enough not to need tips most of the time. There are a few tips in the process. There is also a section of the Jimdo FAQ which includes 14 FAQs specifically about using the apps. This is linked to in Settings, but not elsewhere in the app.
Instructions and Tooltips
Tester feedback indicates the need for better guidance through instructions and tooltips within the app. While the app offers a help section and some pre-generated text, testers expressed a desire for more comprehensive support, such as overlays or tooltips. While the onboarding process is well-supported, some specific tasks lack clear instructions.
Visual Hierarchy
The app’s organization of elements within its interface is fairly intuitive, though some testers felt the visual hierarchy could be improved. A slight learning curve is involved in acquainting oneself with the menus, such as Navigation, Blog, Page, and Website, located on the left and right sides. Despite this learning curve, testers generally found the layout to be intuitive and logical.
Consistency
The design and functions were reported as pretty consistent throughout.
Design
A mobile website building app that is lightweight should load quickly and operate smoothly, with minimal lag or delays.
There are a lot of theme choices but the customizability is very limited. What you can customize is easy to do.
Template Variety
The app’s template variety received mixed feedback. While there are many theme choices available, testers expressed differing opinions regarding their suitability. Some testers felt that the templates are more oriented towards desktops, potentially affecting their appeal on mobile devices. However, the ability to preview templates on various devices was appreciated, as it helps in selecting the right template for the website’s needs.
Aesthetic Appeal
The aesthetic appeal of the designs were either average or high, with individual tester preference playing a significant role. While some testers found the designs visually appealing and in line with modern trends, others expressed the opposite opinion. Some themes were perceived as modern and professional-looking, with others less so. Additionally, the consistency of layout across different screen sizes was highlighted as a potential concern.
Design Flexibility
Jimdo’s app seems to fall short in this area. Testers reported limitations in customizing fonts and text colors. Design customization is closely tied to the themes available, and while a color chooser is provided, other aspects like font selection and text color customization might not be as comprehensive. However, the app’s plethora of themes does offer users the chance to find a design that aligns with their preferences and brand identity to some extent.
Business Ethics
Business Ethics refers to the principles and considerations that guide the development and usage of the application, ensuring responsible and user-centric practices. It involves adopting ethical standards, maintaining user privacy and security, and prioritizing user experience.
The app does not emphasize the importance of content quality, but on the other hand, it’s not trying to sell anything.
Primary Focus
The app demonstrates a primary focus on user experience rather than aggressively selling products or services. While some testers expressed a desire for more functionality within the app itself, the overall absence of overt marketing was lauded. The emphasis on user satisfaction, even without purchase intent, resonated well with testers.
Education
The app’s approach to user education is limited, and while it doesn’t heavily prioritize educating users, it also refrains from aggressive marketing tactics. The absence of in-app marketing aligns with a respectful approach to users’ learning pace, fostering a sense of transparency and fairness.
Quality
Quality emerges as a moderate concern within the app. While it does not overtly stress content quality, it refrains from relying solely on add-ons or features for perceived site quality. This balanced approach suggests that content quality is still acknowledged, albeit without explicit emphasis.
Overall Impression
The Jimdo Creator website builder app offers a mixed but generally positive user experience. It caters to varying skill levels, exhibits consistent design, and focuses on user satisfaction without aggressive marketing. While improvements are needed in areas such as instructional clarity, design flexibility, and visual hierarchy, the app’s intuitive interface and effort to simplify tasks contribute to its overall usability.
FEATURES & FUNCTIONALITY
In terms of features, the mobile app offers very basic tools, lacking key elements like contact forms and maps blocks. Functionality-wise, it provides essential tools but falls short in offering comprehensive functionality, missing features such as form creation and map integration. Extensibility is limited, hindering the integration of additional features. Collaboration capabilities are severely lacking, making it less effective for team-based projects. Customizability is moderate, with limited horizontal customization options. Layout control has restrictions in customizing layouts horizontally, and design control heavily relies on templates. Feature control for third-party integrations is underwhelming, with low ratings for integration options. Language support is inconsistent and may require changing phone settings, potentially limiting accessibility for diverse users.
Read the full FEATURES & FUNCTIONALITY section
Features
Features refer to the tools, functionality, and capabilities that each app provides for users to build and customize a professional-looking website. Because our review is exclusively of the mobile app, and not of the browser-based builder, a key metric is how much of the website builder’s feature-set is available in the app.
Very basic features compared to the desktop version. No contact form. No maps block In the iOS app no Video block. Nothing more than text, images, spacers, gallery & buttons.
Functionality
The app provides essential tools for website creation, including text editing and image uploading. However, it falls short in offering comprehensive functionality, lacking tools like form creation and map integration. While basic features are available, the absence of these crucial elements limits the app’s usability for certain purposes.
Extensibility
The app’s extensibility, or its ability to support additional features through plugins or expansions, was rated poorly by testers. The app currently lacks the capacity to integrate additional features, with ratings consistently indicating its limited extensibility. This lack of flexibility restricts users from enhancing their websites beyond the app’s inherent capabilities.
Collaboration
Collaboration capabilities within the app are severely lacking, as indicated by consistently low ratings. The absence of options for team collaboration or multiple user access hampers its usability for collaborative website projects. This lack of collaboration features limits its effectiveness for businesses or teams working together on website development.
Customizability
Customization refers to the level of options and flexibility that the app provides for designing a website.
You can reorder rows/sections vertically, but there are no options to customize anything horizontally, by column for example. So you can’t choose a layout on a desktop with image left, text right if the theme doesn’t do that by default.
The app’s customizability scores moderately, with some areas performing better than others. Testers could control the layout of pages to some extent, including adding and rearranging sections. However, the app’s design control and feature control receive mixed ratings. While design elements like colors and fonts can be customized to varying degrees, and certain features can be reordered or styled, overall customization options are limited compared to more versatile website builders.
Layout Control
The app’s layout control capabilities have received varied feedback from testers. While the ability to reorder rows or sections vertically is appreciated, there appears to be a limitation in customizing layouts horizontally, such as aligning content in rows. This restricts users from achieving specific design configurations that might not be supported by the chosen theme. The terminology used for sections, labeled as “Elements,” was noted, and the process of adding them is reported as straightforward.
Design Control
When it comes to design control, the app’s approach seems to revolve around the use of templates. Testers mentioned that modifying the look and feel of their website largely depended on the chosen theme. While some customization options are available, such as changing colors and button designs, the overall design elements are closely tied to the selected template. This limitation could potentially hinder users aiming for a more unique and personalized appearance.
Feature Control
Our tester reported that they could reorder menu items and photos in a gallery, but beyond this there is little in the way of feature control.
Integration options
Integration options refer to the ability of the app to connect and integrate with external services, platforms, or tools to enhance the functionality and capabilities of the website being built.
There are social media buttons, but I did not find anything else.
Third-Party Integrations
The app’s ability to integrate with third-party tools and services, a vital aspect for expanding website capabilities, is underwhelming. Ratings across the board are low, indicating that the app lacks extensive integration options with popular services like social media platforms, e-commerce solutions, and analytics tools. This absence limits the app’s potential to offer enhanced functionalities and integrations that businesses often require.
Seamless Connections
Not Applicable.
Language Options
The app’s support for multiple languages is limited. While the app’s user interface (UI) is available in various languages, it requires changing the phone’s language settings, which may not be convenient for all users. The absence of built-in language options or options for duplicating sites in different languages suggests a limited approach to catering to a diverse user base.
Overall Impression
The app’s overall performance in features and functionality is low, with an average rating of 48%. This score reflects the combined impact of limited functionality, lack of extensibility, minimal collaboration support, and very few customization and integration options.
The Jimdo website builder app falls short in providing a comprehensive set of features and functionalities required for diverse website creation needs. While some basic tools are available, the lack of advanced features, extensibility, collaboration options, and robust customization and integration capabilities hinders its potential. For users seeking a more versatile and fully-featured website building experience, alternatives with broader functionality should be considered.
SEO
The app’s overall SEO performance received an average rating of around 59%. This score reflects a mixed performance across various SEO-related areas, including metadata customization, URL customization, mobile optimization, and site performance.
Read the full SEO section
SEO Abilities
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) refers to the app’s ability to help users optimize their websites for search engines, such as Google and Bing. By including these SEO features, a mobile website building app can help users improve the visibility and ranking of their website in search engine results, potentially driving more traffic and engagement to their website.
No customization of SEO in the app at all. But Jimdo does a reasonable job of automatically creating meta title, facebook and twitter tags, h1, h2 and so on automatically from the content. The one thing most obviously missing is the meta description tag, but as there is an open graph description, Google would have no trouble picking this up instead.
The app’s SEO abilities received poor to moderate ratings, with mention from our reviewers of the need to improve optimization and visibility. While some testers rated the app averagely in this category, most of the ratings given suggest that the app’s SEO features need to be more robust to better support users’ efforts to improve search engine rankings.
Metadata Customization
Customization of metadata, including page titles, descriptions, and keywords, received mostly poor ratings. While the app automatically generates some metadata based on content, customization options are limited, especially concerning meta descriptions. This limitation hampers users’ ability to fine-tune SEO elements for optimal search engine visibility.
URL Customization
The app’s URL customization abilities were rated differently, even though all testers noted a lack of options for customizing URLs. While some testers appreciated the inclusion of human-readable page names in the URLs, the absence of dedicated URL customization hinders the optimization of URLs for SEO purposes.
Mobile Optimization
The app’s ability to generate mobile-friendly sites with swift loading times was rated positively by all our reviewers. Testers commended the mobile optimization, noting quick load times and responsive design that adapts seamlessly to various devices. The app’s mobile optimization capabilities contribute to a positive user experience across platforms.
Performance (Website)
By prioritizing performance and speed, a website should provide users with a fast and responsive experience, enabling them to quickly and efficiently browse websites from their mobile devices. The second part of this section pertains to the performance and speed of the websites created by the app.
Performance ratings for websites built with the app vary, reflecting factors such as load times and overall site responsiveness. While some testers expressed satisfaction with site performance on both desktop and mobile devices, others noted room for improvement, particularly in terms of load times and image optimization.
Load Times
Websites made by Jimdo Creator generally have quick load times, with testers reporting reasonable loading speeds for published websites. Ratings suggest that the app’s websites load quickly, contributing to a positive user experience and potential benefits for search engine rankings.
Google PageSpeed Test
Site Optimization
Google PageSpeed gave a pretty good score, but as mentioned before images are not compressed when uploaded, and in many cases are actually made much bigger.
The app’s automatic optimization of images and assets to ensure fast load times and smooth performance received poorer ratings. While the load times and overall performance of Jimdo made websites are good, the image optimization was found to be suspect. Several of our reviewers found that a large png image was not optimized at all, while one reviewer reported their image was compressed on their published site. Without further testing it’s hard to know the reason for this difference in experience, but other apps performed well in this area, and our reviewers knew how to test the images, so for now we can only put this down as inconsistent behavior.
Overall Impression
The Jimdo Creator app offers a mixed performance in SEO and website optimization. While there are strengths in mobile optimization, load times, and site optimization, there is room for improvement in metadata customization, URL customization, and comprehensive image optimization. For users seeking strong SEO capabilities, the app may not be the best choice, and at least may require the use of supplementary tools to achieve better visibility and performance.
PERFORMANCE & RELIABILITY
Jimdo’s Creator app scored an average of 74% for performance and reliability, indicating a generally positive tester experience in this section. While certain areas could be improved, such as responsiveness and touch interactions, the app’s stability, completeness, and quality assurance aspects seem to contribute to a reliable environment for website building.
Read the full PERFORMANCE & RELIABILITY section
Performance (App)
A mobile website building app that is lightweight should load quickly and operate smoothly, with minimal lag or delays
They offer email support, which is pretty good for a free offer. The features and pricing page says it’s not included in the free plan, but it works.
While the app generally performs well, ratings varied, indicating that while some testers found the app highly responsive and stable, others experienced varying degrees of performance.
Stability
The app’s stability received mostly positive feedback. Testers reported that the app functions without crashes, which is a crucial aspect of user experience. However, some testers also noted a slight lag after editing content, which might affect workflow. Overall, the app appears to offer a stable environment for website creation.
Reactivity
While the app generally performed well, there were instances where testers encountered delays. Slow responsiveness of certain buttons and the time taken for image uploads and template updates have been mentioned.
Chance at Completion of a Clear and Functional Website
A mobile website building app with a high chance of completion should provide users with the tools and features they need to easily create a website that meets their needs.
I could make and publish a site just in the app really quickly. Whether it’s fully functional or not depends on whether you can live with the limited content options, like no video block, no map block, no contact form.
While testers appreciated the speed and ease of creating websites using the app, some limitations become evident. Notably, the free plan lacks options such as e-commerce, form integration, and map integration. Therefore, the app might suit users making presentation websites better than those with more advanced requirements.
User Guidance
Our testers expressed mixed feelings about the app’s user guidance. Most found guidance inadequate, with little help offered. A couple noted the presence of helpful tips in the process and a link to an FAQ, providing at least some level of assistance to users.
Quality Assurance
The app includes a preview button, allowing users to get an idea of how the site will appear on different devices. However, our testers noted that the app immediately publishes any changes made, leaving users without a draft mode. This behavior will impact users who prefer a more controlled publishing process.
Responsiveness
The websites are definitely responsive, but not mobile first, because the theme selector only previews the desktop versions of the themes. *Except for the basic theme selector right at the start: before you start editing your site, right after account creation, you have a choice of I think 7 themes, and these have a mobile preview.
Jimdo Creator received consistently high ratings for responsiveness. Our testers appreciated the app’s efforts in providing a mobile-first design and ensuring touch-friendly interactions. There were some concerns regarding the absence of adaptive layouts on certain devices. Overall, the app’s dedication to delivering a responsive experience was acknowledged.
Mobile-First Design
The app’s approach to mobile-first design has garnered mixed reviews from testers. While some expressed satisfaction with the mobile-friendly designs, others noted that the app may not be strictly “mobile first.” The data indicates that the app does offer responsive websites, but the theme selector predominantly showcases desktop versions of themes. Nevertheless, there is a mention of a basic theme selector at the start, which presents mobile previews for a limited set of themes. Additionally, tester feedback suggests that the app’s menus are designed with mobile-first principles in mind, ensuring a better experience for users accessing sites on smaller screens.
Adaptive Layouts
The app’s provision of adaptive layouts for varying screen sizes and orientations is generally well-received, suggesting that the websites created with the app can adapt seamlessly to different devices, including desktops, tablets, and mobile devices. This adaptability is essential for ensuring that visitors receive a consistent and optimized experience, regardless of the device they are using to access the website.
Touch-Friendly Interactions
Tester experiences with touch interactions within the app varied. While some praised the app for its touch-friendliness, there were also reports of testers needing to attempt interactions multiple times before they worked as intended.
Overall Impression
The Jimdo Creator app provides users with a stable platform for website creation. It offers good usability, especially for those seeking quick website development. However, users should be aware of the app’s limitations, particularly in the free plan, which lacks certain advanced features. While the app’s responsiveness and touch interactions might need some refinement, it overall offers a reliable and satisfactory website-building experience.
SUPPORT & DOCUMENTATION
Jimdo received varied feedback here, with an average rating of 48%. Multiple support channels are available, and generally effective in providing solutions to user queries. However, the documentation was found to be lacking in content specific to the app, with most of the material aimed at users of the desktop website builder. The lack of community areas for exchange of user experiences also significantly lowered the overall score.
Read the full SUPPORT & DOCUMENTATION section
Customer Support
Customer support ratings vary across the board, highlighting the diverse tester experiences with the app’s support system.
Support Channels
The app offers email support, which is an essential communication channel for users seeking assistance. Response times varied, but generally, testers received a response within 24 hours. While there’s potential for quicker responses, the email support option is a valuable asset.
Documentation
The app provides accessible documentation, including tutorials, FAQs, and troubleshooting guides. While only a few of the FAQs are specific to the app, the full Jimdo FAQ and guides are noted to contain valuable advice on website creation, making them valuable resources for users seeking guidance and solutions.
Community
Unfortunately, the app lacks a dedicated user community or forums. While there are Jimdo social media accounts, there’s no platform for users to engage and share knowledge directly within the app.
Data Privacy
The Jimdo website builder app appears to prioritize data privacy, being transparent about its data collection policies. Testers reported the ability to manage their personal data to some extent, although certain actions might be more accessible through the browser version. The app’s focus on user control and the provision of an opt-out option for tracking demonstrate a proactive approach to safeguarding user data and privacy.
It’s possible to delete a site from the app, but not to unpublish. From the FAQs I understand that you can publish, unpublish, and delete your entire account in the browser version, but in the app it’s only possible to delete a site. Edits go live immediately.
Overall Impression
The Jimdo website builder app’s customer support and documentation systems offered testers a mixed experience. While documentation is generally comprehensive, the app lacks a dedicated user community. The support system includes multiple channels, such as email, and responses are generally effective, providing valuable solutions to user queries. Overall, improvements in community features and response times could further enhance the app’s support ecosystem.
PRICING AND VALUE
The average rating of 47% suggests that the app’s pricing and value for money were areas of concern for our testers. The lack of visibility of pricing tiers within the app, coupled with varying perceptions of cost-effectiveness and transparency, contributed to this rating.
Read the full PRICING & VALUE section
Pricing Tiers
Jimdo offers a range of pricing plans, with costs ranging from $10 to $42 per month. However, these pricing tiers are not available within the app; users must visit the website in a browser to explore the available upgrades. This lack of visibility within the app could be a barrier to users considering premium plans.
The app doesn’t mention the paid tiers at all.
Cost-Effectiveness
Opinions on the app’s cost-effectiveness were divided. Some testers found the pricing competitive, and the free offer reasonable, especially when considering the monthly payment structure, while others found the information necessary to make an assessment hard to track down.
Transparency
The app’s transparency regarding pricing structure varied. While some testers found the app’s communication clear, others encountered limitations and missing information about paid tiers and features.
Overall Impression
Jimdo Creator app’s pricing structure and value for money received mixed reviews from testers. The app’s pricing tiers are not readily visible within the app, limiting users’ access to premium plans. Improvements in pricing visibility, communication, and cost-effectiveness would likely enhance users’ overall satisfaction with the app’s pricing and value.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The overall impression of the Jimdo Creator app is fairly average. Some testers were disappointed, citing limitations in controlling site elements and problems with text formatting. On the other hand, some had a more positive view, considering it a useful companion app. Nevertheless, there’s a consensus that depending solely on the app for website construction, especially on a mobile device, may not be ideal due to missing features.
Overall Impression
Opinions about the app’s overall performance are mixed. Some testers expressed disappointment, pointing out limitations in basic control over site elements and issues with text formatting. The consensus is that relying solely on the Jimdo app for website building will not be the best choice for many.
Strengths
On the positive side, some testers had a very positive impression of the app. They found it easy to use and appreciated its fast website creation and publishing capabilities. The app’s ability to quickly generate appealing and simple websites is particularly highlighted in these positive reviews.
Overall I liked it. The app allows you to create and publish a good-looking simple website fast
Limitations
While the app’s simplicity and speed in creating websites are appreciated, limitations become apparent, especially for those using the free plan. Testers mentioned missing features that are available only in paid plans, and impact the overall user experience.
As a companion app it’s useful. The app was easy enough, but if I only had a phone I wouldn’t choose Jimdo as my website builder. Too much missing.
Conclusion
The Jimdo website builder app presents users with a limited creative experience. While it has garnered positive feedback for its simplicity, quick website creation, and appealing designs, it’s evident that limitations and missing features, particularly in the free plan, will be a drawback for many users. The overall score reflects the app’s strengths and areas that need improvement. As with any tool, the choice to use the Jimdo app depends on individual needs, expectations, and the importance of specific features in the website-building process.