In our Network Solutions website builder review, we give you all the information, insight, pros, and cons you need to understand whether this is the best website builder for you.
With Network Solutions you can easily build a website on your own, with any knowledge of coding. Alternatively, if you want a professional at hand you can sign up for the professional website design service. This is a great option if you don’t feel ready to build a website by yourself. Using such assistance will save you time and energy.
If you already have a registered domain somewhere else, Network Solutions includes options for domain transfer. All you need to do is enter your domain name on the main website, complete your purchase, then authorise the transfer.Or if you’re trying to transfer your domain to a new registrar to save money, then Network Solutions likely has a more affordable option.
Our experts have put the Network Solutions website builder through its paces. Read on to discover what this website builder has to offer.
Network Solutions website builder pricing and plans
When it comes to website builder services, Network Solutions offers you three plans. They all come with an introductory price for the first month. But if you want to find out how much you will be paying after this period, you have to add the plan to your cart. This isn’t the most transparent approach, and price increases are significant.
The first plan, just called ‘Website’ will cost you $2.95 for the first month, jumping up to $11.94/mo if you pay annually. This comes with a free domain name for the first year (you’re also able to use one you already own), and access to over 150 templates so you don’t have to start creating a site from scratch.
The next plan, ‘Marketing’ offers the same as the ‘Website’ plan, but also adds ‘Local Search’ that submits your business listing to over 100 local online directories and search engines. It costs $3.95 for the first month, but will cost you $19.63/mo after that if you pay annually.
The third plan ‘Ecommerce’ costs $4.95 (although it is also confusingly advertised at $74.80) for the first month and is a little tricky to understand.
It appears to come with the same website features as the ‘Website’ package, but this will cost you more ($28.53/mo, when paid annually). You may assume that it costs more because it allows you to sell online. But you actually need to pay extra ($16.58/mo paid annually) in order to sell up to 25 products, get 1GB disk space, and 5GB data transfer. This package also adds the ‘Local Search’ extra on top ($7.68/mo when paid annually). Plus, a set-up fee of $49 is added, although it isn’t clear what this covers. All in, you will pay a total of $682.59 ($56.88/mo) for your first year when paid annually.
Considering that the ecommerce plan only allows you to sell a measly 25 products (although also advertised elsewhere at 500 products) and costs a significant amount, you would likely be better off going with a cheaper and more powerful alternative such as Shopify that starts at $29/mo, BigCommerce that starts at $39/mo, or Square Online that offers a free plan.
Network Solutions website builder interface
The interface is one of the drawbacks to Network Solutions. Unlike other website builders, like Yahoo, GoDaddy, or Zyro, the interface looks more outdated which might make someone question their templates and services.
Unfortunately, it’s difficult to find out how you can view the templates available on their website. You have to go to “renew services” in order to even see what the template packages are. There also isn’t an obvious list of features on their main website which makes them harder to find.
Network Solutions website builder features
The best feature about Network Solutions is how it gets the job done. You can build your own website easily once you get started and there are plenty of drag-and-drop options to help you save time. Everything is straightforward in terms of actually creating your website. However, when it comes to viewing the features, Network Solutions could make some improvements. The design of the interface is the hardest part to navigate. There’s not a clear list of features that’s easy to access. Similar to how templates are hidden, you need to go to the “renew services” tab in order to find a list of service features.
Network Solutions website builder alternatives
Network Solutions offers add-ons like CodeGuard and SiteLock that not all competitors provide. GoDaddy, Bluehost, and SiteGround are slightly different from Network Solutions. If you want to build an affordable website and get it up and running quickly, then Network Solutions is a good option. However, if you’re more concerned with how your website looks, then you might want to choose something with a more updated interface.
Network Solutions website builder review: Summary
Network Solutions is a more affordable website builder designed to get the job done quickly. If you’d rather not build everything by yourself, you can always use their professional website design service.
Overall, Network Solutions is a great place to save money on web hosting, especially if you’re looking to transfer your domain name. They provide a variety of services and make building your website simple. You can easily host your website on the cloud or on WordPress. Since you can easily change plans, you can always start with something smaller and build your way up as your website grows.
Our main concern though lies with their terms of services, their lack of transparency about their non-introductory prices, and a deliberately complex way of requesting a refund. All this leads us to wonder just how easy it would actually be for you to cancel your agreement with them, while retaining your data and domain name.
