With numerous website builders saturating the market, selecting the right platform can be challenging. One option worth considering is Web.com. If you’ve encountered this website builder, you might be pondering whether it suits your project’s needs.

While Web.com boasts a great URL, as a traditional web hosting company, it hasn’t always fulfilled its potential. However, with a stronger focus on its intuitive website-building features, Web.com has become a more enticing option, especially for those seeking to swiftly create a website or online store.

Web.com is recognized for providing straightforward hosting plans as well as a widely-used website builder. While the initial signup rate is appealing, just under $2, the subsequent regular rates for the second month and beyond may not fully justify the quality of hardware, support, or commerce features, in our assessment.

Shared Hosting

Web.com also offers three tiers of shared hosting, available in either Linux- or Windows-based options: Basic Hosting, Plus Hosting, and Premium Hosting. Upon purchasing a Web.com site builder plan, you’re entitled to a complimentary domain and hosting.

Every tier comes equipped with a website builder, unrestricted monthly data transfers, access to open-source applications, site backup, and a one-year domain registration. However, each plan boasts distinct features in other aspects.

Regrettably, if you’re seeking services beyond shared hosting, Web.com may not be the ideal choice. The platform doesn’t offer options for cloud, dedicated, or VPS hosting plans.

WordPress Web Hosting

WordPress hosting is a specialized type of web hosting service designed specifically for websites created using the WordPress content management system. It usually offers features such as one-click installation, automatic updates, and dedicated support for WordPress-related concerns.

Building a WordPress website is made simpler with Web.com. You don’t require coding expertise to craft an impressive site. With a WordPress website hosted by Web.com, you gain access to pre-installed themes, a wide array of plugins, and assistance from our knowledgeable experts whenever necessary.

Experience accelerated hosting speeds like never before. With features such as 99.9% uptime, unmetered bandwidth, and server response times up to 70% faster, you’ll have all the essentials to enhance your business’s performance.

Website Builder

Geared towards first-time users and those prioritizing simplicity, Web.com provides a fast and straightforward solution for establishing a website online. With a complimentary domain name included, it’s an ideal option for novice site owners. Additionally, customers are equipped with a custom email address matching their new domain, enhancing the professional appearance of their online presence.

With hundreds of templates and customizable layouts, Web.com offers the tools necessary to create a unique and professional website. Additionally, thousands of stock images are available, ensuring you have ample resources to distinguish your site and make it stand out from the crowd.

Web.com offers templates tailored for various industries such as car dealerships, coffee shops, jewelry makers, and repair services. Once you select your theme, you’re committed to it, a common restriction among website builders. Nevertheless, starting fresh with a new site is a swift and straightforward process, as is undoing minor mistakes.

The site-building interface is delightfully intuitive. You have the option to create a single-page site or choose multiple pages, nesting them within each other to create menus for user navigation. At any point, you can switch between device layouts to preview how your site appears on a laptop versus a phone.

E-Commerce

The e-commerce tools have a dedicated section within the interface. Here, you can list up to 500 products (with unlimited products available in higher tiers), comprising a mix of physical and digital goods. Additionally, you can manage organizational tasks such as order monitoring, entering tax information, and ensuring smooth shipping between customers and warehouses. The eCommerce Essentials tier also offers Facebook marketplace integration for expanded reach.

AI Copywriting

One of Web.com’s latest features is the AI copywriting tool, leveraging the recent trend of large language models. This tool enables you to generate copy for your website, which is particularly useful if you’re not confident in crafting eye-catching copy and product descriptions. Even for those who consider themselves adept wordsmiths, the tool can offer valuable copy suggestions to inspire creativity.

Web Design Special

For an additional $149, you have the option to purchase the Web Design Special, through which experts will craft a professional website or online store customized to your specific requirements. The plan includes email, a free domain, SEO optimization, and an SSL certificate.

With the Web Design Special, you’ll receive a professionally designed logo and a fully functional website ready to launch in just days. While this service comes at an additional cost, it could be invaluable for users who lack the time or expertise to build their own website and prefer a quick and hassle-free option created for them.

Open-Source Applications

Web.com provides support for commonly used open-source scripts, offering effortless single-click installations for platforms such as WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. For users comfortable with coding who desire customization of their site’s HTML and CSS, options include Python, Ruby on Rails, and PHP.

Web.com’s pricing model is clear-cut, featuring three “Website” plans that offer substantial initial discounts for the first month, followed by standard monthly or annual rates. Opting for the annual payment option provides additional savings, in line with industry standards.

While many website builders provide free options, Web.com does not offer a free tier. Users must pay for the service regardless of the chosen tier. However, the pricing is reasonable. The initial month’s fee is heavily discounted, starting as low as $4.95 per month. After this promotional period ends, the regular rates align with industry standards.

Each tier of the includes five email addresses for your domain name, along with a blogging tool integrated into the site builder. With the $16-a-month Website plan, you’ll gain access to the website builder along with over 150 templates and thousands of stock images. Alternatively, for $21 a month, the Website + Marketing plan offers additional features such as submitting your site to business directories and search engines like Bing, Google, and Yahoo.

To unlock more online storefront options, you’ll need to subscribe to the $30-per-month Online Store plan. Lastly, for $45 per month, the Online Marketplaces plan provides access to everything a business could need.

Website uptime is crucial for a hosting service. When your site is inaccessible, clients or customers cannot find you or access your products/services, potentially resulting in lost business. Web.com boasts an average uptime rate of 99.99%, aligning with industry standards and providing ample reliability for most users utilizing shared hosting services.

In our recent tests, Web.com experienced no downtime, marking a noticeable improvement since our previous evaluation a few years ago.

To enhance the security of your site, Web.com provides spam protection through CatchGuard, along with email virus protection and removal services. Additionally, you can acquire a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate starting at $28 per year, an essential investment particularly if you intend to sell products through your website.

Web.com provides an intuitive website builder tool, along with 25 FTP accounts for seamless file and image uploads directly from your computer. You also get 300GB of disk storage, unlimited bandwidth, personalized email, and access to an extensive library of programming languages and open-source applications.

Within your dashboard, you have the ability to access and modify all the websites you’ve created, including any uploaded files connected to them. The analytics section provides valuable statistics, such as page views, unique visitors, popular pages, and the devices visitors use to access your site. Web.com seamlessly integrates with Google Analytics, providing in-depth audience insights.

Web.com provides several avenues for assistance if you encounter difficulties, including email, live chat, and phone support. From our experience, the most effective option among these is the 24/7 phone line (1-866-655-7679), which is offered free with all plans.

Web.com’s customer service is consistently reliable. During a weekday evening, we contacted their 24/7 customer service for information about Web.com’s shared web hosting plan. Within seconds, a representative transferred us to the relevant department, demonstrating swift and efficient service.

Additionally, we engaged in a web chat to inquire about Web.com’s security features. The customer service representative was helpful and explained several available features in a clear and understandable manner, providing valuable insights into the platform’s security offerings.

Web.com also features a knowledge base where users can browse numerous articles to address their issues. However, we found it somewhat challenging to locate the information we needed. This is because Web.com also offers hosting and domain options, resulting in search results that weren’t always specific to website builders.

Web.com caters to small businesses, and we believe it’s an ideal website builder for this audience. With the platform, you can swiftly create an attractive, professional-looking website in about an hour, making it perfect for enhancing your current business offering with an online presence.

While Web.com may have fallen short as a traditional web hosting service, its website builder with hosting plans presents an attractive offering. Although certain editing options could be enhanced, we confidently recommend Web.com to anyone seeking accessible and intuitive tools for quickly building a website.