SITE123 Review 2025: Easy Setup, But Some Key Limitations

Site123 at a Glance

SITE123 Pros, Cons, & Things That Could Be Better

SITE123 is very user-friendly and it comes with a nice list of features, including everything from mobile-responsive templates to e-commerce. If you want to build a personal site, business website, or even a small online store, it should meet your needs. But can it handle more complex projects?

As one of the top-rated website builders in 2025, SITE123 promises the perfect balance of simplicity and power. But does it deliver? Let’s dive into my hands-on experience to find out if this builder is right for you.

Simple, Mobile-Responsive Templates

SITE123 offers more than 80 website templates, organized into ten categories including Business, Blog, Event, Restaurant, or Online Store. Each template preview shows desktop and mobile versions, with a handy QR code you can scan to instantly test the mobile experience on your device.

I’m happy to report that all SITE123 templates are free to use, but there’s a significant catch. The free plan allows you to use templates only in their most basic form. What you see on the Templates page is pretty much what you’ll get, with only limited changes allowed to fonts, colors, and other design elements.

One thing to note – SITE123 templates all follow a pretty similar pattern. They use large header images, centered text, and layouts that feel a bit dated compared to modern web design. While this makes them easy to work with, you won’t get the cutting-edge look some other builders offer.

Design and Customization

SITE123’s free plan offers decent design flexibility, though within clear limits. Although each template comes in just one version, you can choose different website structures and adjust basic elements like menu positioning, spacing, and section sizes. Each section allows for custom colors and fonts, with Ready-Made Color Palettes available if you need guidance on creating a cohesive look.

One notable limitation is SITE123’s closed template ecosystem – you can’t import external templates or access source code. However, paid plans include a custom code page where you can add HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for additional features or styling beyond the standard editor’s capabilities.

The section gallery provides pre-designed content blocks like testimonials, restaurant menus, and portfolio displays. Each section comes with a few layout options, such as grid, slider, or masonry views, though the underlying design remains fairly basic and consistent with SITE123’s simple aesthetic.

Robust Features, if You’ve Got the Cash

Templates are the foundation of any website builder, but the customization features are where things get really interesting. Overall, SITE123 falls in an interesting place when it comes to features. On one hand, it offers a way more comprehensive toolbox than other beginner-focused builders. However, some of SITE123’s most interesting features are locked behind paid plans. The good news is that if you have room in your budget for them, these features are quite useful for growing a business.

All the Essential E-commerce Features

SITE123 offers easy and fairly robust e-commerce tools. Most of these features are reserved for the three highest subscriptions, called Professional, Gold and Platinum. Here’s a heads-up: these plans are only visible once you sign up. On the main website, you’ll only see the Free and Premium plans. If you’re looking to open an online store, the investment might be worth making. With these three plans, you can:

• Accept online payments: Use PayPal, Stripe, Square, AmazonPay, and more.
• Showcase your products: Display an unlimited number of products, no matter the plan.
• Process orders: Professional plan allows 100 orders/month, Gold 500 orders/month, and Platinum has no limits.
• Send marketing emails: Professional allows 2,500 emails/month, Gold 10,000, and Platinum 50,000.
• Customer ratings and reviews: Gather and display product reviews with the Gold and Platinum plans.
• Customer wish lists: Allow shoppers to save their favorite items with the Gold and Platinum plans.

Speaking of transactions, you might be wondering, just how secure is SITE123? Good news here – even free users get SSL/HTTPS encryption, so your customers won’t have to wonder whether their information is protected.

It’s also worth noting that you can add an e-commerce website page even with the free plan. You just won’t be able to accept online payments or use your own domain. In my opinion, the free plan isn’t the best option for an online store. That is, unless your customers love making offline bank transfers to a random SITE123 domain (in which case, I have some follow-up questions about who is buying your stuff).

Apps and Plugins for SEO, Live Chat, and More

With either of the top three subscriptions, you’ll have full access to SITE123’s library of plugins and App Market. However, not all of these tools will be included in your plan. You’ll have to pay extra for some of them, unless you are a Platinum subscriber.

Available plugins allow for seamless integration with some of the biggest names out there, including:

• Google Analytics for SEO
• Hotjar for UX and conversion optimization
• Drip for multichannel marketing
• Zendesk and Facebook Chat for customer support

In addition, the SITE123 App Market offers tools for form building, pricing tables, online bookings, and more.

SITE123’s app market can add functionality to any e-commerce shop, blog, and a wide variety of other websites. While it might not be the way to go if you’re looking to create a major e-commerce shop (that’s what platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce are for), the app market can greatly improve your chances of connecting with visitors and expanding your site.

Display Your Website in Multiple Languages

In addition to using the SITE123 website builder itself in more than 60 different languages, you can set up your website to display in an unlimited number of languages. Unfortunately, this multilingual option requires a paid subscription. The higher your subscription level, the more languages you can use.

Bottom line: SITE123’s features are versatile enough for many personal and business users, although you get the most functionality by paying the highest price.

My Experience With SITE123

Getting Started With SITE123

Signing up with SITE123 was a bit different than I expected – in a good way! After quickly connecting through my Google account, SITE123 asked me about my website’s type, niche, and name. I could also add a description of what I wanted to create, though this was optional.

Here’s where things got interesting: unlike other website builders, I didn’t spend time browsing through templates. Instead, SITE123 welcomed me with a congratulations message and jumped straight into a helpful tutorial video about customization. To my surprise, they had already built a basic website for me based on my input. The site came pre-loaded with an about section, testimonials area, and contact form – all looking pretty polished!

While it was a shock not to pick my own template first, I actually appreciated this approach. They gave me a solid foundation to work with, and I could always change the template later if I wanted to. It definitely saved me from the analysis paralysis of scrolling through endless template options.

Customizing My SITE123 Website

The editing interface in SITE123 is straightforward and well-organized. At the top of the screen, you’ll find the main menu with Pages, Design, Settings, and Domain options. When you select any of these, their specific tools appear in a panel on the left side. I particularly liked the device preview feature – just click the desktop icon to switch between desktop, tablet, and mobile views of your site.

SITE123 offers two ways to edit your content. You can either use the menu system I mentioned above or simply hover over any element on your page and click ‘edit’ or ‘layout’. Adding new elements is just as simple – click the ‘+’ button wherever you want to add something new and pick from the available options.

At first, I missed the freedom of positioning elements anywhere, but I quickly appreciated how this approach prevented me from making design mistakes. While SITE123 doesn’t offer AI tools for website building, I found I didn’t need them – the standard editor was clear enough for even a complete beginner to handle.

Overall I’d affirm that SITE123 fulfills its promise of facilitating easy site-building. Is it genuinely the absolute easiest website builder of all time? With the massive number of website builders out there, maybe not. However, its features do offer a great balance of ease and functionality. You definitely don’t need any experience to build a high-quality website with SITE123.

Additional Ease of Use Features

Manage Everything Through a User-Friendly Dashboard

Once you’ve created your website, you’ll manage its features through your account dashboard. Under the Activities panel, you’ll get a quick view of how your website is performing, including form submissions, sales, and mailing list signups. Any plugins or apps you install can be viewed and managed here, too.

You can reset your website to its last published version, which is helpful if you make edits that you decide not to keep. To do this, click the arrow next to the publish button in the website editor, select ‘reset changes,’ and confirm when prompted. Just remember that resetting your site will permanently delete all of your recent changes – so be very careful about clicking Reset!

Support Is Refreshingly Fast and Helpful

I’ve reviewed a lot of website builders and other services, and I almost can’t believe I’m saying this: I have no complaints about SITE123’s customer support. None, zero, zilch. The only downside I could name is that phone support isn’t offered. Everything is done by email or live chat.

24/7 Live Chat

Live chat support is available in English 24/7, and in 16 other languages at various times:

That’s a pretty impressive variety, at least for European languages. And there’s a box for live chat on every page of the site, so you’ll never have to go far to find help.

I’ve used the live chat feature on four separate occasions, and I’ve never waited more than 10 minutes for an answer. The support agents are polite, helpful, and clear, and they give enough information to really answer my questions. They never left me feeling like they’re only interested in upselling me.

Email Support

I can’t think of any reason why you wouldn’t, but if you don’t like live chat, you can always send an email with questions to [email protected]. They responded to my question in just 7 minutes! Most users hear back within a few hours, but my support agent replied almost instantly and was both professional and friendly. Mary was just as quick with all my follow-up questions, making sure I understood everything about my subscription.

Bonus: Support Center and Relevant FAQs

Another reason I rate SITE123’s customer support so highly is the detailed, helpful Support Center. There are hundreds of Q&As divided into 20+ categories, with both written answers and links to SITE123 tutorials on YouTube. The answers are clear and direct, so you won’t have to deal with the frustratingly vague answers that don’t get you anywhere.

There are also great FAQ blocks at the end of almost every page. And amazingly, the FAQs are not just copy-pasted across the site; they actually relate to each individual page.

Having FAQs that are truly pertinent to the page you are visiting might seem straightforward. However, I’ve encountered numerous instances where FAQs were utilized as mere page fillers, lacking genuine support. In contrast, SITE123 excels at converting FAQs into the valuable tools they’re intended to be.

Pricing Is Simple: Pay More, Get More

So, the real question is whether SITE123 is worth the price tag. So, let’s dive in and find out how much SITE123 actually costs. One thing to note: you’ll only see the free and Basic options at first – the rest of SITE123’s paid plans become visible after you sign up.

SITE123 has five paid subscription plans, with terms ranging from 3 months to 10 years. Here’s the catch: while they advertise cheaper “monthly rates” for longer subscriptions, you actually pay the entire amount upfront. Yes, you read that right – even for a 10-year plan, you’re paying for all 120 months at once. And once your 14-day trial period ends, that money is locked in – no refunds if you change your mind at month three, or even year three.

Upgrading to a higher SITE123 plan means getting:

• More storage
• More bandwidth
• Custom domain
• Option to display your site in more languages
• More marketing emails per month
• More custom email addresses
• Access to plugins and apps
• Access to e-commerce features

As long as you like the platform overall, a SITE123 paid plan is likely worth the cost. By upgrading just to the Basic plan, you’ll get a much more professional-looking site without the SITE123 branding or domain.

SITE123’s e-commerce packages compare favorably to those of Wix, providing similar features like product pages, internet transactions, email promotions, Google statistics, and sophisticated business additions. Like Wix, SITE123 doesn’t take any sales commission on your transactions.

You can pay for any SITE123 plan by PayPal or credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover).

But again, upgrading only makes sense if you really like the SITE123 platform, and the lack of design freedom doesn’t bother you. That’s why I recommend starting with SITE123’s free version. Build a basic website with it and see if you like how it looks and performs. If you’re happy with the balance of simplicity and features, you can easily upgrade to a different plan from your account dashboard.