About IONOS

Category: Website Builders
IONOS boasts an inexpensive website builder that’s packed with useful features such as a drag-and-drop editor, web personalization, appointment booking, an eCommerce storefront, hundreds of templates, integrations with popular marketplaces, and so much more.

Company: IONOS by 1&1

IONOS was founded in 1988 as one of the first hosting companies in the world. Today, it has 8 million customers from all over the world and a large collection of tools such as email marketing, an eCommerce Storefront, and a website builder. It’s geared towards making the web development process easier for freelancers, small businesses, and medium businesses.

Starter
$1
/mo
30-day FREE trial
Plus
$5
/mo
30-day FREE trial
Pro
$10
/mo
30-day FREE trial
Now+List Local
$17
/mo
30-day FREE trial
Creator+List Local
$23
/mo
30-day FREE trial
Design Service S
$30
$199 setup fee
Design Service M
$45
/mo
$199 setup fee
Design Service L
$60
/mo
$199 setup fee

In-Depth Analysis

0 Overall
Price 4.0
Ease Of Use 4.0
Features 4.0
Support 4.0

Pros

  • It has hundreds of templates in different categories
  • 24/7 customer support for all customers
  • You can set up stores on third-party platforms
  • Multiple shipping options and integrations with different carriers

Cons

  • Email marketing app is limited to 300 messages at a time
  • Design flexibility is limited when it comes to placing elements on a page

IONOS Comparisons

VS
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Plans & Pricing

The company has more pricing plans than most providers but this gives potential customers more choice. There are six plans which are divided based on the usage limits and features customers have access to.

The website builder is inexpensive to get started with a basic website. The other plans are in line with what other services charge for similar features.

Starter
$1
/mo
30-day FREE trial
Get Started
Plus
$5
/mo
30-day FREE trial
Get Started
Pro
$10
/mo
30-day FREE trial
Get Started
Now+List Local
$17
/mo
30-day FREE trial
Get Started
Creator+List Local
$23
/mo
30-day FREE trial
Get Started
Design Service S
$30
$199 setup fee
Get Started
Design Service M
$45
/mo
$199 setup fee
Get Started
Design Service L
$60
/mo
$199 setup fee
Get Started

Starter

The lowest plan is called Starter, the smallest plan is $1/month for the first 12 months then increases to $5/month or $12/month with a store. It’s focused on beginners who don’t have web development experience. It comes with a simple canvas to build on with pre-set styles, the ability to customize fonts, color palette editing, a free domain, and an email inbox.

Plus

The Plus plan costs $5/month for 12 months then increases to $10/month or $20/month within six months if you choose a store. It gives you more control over the editing experience. It comes with over 400 templates, social media tools, scheduling software, customer review widgets, code editing a mobile app, and advanced page editing capabilities.

Pro

Pro is $10/month for 12 months then increases to $15/month. If you choose an online store, it’s $25/month for six months then increases to $35/month. It gives customers access to personalization tools that can be activated based on rules such as location, device, or time of day. You can also access SEO tutorials, multilingual websites, selling through marketplaces, and start using the basic email marketing functions.

Now + List Local Essential

This plan is free for the first month then costs $17/month. It builds on previous plans and emphasizes adding websites to over 2 dozen local listing directories such as Google, Facebook, and Opendi.

Creator + List Local Essential

This plan is free for the first month then charges $23/month. It also emphasizes local listings but supports multilingual sites, social media widgets, and business widgets.

Design service S

The Design Service S plan costs $30/month and has a setup fee of $199. The plan focuses on helping you design a simple website of up to three pages, a website consultation, and an edit every quarter.

Design service M

This plan is $45/month and has a $199 setup fee. It builds on the previous plan but increases the pages that are designed for you from three to five. It also provides 1 website edit per month.

Design service L

The largest design plan is $60/m plus a $199 setup fee. They’ll create seven pages for you and provide unlimited website edits. It also comes with up to 2 hours of HTML and CSS change and integrated video with autoplay.

Featured prices can be updated and free offers may include additional terms.
Ease of Use

The editor can be overwhelming because it has so many options. When you start working with it, you’ll soon realize that the interface design is intuitive and easy to use. With that being said, it will take some time to learn everything.

After choosing an initial template, you can adjust settings, add pages, and move content around on the pages. Many users have mentioned that they’d like more design flexibility when it comes to placing elements on a page.

IONOS works on a block system. You can drag and drop elements into specific blocks or sections and move things around within those blogs but they’ll land at predefined places. This helps create good-looking sites but can be a drawback for advanced users.

Customer Support

It offers support via multiple channels and is available around the clock. When you contact the support team, they’re usually knowledgeable and can help you solve most problems associated with your account.

Additional customer support:
Blog
The company has a blog that it updates frequently with company news, product tutorials, and general online business tips.

24/7 Help & Support
24/7 Help & Support
Customers need a support pin to access this
Phone Support
Phone Support
Phone support is provided around the clock for all customers
Live Online Chat
Live Online Chat
Live chat is available for customers between 8 AM and 8 PM
Email
Email
Available to customers & takes around 24 hours to get a response
Video Tutorials
Video Tutorials
Video tutorials may be found on the official YouTube channel
FAQ
FAQ
The website has both an FAQ as well as a knowledge base
Features & Functionality
Design

The website builder comes packed with features that cater to both beginners and experts. There’s a built-in image editor, thousands of stock images, all sites are responsive by default, it supports multilingual websites, and much more.

Designs & Templates

IONOS has a huge library of templates that you can use to build your website. Over four hundred of them span categories like professional services, blogs, retail and e-commerce, transportation, etc. The majority of templates are well-designed but a few do need an update. All of them are mobile responsive and can be customized to meet your needs. Colors, images, text, sections, etc. can all be adjusted as much as you want.

Features
  • 100+ Templates
  • Add HTML Code
  • Blog Templates
  • Portfolio
  • Drag & Drop Editor
  • Multi-lingual Website
  • Fully Customized
  • Mobile-friendly
Marketing
Customer reviews

Customer reviews are more important than ever to increase sales. You can access a customer review widget that allows your visitors to leave reviews right on your website. You’re then able to control what’s shown on the front end and what’s not.

Appointment booking

Appointment scheduling can be time-consuming because of the back and forth. The simple appointment tools from IONOS creates a seamless experience for your visitors and makes sure you don’t double-book appointments.

Image optimization & video backgrounds

Images help your brand stand out but high-quality photos are large and can slow webpages down. IONOS automatically optimizes images so they look good but don’t impact performance. You can also add a video background to catch the attention of visitors without sacrificing the overall user experience.

Shipping integrations

You’re able to offer multiple shipping options like same-day delivery, in-store pickup, and standard shipping options. It also integrates with major shipping carriers and third-party apps to make the entire process easier.

Features
  • SEO Tools
  • Social Media Integration
  • Widgets + Apps
  • Newsletter Tool
  • Monetization
  • Visitor statistics
Hosting
Features
  • Multiple Sites
  • Free Custom Domain
  • Unlimited Space
  • Unmetered Bandwidth
Multimedia
Features
  • Free Stock Photos
  • Video Plug-Ins
  • Audio Plug-Ins
Good For
Features
  • Blogging
  • Online Stores
  • Automatic Website Building
Verdict

IONOS has a nice balance between ease of use and customization abilities but one drawback is that you can’t get granular when trying to control where elements are placed on the page. Though it’s something to keep in mind, it doesn’t take away from IONOS’ affordable pricing, 24/7 support, and wide range of features.

Visit IONOS Site
Daniel Ndukwu
Author: Daniel Ndukwu
Daniel is a small business owner at large helping his peers navigate the challenges they experience on a day to day basis. His philosophy is simple, if it isn’t broken you can still make it better.
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IONOS User Reviews

J
Justin A
11-50 employees
Used for: 6-12 months
03 Jan - 2021

Easy to use builder!

It is easy to integrate with WordPress websites. It helped me save time and money. You can easily integrate the domain name with their hosting or another hosting provider.

Cons

Not as many features are included in the standard version

T
Thomas M
Architecture & Planning, 02-10 employees
Used for: 1-2 years
12 Mar - 2021

Easy to use for domain & webhosting

I used this service and found it really simple for my domain and web hosting needs

Cons

customer support could be improved and features are lacking

M
Marley M
Food & Beverages, 11-50 employees
Used for: 6-12 months
13 Feb - 2021

Good price & easy to set up

It's been easy to use and they have very good customer service.

Cons

Not 100% customizable,

B
Brandy P
Hospitality, 02-10 employees
Used for: 6-12 months
09 Apr - 2021

A hidden gem in the website creation world

One of the best things about them is that you get a free domain for the duration of your contract with them. When you are starting out with your website, having that rolled into the cost is really helpful.

K
Karen J
Cosmetics, 02-10 employees
Used for: 6-12 months
05 Mar - 2021

Good amount of Options to get your website going.

The website was simple to navigate and easy to use in general. Getting a Domain name is convenient and you can host a website.

Cons

-does not have the tools I need, but that is more of a preference then a Con in the end.

All IONOS User Reviews