Strikingly Review
Strikingly’s single-page website focus and intuitive interface receive positive feedback. However, limitations in features, customization, and mobile app bugs hinder its overall performance and user satisfaction. The app’s value for beginners seeking simple websites is evident, but more comprehensive solutions may be preferred by users with more complex needs.FREE | PRO – $8-$49/MONTH
OVERALL RATING
HOW WE REVIEWED Strikingly
A diverse group of testers were asked to build a website, from start to finish, to assess the strengths and weaknesses of Strikingly 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
Strikingly SIGN-UP & SETUP
Sign-Up
Name, Email, Single Sign On (Google, Apple, ETC)
Setup
Free Package
EASE OF USE
Testers have had mixed opinions about the user interface and design of the Strikingly Website Builder. It was often praised for its visually appealing design, incorporating modern aesthetics in line with current design trends. However, there were reports from testers noting bugs and inconsistencies in how the app behaves, potentially affecting the overall user experience.
Read the full EASE OF USE section
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.
It does not emphasize the importance of content quality, but it builds a site (text, image, titles) based on the template you selected. The template-built website has a structure that makes sense in most cases.
Intuitive Interface
Our testers found that navigating Strikingly was a straightforward experience, meriting an above average ratings. The app’s simplicity is especially appreciated due to its single-page focus, making comprehension relatively effortless.
Learning Curve
Strikingly Website Builder prioritizes accessibility for users of varying skill levels, as indicated by consistently high ratings. Our testers found the app easy to grasp. The absence of a complex text editor and the emphasis on a WYSIWYG approach contribute to a gentle learning curve, enabling users to build websites without the need for extensive technical expertise.
Our Experience of Working With Strikingly
The app’s workflow efficiency received mix reviews. Testers commended the App for its minimal steps required to complete tasks, but there were reports of bugs causing issues such as disappearing pasted text. Our testers noted that these inconsistencies hinder the smooth process that Strikingly aims to offer, underscoring the importance of refining the app’s functionality.
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.
Not everything is clear and some features do not work
Instructions and Tooltips
The ratings and comments from testers indicate that there are varying degrees of clarity in the app’s instructions and tips. There also seem to be some issues with certain features not working correctly, which impacted the testers experience.
Visual Hierarchy
Testers found that Strikingly has a balanced visual hierarchy. The layout’s logical organization guides users effectively through the website creation process.
Consistency
Consistency is where Strikingly faces challenges, with an low average tester rating. The presence of bugs and a native language barrier detract from the user experience, hindering the app’s ability to deliver a seamless interface.
Strikingly’s Site Design
A mobile website building app that is lightweight should load quickly and operate smoothly, with minimal lag or delays.
The Strikingly app was lauded by our testers for its lightweight nature, ensuring quick loading and smooth operation. However, it received mixed ratings in various design aspects.
Template Variety
The app’s template variety earned an moderate average rating. While there was praise for the templates’ quality, the single-page focus restricts the potential for diverse designs, affecting the overall global look of the website.
Design Flexibility
Strikingly’s design flexibility were given moderate ratings. While testers appreciate certain customizable elements, the app’s limitations in terms of customization options—especially for single-page websites—are notable drawbacks.
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.
Overall, testers report the app as striking a fair balance between assisting users and promoting products.
Primary Focus
Our testers found that the app maintains a reasonable balance between aiding users and promoting products. While not overwhelmingly sales-oriented, some limitations are apparent due to the single-page nature of the websites it builds.
Education
Education remains an area for improvement, garnering a low average ratings. Our testers found that the app lacks a robust focus on user education and support, and its deficiencies in communicating certain drawbacks are notable.
Quality
Quality is emphasized to a moderate extent. While the app doesn’t overtly push add-ons, it prioritizes structured content creation, even though its educational efforts could be enhanced.
Overall Impression
Strikingly offers a mixed bag of tester experiences. With an average overall rating of 69%, the app excels in catering to beginners and creating simple, visually appealing websites. However, challenges related to guidance, consistency, and design flexibility pull down its overall performance. It manages to strike a reasonable balance between user-centric design and the need to sell products, but the focus on user education and content quality could benefit from further enhancement. While not perfect, Strikingly presents itself as an accessible choice for those seeking a straightforward path to online presence.
Strikingly FEATURES & FUNCTIONALITY
In the realm of features and functionality, the Strikingly app presents a range of experiences, leading to both appreciative and critical evaluations. With ratings hovering in the moderate to low range, it’s clear that testers encountered significant issues leaving a mark on their overall impressions.
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.
No form creation and buggy image uploads. Impossible to create a menu or a price list.
Functionality
When assessing the app’s core functionality, testers found it adequate, with average ratings across the board. However, these scores come with a fair share of nuances. While the app does equip users with essential tools for website creation, editing, and management, challenges arise. One notable concern pertains to the malfunctioning menu feature, prompting slightly lower ratings due to this specific issue. Similarly, the inability to insert a Google Map, lack of form creation, and buggy image uploads underscore areas that could benefit from further development.
Extensibility
Testers observed limited support for additional features or plugins to expand functionality directly within the app.
Collaboration
Collaborative functionalities, unfortunately, present a less favorable outlook. With low ratings, the app falls short in offering robust options for team collaboration or multiple-user access. The absence of collaboration features impedes users’ ability to work together seamlessly within the app, posing challenges to group projects.
Customizability
Customization refers to the level of options and flexibility that the app provides for designing a website.
Customization is an area where feedback for the Strikingly app varies widely. Testers gave ratings spanning from low to high. They appreciated the control options for arranging sections within the layout, but when it came to design aspects like changing colors, fonts, and images, there were limitations, and most ratings were on the lower side. The control over features also received mixed reviews, suggesting that there are various options available but also some gaps in customization capabilities.
Layout Control
Testers had mixed opinions about the app’s layout control features. They liked the ability to change the order of rows or sections vertically, but there seemed to be a limitation when it came to customizing layouts horizontally, like arranging columns. This limitation stood as a roadblock to achieving certain design configurations that their chosen theme might not support. Testers also took note of the terminology used for sections, which are called “Elements,” and found the process of adding them to be straightforward.
Design Control
Design control within the Strikingly app garnered mixed evaluations. While testers found the inline editor for design modifications useful, the inability to exercise control over fonts and colors contributed to the modest ratings. This limitation may deter users seeking more comprehensive design customization.
Feature Control
Mixed tester ratings reflect varying degrees of satisfaction. Some testers found that while the app does provide customization options for certain features, it falls short in delivering comprehensive control over others. Notably, the ability to customize contact forms and the order of sections is acknowledged.
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.
Third-party integrations in this app have consistently received low ratings, causing concern among testers. They noted a lack of support for popular integrations like social media platforms, e-commerce solutions, and analytics tools, potentially limiting users from incorporating external functionalities and insights into their websites. Concerns persisted regarding the app’s ability to establish smooth integrations, with ratings indicating issues with setup and harmonious functioning.
At the bottom of the “ADD NEW SECTION” screen, it’s written: “LOG INTO STRIKINGLY ON DESKTOP To add more advanced sections”. Analytics is supported. Sign-up for users and newsletter is supported via the AUDIENCE button on the bottom bar. On that bar, there is also a DISCOVER button where you can browse Strikingly websites made by other people.
Third-Party Integrations
Integrations with third-party tools and services stand as another area of concern, drawing consistent low ratings. Testers reported a lack of support for popular integrations, such as social media platforms, e-commerce solutions, and analytics tools. This limitation may restrict users from enhancing their websites with external functionalities and insights.
Seamless Connections
When it comes to ensuring smooth integrations, low ratings underscore concerns regarding the app’s ability to establish seamless connections. Testers reported a lack of features that facilitate easy setup and harmonious functioning of integrations, highlighting potential obstacles in the integration experience.
Language Options
The app’s language options receive focused attention, revealing nuanced findings. While the user interface (UI) is capable of adapting to the iOS language settings, certain limitations persist. Despite potential layout glitches, the app primarily operates in English. The absence of built-in language options or support for multi-language functionality for publishing constrains users seeking to cater to diverse audiences.
Overall Impression
The features and functionality of the Strikingly app evoke a spectrum of sentiments, encompassing both appreciation and areas of concern. With an overall average of 43%, testers found the app’s core functionality to be serviceable, yet they were often hindered by limitations in customization, collaboration, integrations, and language options. While some extensibility features are recognized, there’s ample room for enhancement. As the app evolves, addressing the highlighted shortcomings could substantially elevate its appeal, enabling users to create more tailored, collaborative, and feature-rich websites that cater to their diverse needs.
SEO
The app achieved an overall SEO performance rating of 76%, signifying a relatively good but varied performance across multiple SEO-related factors, such as metadata customization, URL customization, mobile optimization, and site performance.
Read the full SEO section
SEO Abilities
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) abilities refer to the app’s ability to help users optimize their website 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.
The app’s SEO abilities receive moderate ratings, with a focus on improving optimization and visibility. Ratings suggest that the app’s SEO features could be more robust to better support users’ efforts to improve search engine rankings.
You can customize only the site description, which is the page description (as the site has only one page.)
Metadata Customization
Mixed ratings highlight testers experiences with metadata customization. On the positive side, testers found the app offering a dedicated space for keywords and enabling customization of site descriptions. However, customization is limited in scope, allowing for site description modification only.
URL Customization
When it comes to customizing URLs for better readability and SEO, Strikingly receives more mixed ratings. The app provides users the ability to change site URLs and generate human-readable page names. However, challenges arise in scenarios where a website consists of only one page, impacting the effectiveness of URL customization.
Mobile Optimization
Strikingly performs admirably in the realm of mobile optimization, with high ratings. Testers found that websites generated by the app load quickly and display well on mobile devices, ensuring a seamless browsing experience for users accessing sites on the go.
Performance (Website)
Testers noted that the app’s load times are fast, but they have expressed concerns about its optimization approach, which could potentially lead to lower scores. Nevertheless, testers generally praise the app for its ability to create websites that perform well on both desktop and mobile devices.
Load Times
While the page tests speeds (https://pagespeed.web.dev/) were not great, our testers found that the sites loaded very quickly. Strikingly may prioritize efficient front-end design principles that prioritize quick loading, benefiting real-world users.
Google PageSpeed Test
Site Optimization
Testers give Strikingly positive ratings for its site optimization, recognizing its ability to achieve fast load times and ensure smooth performance.
Overall Impression
Strikingly’s performance in the SEO domain demonstrates a mixed yet promising landscape. While certain elements, such as metadata customization and mobile optimization, are well-executed, areas like URL customization and image compression offer room for enhancement. By further refining these aspects, Strikingly can continue to empower users to craft SEO-friendly websites that stand out in the digital landscape.
PERFORMANCE AND RELIABILITY
The diverse range of ratings reflects the varied experiences of testers regarding the app’s performance and reliability. Strikingly stands out in certain aspects, notably its adaptive layouts and mobile-first design, which cater effectively to mobile users. However, the app’s overall rating fluctuates due to inconsistencies in stability, responsiveness, and user guidance that are influenced by the users’ choice of operating systems. These disparities highlight the need for platform-specific improvements to provide a more consistent and reliable user experience across the board.
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
Some features are only available in the desktop version, such as external domain names. Also, again, there are bugs in the mobile app that limit the functionality.
Stability
Strikingly’s stability garners a range of ratings. While the app functioned smoothly for most testers, there were also reported crashes and issues, such as content not being processed correctly. These mixed experiences underscore the importance of continuous app optimization to ensure uninterrupted usage.
Reactivity
Testers offer a consistently moderate rating. While the app is generally responsive, reported issues like lag and unresponsive buttons underscore areas that warrant improvement.
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
The app is praised for features like text editing and providing a comprehensive FAQ section. However, limitations like the lack of image editing capabilities and certain functions being desktop-exclusive highlight opportunities for enhancement.
User Guidance
The evaluation of user guidance revealed notable fluctuations, particularly among users of different operating systems. Testers utilizing Android expressed high appreciation for the comprehensive FAQs and responsive chat support, deeming these resources as valuable assets that facilitated their app usage. However, a different narrative emerged among iOS users, with some expressing dissatisfaction due to what they perceived as a lack of adequate guidance. These iOS users emphasized the necessity for more robust onboarding processes and tutorial resources to elevate the overall user experience, highlighting the need for platform-specific improvements
Quality Assurance
Effective quality assurance mechanisms, such as preview and testing options, play a pivotal role in guaranteeing site functionality prior to publication. However, ratings regarding these mechanisms displayed a disparity once again, especially among users of different operating systems. Android users appreciated the presence of a guided wizard for site testing, which enhanced their ability to assess and refine their websites before publishing. Conversely, iOS users reported that no such features were available on their platform, indicating a potential gap in quality assurance tools between the two operating systems.
Responsiveness
Generally high ratings ranging suggest a relatively favorable mobile experience. Strikingly’s mobile-first design approach and adaptive layouts resonate positively, although certain buttons’ non-functionality on smartphones raises concerns.
Mobile-First Design
Strikingly consistently receives top ratings from various testers, demonstrating its focus on catering to mobile users. This dedication to mobile-friendliness guarantees that users can easily navigate and engage with the app on their smartphones, ultimately improving their overall experience.
Adaptive Layouts
The app’s ability to adapt to varying screen sizes and orientations is crucial for user convenience. Strikingly’s adaptive layouts receive positive feedback. The app’s intelligent adjustment, such as transforming the mobile menu into a sticky menu bar on larger screens, contributes to a seamless transition between different devices.
Touch-Friendly Interactions
Generally high ratings indicate that Strikingly provides a user-friendly touch experience. While one tester reports that not all buttons function perfectly on smartphones, overall, the app’s interface remains intuitive and easy to interact with on touch devices.
Overall Impression
In assessing Strikingly’s performance, stability, reactivity, and user guidance, a mixed picture emerges. The app is generally praised for its mobile-first design and adaptive layouts, catering to mobile users effectively. However, the presence of bugs and disparities in available features between operating systems create challenges. The app’s responsiveness is generally favorable, with touch-friendly interactions, although some issues with button functionality on smartphones are noted. User guidance exhibits disparities based on the operating system, with Android users benefiting from comprehensive resources while iOS users express a need for improvement. Quality assurance mechanisms, essential for site functionality, also vary between the two platforms, emphasizing the importance of uniform functionality. Overall, while Strikingly has strengths in mobile design and layout adaptability, there is room for improvement in terms of bugs, feature parity, user guidance, and quality assurance to enhance the overall user experience
Strikingly's SUPPORT & DOCUMENTATION
Customer Support for Strikingly exhibited differing ratings based on testers’ operating systems. Android users generally found it effective, while iOS users noted areas for improvement. Support channels, including live chat and email, received praise for their swift responses. Documentation was seen as comprehensive, although iOS users mentioned accessibility issues for some content. Community-related aspects received consistently low ratings, highlighting room for community building. Strikingly’s data privacy practices were well-regarded. In summary, Strikingly’s customer support and documentation have potential but need enhancements, particularly in fostering a user community and ensuring content accessibility.
Read the full SUPPORT & DOCUMENTATION section
Customer Support
The Customer Support category yielded a spectrum of ratings, largely contingent on the testers’ operating systems. Android users generally found the customer support to be effective and satisfactory. In contrast, iOS users identified areas in need of improvement, indicating room for enhancing the support experience for this group of users.
Support Channels
Strikingly’s customer support garners positive ratings across the board. The app provides fast responses through live chat and email, helping users to resolve their issues quickly. The availability of these support channels, coupled with very fast response times, contributes to a favorable support experience.
Documentation
The app’s documentation also receives positive feedback. Testers found the documentation comprehensive and accessible, offering tutorials, FAQs, and troubleshooting guides. However, iOS users noted that some content accessible through the in-app browser is not available within the app itself. Despite this, the Help section is deemed comprehensive and useful.
Community
Strikingly receives lower ratings for its community aspect, with consistently low ratings across testers. While there is a directory accessible from the app, no active user community or forums are mentioned. This suggests that the app could benefit from fostering a community where users can share knowledge and advice.
Data Privacy
Strikingly’s approach to data privacy is well-regarded by testers, with transparent policies on personal data collection and options for users to manage their data. The availability of data privacy information within the app adds to the overall positive impression of Strikingly’s data privacy practices.
Overall Impression
In evaluating the Customer Support category, it becomes evident that the ratings are influenced by the testers’ choice of operating systems. Android users generally found the customer support effective and satisfactory, while iOS users identified areas in need of improvement, signaling room for enhancing the support experience for this group. Support channels, including live chat and email, received positive ratings for their fast response times, contributing to a favorable support experience. The app’s documentation also garnered positive feedback for its comprehensiveness, although some iOS users noted accessibility issues for certain content. However, the community aspect received consistently low ratings, indicating an opportunity for Strikingly to foster a user community. Testers praised Strikingly’s data privacy practices, appreciating the transparent policies and user data management options. Overall, while Strikingly’s customer support and documentation show promise, there is room for improvement, particularly in building an active user community and ensuring consistent accessibility of documentation content.
Strikingly PRICING AND VALUE
The app’s pricing and value for money received an average rating of 63%. Testers appreciated the transparency of the pricing structure. However, some expressed reservations regarding the cost-effectiveness and flexibility of the available plans, highlighting room for improvement in this aspect.
Read the full PRICING & VALUE section
Pricing Tiers
The app offers a range of pricing plans, with costs ranging from $8 to $49 per month. However, these pricing tiers are not readily visible 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.
Cost-Effectiveness
Ratings for the app’s cost-effectiveness are consistently below average. Testers agree that Strikingly is cost-effective, particularly if the user’s needs align with the capabilities of a single-page website:
If you need a single-page website and don’t have any requirement regarding design, you will find that Strikingly is cost effective.
Transparency
Transparency ratings exhibited notable disparities depending on the testers’ operating systems. Android users generally reported that the app effectively communicated its pricing structure, resulting in positive transparency ratings. In contrast, iOS users noted that the app lacked clear pricing information.
Overall Impression
Testers predominantly assessed the app’s cost-effectiveness as below average, reaching a consensus that it becomes a more economical choice when the user’s requirements align with the capabilities of a single-page website, particularly if intricate design elements are not a priority. Transparency ratings demonstrated notable discrepancies based on the operating system, with Android users generally commending the app for effectively communicating its pricing structure, whereas iOS users identified a deficiency in clear pricing information, highlighting an area that requires enhancement.
Our Strikingly Review: FINAL THOUGHTS
The overall impression of the app from testers is a mix of positive and negative feedback. It has notable strengths such as robust customer support, a mobile-first design, user-friendliness for beginners, cost-effective options for single-page websites, and a variety of templates. However, limitations include the presence of bugs and functional restrictions, challenges with mobile usage, limited customization options, a lack of educational resources, and limited integration support. Testers also had mixed opinions about the app’s pricing and overall value.
Overall Review Impression
The testers overall impression is that while Strikingly boasts significant strengths, there remains room for improvement in various aspects to enhance the overall user experience.
Strengths
The app boasts several notable strengths that contribute to its user experience. The robust customer support system stands out, offering rapid responses, valuable interactions, and comprehensive documentation. The app’s mobile-first design enhances its versatility, ensuring websites are well-optimized for diverse devices. Beginners and those creating single-page websites appreciate the app’s user-friendly interface and accessible learning curve. Furthermore, the app offers cost-effective solutions for crafting single-page websites, catering to specific requirements. Template variety, though limited in customization, allows users to select from a range of options for different website types.
Limitations
However, the app also presents certain limitations that affect its overall performance. The presence of bugs and functional restrictions was noted, impacting the app’s usability and reliability. While the mobile-friendly design is commendable, some tasks and features still encounter difficulties on mobile devices. Customization options, particularly for design elements and layout control, are considered inadequate by some users. Certain features, such as menu options, image uploads, and form creation, may not function as expected, affecting the app’s functionality. The absence of educational resources and guidance, particularly regarding the SEO drawbacks of single-page websites, is seen as a drawback. Integration options are limited, lacking support for third-party integrations and additional features/plugins. The app’s language support and pricing structure receive mixed feedback, and there are reported consistency issues in design and behavior. Lastly, opinions about the overall value of the app varied among testers.
Conclusion
Strikingly exhibits significant strengths that cater to users seeking a user-friendly platform for creating single-page websites. Notably, it offers responsive customer support, a mobile-friendly design, and cost-effective solutions with a variety of templates. However, the platform also faces notable limitations, including the presence of bugs, challenges related to mobile usage, limited customization options, and a scarcity of educational resources. The absence of support for third-party integrations, language options, and multi-language functionality poses additional hurdles for some users. Opinions regarding pricing and overall value vary among testers. Ultimately, while Strikingly shines in certain aspects, there is a clear call for improvements across multiple facets to enhance the overall user experience.