How 123 Reg Works
123 Reg is a UK-based hosting provider founded in 2000. The company has won several awards, including the best value web hosting award from TechRadar in 2016 and 2017.
The 123 Reg website builder is ideal for small business owners who want to create a unique and attractive website in minutes. It’s very easy to use and comes with over 100 well-designed templates. The builder is especially good if you want to launch a small e-commerce store or import site content from social media.
Using 123 Reg Website Builder
Getting started with 123 Reg is fairly straightforward. Every website builder plan includes free hosting and a free domain for 1 year, so you don’t have to worry about piecing together different products from across the company’s service lines. After you pay for your site, you can select from over 100 different templates (you’re free to switch templates later).
The site editor isn’t as seamless as competitors', but it is relatively easy to use. You’ll find all of the content creation tools in a menu on the left-hand side of the screen, and you can edit any site element just by clicking on it.
123 Reg Features and Tools
Google Calendar Integration
123 Reg integrates with Google Calendar so that you can add events to your website and enable visitors to schedule appointments. The catch is that this feature isn’t integrated with 123 Reg’s e-commerce features, so it can be tricky to make customers pay when signing up for an event.
Zoom Integration
123 Reg also integrates with Zoom, which enables customers to video call you through your website.
Email Addresses
All 123 Reg website builder plans include at least 1 email at your domain. Pro and Pro+SEO plans include 3 email addresses, and e-commerce plans include 5.
SSL Encryption
All 123 Reg websites are protected with SSL encryption, which protects your website and customer data. Your SSL certificate is added to your site automatically when you publish.
Creating a Website with 123 Reg
How to Create, Design & Edit Your 123 Reg Website
You can start creating a 123 Reg website by choosing a template. The builder includes over 100 options, and you can switch templates at any time during the design process.
Once you’re in the drag-and-drop editor, simply click on any content element to edit it. You can also drop new content elements anywhere on the page—you’re not restricted to a grid layout like with some other website builders. It’s also easy to resize text and images simply by dragging the corners of the content element.
One thing we especially liked about the 123 Reg editor is that it includes a global style editing panel. You can change details like your site’s background color, button size and color, and fonts for your whole site in just a couple clicks. This ensures that your site looks cohesive and professional, while still giving you a fair amount of flexibility.
All 123 Reg websites are mobile-responsive, and all plans except the basic Standard plan include a mobile site editor. You’re also free to dive into your site’s HTML code if you want to make custom modifications to your template.
Adding Multimedia to Your 123 Reg Website
You can upload most common file types to your website, including images, videos, audio files, documents and slideshows, and even zipped folders. All files are uploaded into a content library, which is easily searchable so you can reuse content across your site.
To import files, you can drag and drop content into a media uploader or connect a cloud storage platform like Dropbox or Google Drive. You can also import photos automatically from any web page or social media account. Overall, the process of adding files to your website was one of our favorite parts of using the 123 Reg website builder.
Marketing Functionality with 123 Reg Websites
123 Reg has a relatively limited set of marketing tools. You can create a blog for your site, but the blog editor is somewhat clunky. Images and videos can only be added in-line with your text, and you can’t drag and drop content like you can with the site editor.
All sites integrate with Yelp so you can automatically display customer reviews on your website. In addition, e-commerce sites come with integrations for Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr, enabling you to easily share your products across these platforms.
123 Reg doesn’t offer email marketing features.
SEO Functionality & Add-Ons with 123 Reg Websites
SEO is baked into the 123 Reg site editor. You can easily add meta descriptions to all the files in your media library, as well as edit your site’s meta title and description. You have access to a built-in analytics panel, but only the Pro+SEO plan enables you to integrate Google Analytics.
123 Reg also offers a standalone SEO tool called Competitor Insights for Pro, Pro+SEO, and Online Shop Pro plans. With this tool, you can add competitors’ websites and see how your site stacks up in terms of traffic, keyword density, and search engine rankings. With the Pro+SEO plan, 123 Reg will even help you identify your competitors for the main keywords on your site.
E-Commerce
123 Reg offers an excellent online store builder. For any product, you can upload an unlimited number of images, include downloadable files and product videos, add SKUs for inventory management, and set up custom tax and shipping options. You can even choose which products to display to visitors as related to the item they’re looking at.
It’s easy to sell both physical and digital products, and you can offer discount codes for individual products or across your whole store. Notably, 123 Reg integrates with more than 40 payment processors, so you’re free to use whatever gateway works best for your business.
The online store itself isn’t very customizable, as products are simply laid out in a grid pattern. You can organize items into categories, and there’s a simple search tool for customers, but you can’t add banners or feature specific products.
123 Reg Customer Support
123 Reg offers customer support by phone from 8AM–10PM (GMT) Monday–Friday and 9AM–5PM Saturday–Sunday. You can also get in touch by live chat from 9AM–7PM 7 days a week.
123 Reg’s support center includes video tutorials that walk you through the process of setting up a website. However, a number of these tutorials appear to feature an outdated version of the website builder.
123 Reg Pricing
123 Reg offers 3 plans for basic websites and 3 for e-commerce sites. There is no free option, and you can’t try out the builder before signing up, but every plan is backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee. All plans must be paid annually, and there’s a significant discount for your first year.
First year price
£30.00
£60.00
£120.00
£89.74
£149.94
£299.94
Regular price per year
£83.88
£119.88
£239.76
£179.88
£299.88
£599.88
E-commerce
-
-
-
10 products
100 products
Unlimited products
123 Reg’s Standard plan, its cheapest option, is quite limited. It includes 123 Reg branding and only offers minimal analytics. The Pro plan is required for access to the mobile site editor, while you’ll need a Pro+SEO plan to integrate Google Analytics.
The Online Shop Starter plan, the cheapest e-commerce option, only lets you sell 10 products. You get 100 products, discounts, and inventory management with the Online Shop Standard plan. The Online Shop Pro plan lets you sell an unlimited number of products and includes a mobile app to manage your online store.
123 Reg Alternatives
Pricing
From £83.88 per year
From $60 per year
From $131.88 per year
From free
Hosting included?
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Number of templates
100
18
300
200
Blogging functionality
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Ecommerce functionality
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Email marketing functionality
No
Yes
Yes
Requires plugin
Responsive design
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Analytics & Reporting
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Bottom Line
123 Reg offers a flexible website builder that can help you launch a professional website or online store in just a few hours. The main drawback to 123 Reg is that the plans are designed so that you need to upgrade to get access to essential tools like the mobile site editor or Google Analytics. The platform doesn’t offer email marketing, so businesses will also need to spend more on third-party marketing software.
On the positive side, the platform is very easy to use, and we were quite pleased with the drag-and-drop site editor. In addition, 123 Reg offers plenty of options for setting up products and covers e-commerce essentials like inventory management and discounts.
