In the modern competitive business world, websites are more important than ever. Even if you operate a traditional business, you still need to invest in an appealing and functional website. A website will build trust, strengthen your brand image, and boost your authority.
The great news is you don’t need to spend hundreds and thousands of dollars to build a website. While some website builder platforms are more expensive, there are always cost-effective alternatives.
Take the Mailchimp website builder, for example. It will help you build a professional and reliable website, and the zero-coding feature will not cause roadblocks, even for beginners.
But how can you make the most of Mailchimp's website builder to create an appealing website and attract your target audience? Let's review the Mailchimp website builder for more detailed information.
Mailchimp Website Builder Review 2024: Features
While Mailchimp provides a website builder for free, you need to be aware of some factors. It’s undoubtedly one of the best email marketing platforms, but things change in terms of the website builder.
Mailchimp
- Unlimited pages and bandwidth
- SSL certificates
- Site visit analytics
- SEO tools
Using Mailchimp to create your website landing page is beneficial if you’re short on resources and budget. However, consider other options if you want a more advanced website. Let’s get started with the Mailchimp website builder review.
1. Simplicity without any templates
Most website builders offer different types of templates. These are pre-designed layouts that will determine your website's basic appearance.
For instance, Squarespace offers 600+ free templates that are appealing and super functional. So, you may think that a reputed company like Mailchimp also provides a handful of great templates, right?
You’re absolutely wrong. Mailchimp website builder doesn’t offer any type of templates at all. Instead, Mailchimp offers a primary dashboard, a space for your logo, and other sections like General, About, Contact, Blank, etc.
While the layout is completely customizable, I believe the customization options are too less compared to other website builders.
For instance, you can customize the templates by choosing your preferred fonts, content of sections, colors, and background image.
But it’s far from matching the potential of templates, which allow you to customize everything. Not to mention, templates often have extensive customization abilities.
2. Core Features are great
The Mailchimp promo page claims that the website builder provides everything you need to manage your online presence. This is undoubtedly an ambitious claim that many website builders fail to comply with.
While the core features of Mailchimp aren’t as great as those of other website builders like WordPress, they are still a great way to get started. Not to mention, I personally like the core features provided in the free version, something most website builders don’t provide.
But, keep in mind that you cannot create a blog page on Mailchimp website builder. This is something I really don’t like, given the fact that blogs are one of the best ways to promote your business and offerings.
You will also have limited design options for different content blocks. However, it’s not all bad news. The free version will let you create a basic website that can be integrated into your email marketing tools.
3. Integration with Square
Let’s say you want to sell products or services using Mailchimp. In such cases, you can implement a simple Square Integration.
As Mailchimp integrates, you can connect a store created within Square with your Mailchimp website. Then, you will be able to set up a different website section where you can accept payments from your customers.
If you’re not using them already, you need to create a Square account and store to use this payment collection feature.
4. Integrations
Integrations are one of the most important aspects of any website builder. The integrations will enhance the overall effectiveness of your website.
You can also connect your website with different types of integrations, such as audience management, email marketing, and more. Depending on the automation tool you use, you will be able to manage your online presence easily.
5. Content Blocks
The customization options of Mailchimp website builder are not extensive but are surely more than enough to build a highly personalized website.
To help you create a unique website possible, Mailchimp provides different types of content blocks, simply known as customization options. These are different website customization sections made for specific purposes.
This includes header, text, intro, image, and many more. But I must say the options aren’t as extensive as the other website builders in the market. But you can build a basic site easily as it’s not too complicated.
6. Site Tracking to know what’s working for your website
With the Mailchimp site tracking option, you can gain additional insights into your website. For instance, you can choose the option Track with Mailchimp, which uses cookies to track website visitors.
You will also receive page-view events as well as link-click data of your contacts. You will also know how many of your website visitors subscribed and whether there’s any particular page that your visitors are not fond of.
Combined with Mailchimp's email templates and tracking data, make sure you pay close attention to this information. Thus, you can learn how you can enhance your company's marketing campaigns and boost conversions and sales.
Mailchimp also supports Google Analytics tracking, tracking with meta pixel, and meta limited data use. While these options are not rare, you can certainly use them effectively.
7. Ease of Use
As the website builder of Mailchimp focuses only on the basic features of the website building process, you don’t need to face any complexion. The website builder is super easy to use and learn.
This may seem like a good point, but I don’t think it is. A website builder should be complicated and packed with top-notch features, not to be confused with beginner-friendly and basic options.
The fixed structure will let you make very few decisions, preventing you from creating a highly customized website. Unfortunately, the website builder may prove too simplistic or basic as per your requirements.
8. Fixed Structure but Limited Customization
You will face no problems customizing the content of your website. This basic feature is available to most website builders, but it’s super easy in Mailchimp.
However, you won’t be able to change the overall appearance of your website much. This is because Mailchimp fixed the location of the content blocks. But you can at least change the order of the web pages.
The fixed layout comes with a useful grid. This makes sure your website looks decent, functional, and navigational. But if you want to create a truly unique website reflecting your brand, you won’t like the design limitations of Mailchimp website builder.
9. Unlimited Free Contact Forms
Collecting your customer data is also possible with Mailchimp's builder. With the free unlimited contact forms, you can send your customers more relevant content.
Thanks to built-in popup and sign-up forms, you can use your Mailchimp website builder to convert potential leads and enhance the overall sales funnel.
You can also create effective pop-ups and make them appear wherever you want them to. For instance, you can configure them to appear on your website's products and services page.
Additionally, you can collect updated information regarding your customers' preferences and interests. You can also customize the forms according to your requirements.
10. Drag-and-drop Page Editing
If you want to add new content blocks to your website, you can just drag and drop them. I really like this feature, which is missing from many reputed website builders.
You can add any element you want to the block editor by choosing the area where you want to add it and then dragging and dropping it.
Once you place a block, it will become visible. From there, you can add text, images, or any other content you want.
11. Customer Support
Mailchimp's customer support depends on the plan you’re using. For instance, if you choose the free plan, you will get email support for the first 30 days. After that, your knowledge base will be limited.
When you choose a paid plan, you will get 24/7 email support as well as live chat support. The premium plan will also give you phone support from Monday to Friday.
Mailchimp Website Builder Review: Pros and Cons
Now that you know Mailchimp's core features, you should not have any problem deciding if it’s worth the effort. Let’s examine the pros and cons of Mailchimp's website builder.
Pros
- User-friendly interface
- A free plan is available
- Integration with Mailchimp marketing
- Various templates to choose from
- The templates are mobile-responsive
- Drag-and-drop functionality
Cons
- Limited customizations and designs
- Features on the free plan are not great
While you can get started with Mailchimp website builder, remember that you won't be able to do more than just create a basic website. You need to choose the Mailchimp alternative if you're planning to create a highly customized website.
Mailchimp Website Builder Review: Pricing
While Mailchimp didn’t have any separate pricing plan for its website builder feature, they have introduced it recently. Mailchimp website builder has two pricing plans.
Mailchimp Pricing Plan
Free: $0
Core: $30/month
If you choose the free website builder, you can create a website with unlimited pages, but it will have a Mailchimp domain. You will also get stock photos, an SSL certificate, pre-designed themes and layouts, SEO tools, and many more.
On the other hand, the Core plan allows you to connect to a custom domain and provides access to 24/7 customer support. As an exclusive feature, you will also receive a custom site icon, as well as additional bandwidth and storage space.
Ready to use Mailchimp Website Builder?
So, is the Mailchimp website builder good? The short answer is yes, especially for small businesses. However, there are a few factors that need to be considered.
There’s no doubt that Mailchimp provides a free plan that can fulfil your specific needs. But, there are numerous limitations. Overall, building a website with Mailchimp is beneficial for beginners who want a simple and good website.
Even if you choose the premium plan, the customization options are still quite limited compared to other competitors in the market. Thus, make sure you take your decision accordingly.
I hope you found this Mailchimp website builder review helpful. Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.