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SITE 123 Review (2023)

An intuitive, beginner-friendly website builder
By Daniel BlechyndenBy Daniel Blechynden -
Last Updated: May 19, 2023
83 reviews
very good
8.8
very good
8.8
logo-SITE123
Visit Site
Price
From $4/month
Number of Templates
189
SEO Features
Yes

Our Verdict

Is SITE123 Worth Signing Up For?

SITE123 isn’t the most powerful website builder we’ve used, but it enables beginners to get online fast. Its section-based editor is overly simplistic, but it is intuitive, and you can base your design on any of hundreds of templates. The built-in Ecommerce, marketing, and blogging tools are all functional, but don’t expect them to be too powerful. Prices are fair, and the free forever-plan enables you to test most features.

Price
From $4/month
Number of Templates
189
SEO Features
Yes

SITE123 Pros & Cons

PROS

Great selection of well-designed templates
Foolproof, easy-to-use editing interface
Excellent range of guides and tutorials

CONS

Design flexibility is very limited
Ecommerce, blogging, and marketing tools are basic

Top SITE123 Reviews

Br
Brittney
, TN
I found this service extremely easy for a newbie when building a website. I just happened to run across it on a search.
Cr
Crystal
, MI
I like it because it helps walk me through step-by-step. It's easy to navigate and doesn't cost a lot either.
De
Deloris
, OK
Site123 is easy to understand and use for people of any age or background.
See all SITE123 reviews

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SITE123 SITE123 Visit Site

SITE123 Video Review

Overview

Israel-based SITE123 is a beginner-friendly website builder platform that has been operating in the space since 2015. It has rapidly grown to become a leading option, and it’s known for its ease of use and rapid site creation solutions. 

Creating a website with SITE123 is a straightforward process, and there are numerous video tutorials and how-to articles to help you get started. Consider this platform if you’re looking for a beginner-friendly, no-frills website builder, but look elsewhere if you require decent design flexibility, advanced Ecommerce tools, or powerful marketing integrations.

How SITE123 Works

It’s very easy to get started with SITE123. You will be asked what sort of site you want to build, what it should be called, and for a name, email address, and password to create an account. You can also sign in with Google or Facebook. 

The management dashboard is a little clunky, and the overall design appears somewhat outdated. But the expected tools are available, and navigation is intuitive. The editor is fast and responsive, and we experienced no issues using it. 

SITE123 Features and tools

Site123 offers a number of noteworthy features that you can take advantage of when building your new website. 

Plugins

There’s a selection of plugins that you can use to integrate with third-party platforms or to add extra functionality to your site. Many of these are free, but you will be required to pay for some of them. 

Free domain name

All premium subscriptions with a 12-month or longer term come with a free domain name for the first year. 

Multilingual support

All SITE123 websites include multilingual support. Hundreds of languages are supported, and you can display your site in any combination of up to five of them. 

How to Create a Website with SITE123

To start a new website, log in to your SITE123 account and click the New Website button on the top right of the screen. Follow the prompts, and wait a few seconds to be redirected to the editor. So far, so good. 

There are 189 templates available to base your site on, and you can switch between these by clicking the Templates button on the top right of the editor. All designs are fully responsive and optimized for mobile, but you won’t be able to switch themes once you’ve published your site. 

SITE123 uses a basic section-based editor. Pre-designed blocks can be added or removed from each page, enabling you to add the required elements. Various layouts are available for each block, but you can’t create your own custom layout.

Because of this, the editor is very easy to use and great for beginners, but the design flexibility is certainly below the standard we’d like to see. You can preview the mobile, desktop, and tablet versions of your site, although it’s only possible to edit in desktop mode. 

Despite its reputation as a beginner-friendly website builder, SITE123 provides no real guidance during the site creation process. We would have liked to see a few tips or a tour of the editor upon our first login, but nothing of the sort was available. Keyboard shortcuts also appear absent, and there’s no design assistant. 

As a final note, SITE123 doesn’t enable website export. This means that you can’t leave the platform and take your site (or at least its code) elsewhere. 

Overall, SITE123 lived up to our expectations. It markets itself as a beginner-friendly website builder for newbies to the space, and that’s indeed what it is. You won’t have access to advanced editing tools or a pixel-perfect drag-and-drop builder, but you will have what you need to get an attractive site online with a minimum amount of fuss.

Adding Multimedia to Your SITE123 website

SITE123 enables you to add all popular image and video file types to your website. Add files to your media library by uploading them directly from your computer. Or, connect to Facebook, Instagram, Google Photos, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, or Flickr. You can also capture images directly with your device’s camera.

However, you can only upload a single media file at a time, and there’s a 100MB max file upload size. There is an integration with the Unsplash stock media library, but there doesn’t appear to be any easy way to add videos hosted on YouTube or other video-hosting platforms. 

There’s also a basic image editor, but it’s underwhelming and overly simplistic. Overall, SITE123’s media management tools are okay, but we’ve certainly seen better. 

Marketing Functionality with SITE123 Websites

SITE123 includes basic email marketing functionality, enabling you to collect email addresses and send simple marketing messages. There are templates available, but these are basic and customization is very limited.

There’s also a blog section that you can add to any page of your website. The blog manager is overly simplistic, and you will have very limited layout and post customization options. You can add media links to your site, but there are no other social media tools to speak of. 

Both blogging and email marketing come with basic reporting tools. 

SEO Functionality and Add-Ons with SITE123 Websites

SITE123 offers basic SEO tools that you can use to boost your search engine ranking. The SEO advisor is accessible via the Settings menu on the main management dashboard. It enables you to add homepage meta tags, a sitemap, a favicon, and a custom domain name. You can also set up 301 redirects if required. 

The built-in SEO audit tool can be used to identify simple issues, such as the lack of effective page descriptions or title tags. A Google Analytics integration is available, but the built-in analytics tools are quite limited. 

Ecommerce

SITE123’s Ecommerce website builder would be a great fit for anybody wishing to sell online that wants to use a builder tool that can do it all. SITE123 allows users to build sites based on templates, configure 301 redirects to make sure that old URLs route through to new ones, and even includes optimization settings for mobile versions. 

Site123 ecommerce builder

Currency Support & Payment Processing

Over 80 currencies are supported with SITE123's Ecommerce capabilities.

SITE123 integrates with 3 payments gateways:

  • 2Checkout
  • Braintree
  • Stripe

To receive money, users can connect Paypal and bank accounts. 

SITE123 does not levy any transaction fees but the payment gateways do. 

SITE123 Customer Support

SITE123 offers responsive 24/7 live chat support, but email and phone options are notably absent. There’s a selection of self-help resources available via the SITE123 support center. These include detailed video tutorials, well-written how-to guides, and various other informational articles. We would have liked to see a few more built-in tips, but the support resources on offer are excellent overall. 

SITE123 Pricing

Pricing & Special Offers

Alongside a limited free-forever plan, there are four subscription options that range in price from $12.80 to $34.80 per month for a 12-month term. Monthly payments aren’t available, and prices are significantly higher with the minimum 3-month term. Introductory discounts are available periodically, and you can access increased discounts with 24-month, 36-month, 60-month, and 120-month terms. 


Basic
Advanced
Professional
Gold
3-month term price
$19 per month
$28 per month
$39 per month
$47 per month
12-month term price
$12.80 per month
$19.80 per month
$28.80 per month
$34.80 per month
Storage
10GB 
30GB
90GB
270GB
Bandwidth
5GB
15GB
45GB
135GB
Email marketing
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Ecommerce
No
No
Yes
Yes
SEO advisor
No
No
No
Yes

SITE123 Alternatives

How SITE123 Compares to Other Website Builders


SITE123
WordPress.com
Squarespace
Wix
Pricing*
$12.80 to $34.80
$4 to $45
$12 to $40
$14 to $49
Hosting included?
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Number of templates
189
Thousands
60+
Almost 1000
Blogging functionality
Basic
Good
Advanced
Advanced
Ecommerce functionality
Basic
Good
Good
Basic
Email marketing functionality
Basic
With plugin
Good
Great
Responsive design
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Analytics & Reporting
Basic
Advanced
Advanced
Good

*Listed prices in the table above represent the monthly price of an annual subscription term. 

SITE123 vs. WordPress.com

SITE123 is quite a simple website builder that targets beginners and those entering the website-building space for the first time. Its site editor lacks a little design flexibility and power, but it’s still much more advanced than WordPress.com’s. Like SITE123, WordPress.com targets beginners. However, it’s a little expensive and hasn’t kept up with recent advances in the website building world, making it a much less attractive option. 

SITE123 vs. Squarespace

If SITE123 is a leader for beginners wanting to get online fast, Squarespace is a clear winner for those looking for attractive templates, more design flexibility, and decent design tools. It boasts an excellent selection of professionally-designed themes, decent online store support, and a great range of native features to add functionality to your site. 

SITE123 vs. Wix

Wix is known as one of the world’s leading website builders, and it's easy to see why. It offers advanced design flexibility through its pixel-perfect drag-and-drop editor, and it’s much more powerful than SITE123. However, it can be a little expensive and confusing to get started with, and SITE123 may be a better option for industry newbies. 

SITE123 SITE123 Visit Site

Bottom Line

SITE123 offers excellent website-building solutions for those with little experience in the industry. Its intuitive, beginner-friendly editor enables users to get online in next to no time. Design flexibility is limited, but there’s a decent selection of attractive templates and layouts to base your site on. 

The integrated blogging, Ecommerce, and marketing tools are quite simple, but the basics are there. Prices sit around the industry average, and the customer support is decent. Overall, we’d suggest trying SITE123 if you want to develop an online presence with a minimum amount of fuss.

Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of SITE123?+-

SITE123 costs between $19 and $47 per month for the shortest three-month subscription term. Annual terms cost between $12.80 and $34.80 per month. There’s a free-forever plan available, and monthly prices continue to decrease if you subscribe for a longer term.

What’s the best thing about SITE123?+-

SITE123’s beginner-friendly editor stands out as excellent. It’s not very powerful, but it requires little to no technical knowledge to get started with.

Are SITE123 websites mobile-friendly?+-

All websites created with SITE123 are fully responsive and optimized for mobile.

Contributing to many popular websites, Daniel’s writing focuses on technology, science, and dependable reviews. He holds degrees in Chemistry and Marine Science from the University of Western Australia and has been a regular critic of software, web hosting, website builders, and a variety of other tech products and services for several years, leaning on his academic background for rigor in research and writing.

SITE123 customer reviews

Based on 83 reviews

Ease of use

Brand satisfaction

Value for money

Service quality

Top Reviews

Ease of use

Brand satisfaction

Value for money

Service quality

9 months ago

I found this service extremely easy for a newbie when building a website. I just happened to run across it on a search.

10 months ago

I like it because it helps walk me through step-by-step. It's easy to navigate and doesn't cost a lot either.

10 months ago

Site123 is easy to understand and use for people of any age or background.

10 months ago

Site123 was easy to use, it gave simple instructions, and it made general website building a cinch.

a year ago

Site123 walks you step by step to ensure you get the most out of the website builder.

a year ago

For a beginner, it was more intuitive than I expected. Being able to set up both static, video, and links to other elements on the same page was fairly easy. Also, being able to include a blog element was most helpful.

a year ago

It is a free website builder. It has many styles and layouts. I must say it is a totally professional website.

a year ago

Site123 is focused on simplicity above all. It manages to put a solid website builder, eCommerce, SEO, and marketing tools in one.

a year ago

It's definitely an app that I use a lot. It includes a lot of unique features in comparison to other site-building apps.

a year ago

I like the quality of the product and services. I like the value of the brand.

a year ago

Site123 is easy for me because it helps build the website you're creating. It isn't difficult for me to understand or navigate around. It's clear, and I also told some friends about it.

1 years ago

Again with the customer service It's not really there for me but everything else honestly is good.

1 years ago

Easy to use and if I had any questions it was easy to find help for the questions.

1 years ago

It was easy to use and enabled me to accomplish what I needed in regard to a website.

1 years ago

Best price for website development I could find in the web. It gave me a good place to start my development.

1 years ago

This is a great site for anyone who needs this type of service. I would highly recommend it for just about anyone.

1 years ago

It was very easy to figure out, and I was impressed with the options they have.

1 years ago

It was an extremely easy site to use to build my own and I would definitely use it again.

1 years ago

You just can't beat what this website builder. This absolutely is the place to go in order to find yourself the proper solutions and also have all of your needs met.

1 years ago

I gave site123 5 stars be cause when I used this website builder to create my bitcoin-trading post website to buy and sell crypto on, the layout was very simple and easy for beginners.

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