Strikingly Review 2022

Is Strikingly the best website builder? Find out below.

Overview

Strikingly is a fairly new website builder having started in 2012 which is a lot later than many others. It is fairly popular though but it has its own niche. It is designed to help those that want a single page website. Single page websites are on trend at the moment and so they could be really useful for those people that do not want anything too large or fancy, so perhaps an individual or a small business. The emphasis is on being able to make a website without any programming skills and so it is great for anyone that has very little experience and wants to have a go at putting something together themselves. You can add an online store and blog though, so there are a few extra features available. The designs are modern and on-trend and they work on mobile devices, which is very important and you can even add some mobile-specific functions, such as a call button. There is a free plan, which can be very useful for testing and for those who do not need many features but you can pay to get more.

Plans & Pricing

There is a free plan which will allow you to check out the site and you can have a go at putting something together. There is even the option to have a store with one item in it on the free plan. Most people will have more than one item to sell, but it can be a good way to try it out and see how you find it before paying. If you do not need many features, then it could be a good option for you.

There is a limited plan for $8 which will give you a domain and the option of putting up to five products in your store. It includes up to two websites, each with just one page but there are ads on it for Strikingly, as there are on the free plan.

By paying $16 you will get no ads and you will also have a site search and password protection available. You will be able to create up to three websites and they will have up to 20 pages each. You will also be able to add your own HTML. Although this is something that those who do not know coding may not feel they need, it will mean that you can monetise the site and add Google Analytics which could both be very useful.

The most expensive package is the VIP one which costs $49. It has a newsletter tool, English phone support and includes up to five sites.

These prices are how much you would pay monthly if you sign up for a year. You can pay monthly or for two years and the prices may be different with those contracts.

Tools & Features

• There are limited designs available but it is possible to change the design without losing content, so if you decide to change the look, it will be pretty quick. You can also change the styles of the headlines, navigation, buttons etc as well, which means that you are able to give the site a unique look.
• The editor is available in three languages and there is also a multi-language feature which allows you to add a language switcher so you can link different sites together which are in different languages. You have to be on the pro plan to be able to unlock this function.
• The navigation is basic, as it is just one page in most levels but if you upgrade high enough you can add a drop down menu which will make navigation easier.
• There is a small app market and you can add a few things. For example, you can incorporate mailchimp for newsletters, live chat and promotional pop-ups. You will need a paid plan for this as well as if you want to add a feature using HTML. There is no simple picture gallery option though, which some people might miss. There is a newsletter tool with the most expensive plan and you are able to send up to 10,000 emails a month to 2,000 different contacts but you can incorporate an external service if you would rather.
• You can monetise your site but you will need to have a paid plan because you cannot add HTML in the free one.
• Although you can add a blog it may not be desirable for a one page website anyway. The blog articles open up in a page that has a very different design which is not the best looking solution either.
• In the paid plans you can protect the website with a password. You can also allow site membership so that visitors can sign up to see member-only content. You can charge subscription fees as well.
• There is no storage space limitation but as you can only add up to five sites then you are unlikely to have a lot of content that needs adding.

Themes

There are not that many of these really as there are 25 available which is small compared to other web builders. They are broken down into six categories to make it easier to choose. These are business, startup, portfolio, personal, blog and store. They are minimalist, sleek and modern which is the on-trend style at the moment so should work well, despite there only being a few. They all look good which means that it will be pretty quick to use one, change the text and have a website up and running. The themes are all free, even for those on the free package and so it means that everyone has access to them which is a great advantage.

Pros & Cons

The support is highly rated and the help centre is friendly and fast as well as efficient. This is very important if you are new to web builders as it is possible that you will need a hand with some of the issues that might come up.

It is easy to use, which is also useful for first-timers and those that want to get on quickly. The editor is drag and drop which is nice and simple and there is no need to know any code in order to put together the site.

It focuses on websites that want a single page design and so if this is what you are looking or then this could be just the things for you.

It is good value for money if you want more than one website. Most web builders will charge you per site but some of the pricing plans include additional websites within them, which means that if you want more than one site then you can get a good deal with them. However, if you are only looking for one website then it can be expensive, especially if you want a package where there are no ads on it.

If you are looking for a high search engine ranking then this may not be the best web builder for you. You can optimise title and meta description but it can always be difficult to make a single-page website rank well in search engines. This means that if you are looking for this, then it could be a good idea to think about paying for the package where you can have more pages to your website. You can add Google Analytics to track your traffic which can be useful, as long as you are paying for a package that includes HTML.

The free version is rather limited. With some other web builders, you can add your own code, even in the free version but with this one, you have to pay to be able to do this.

With the pro plan you are able to optimise each of the pages for a different keyword. With the basic plans you can only do this for titles and descriptions which means that it is limited. Having everything on one page will limit you anyway with regards to SEO. It is important to consider this if you are relying on people finding you on search engines.

Domain Names

You will have the option of buying a domain for $24.95 a year if you wish to. However, there is also the option of connecting to your own. This price seems expensive and so it is probably better to find one of your own and link to that, rather than paying out for this. Also, if you already have your own, you will want to use this rather than buying another.

Ecommerce

It is possible to add on an online store selling both physical and digital products. You can use the Stripe payment gateway and accept credit cards and ApplePay. You can add images and videos in the store to showcase your products. There is a maximum limit of 500 items though, so you will need to bear this in mind if you have a lot of items to sell. You will not be charged transaction fees by Strikingly.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a website builder for single page then this one stands out. It is a popular format for websites at the moment as you do not have to navigate lots of pages but just scroll up and down to see everything. The editor is easy to use and you will just click where you want a feature and it will be added. You can also code yourself but you will need a paid plan to do this. It comes with ecommerce for smaller stores but there are SEO disadvantages for single-page layouts which it is worth bearing in mind. This is because normally pages are optimised for a single keyword, but with only one page there is just one for the search engine to look at and it will just take some of the main features from that one page and use that to list you, which may mean you are not as high as sites which have lots of pages and are data-rich. The customer support is really good which again makes it a great choice for beginners because there is lots of help available.