IONOS Review 2024: Does This Web Builder Work for Small Businesses?

IONOS has sleek AI tools and an intuitive drag-and-drop builder, but it wasn't easy to get started. There are also issues with mobile responsiveness, a lack of blogging capabilities, and not many third-party ecommerce tools.

Overall, IONOS is best suited for portfolio sites or bookable services. Companies that need extensive ecommerce capabilities may want to look elsewhere to host their site. Read on to see if IONOS is right for you.

IONOS review at a glance

Price	$1.00-$17.00/mo
Free plan	No
Free trial	No
Money-back guarantee	Yes — 30 days
Number of collaborators	None
Storage space	10GB - unlimited
Custom domain	Free for one year with all plans
Site analytics	Yes, for all plans
Ecommerce tools	Yes, for all plans
AI tools	Website builder for all plans — additional AI tools start with Plus plans
Learn more	Get IONOS

We last tested IONOS on December 2, 2024.

Our experience

IONOS had a complicated registration process. Once signed up, we received an email that it was reviewing the order and would let us know within 48 hours if we were approved.

We've used many web builders, and this was the first time we didn’t receive immediate access.

With IONOS, we had to wait for it to approve the order, and it wouldn't let us access the web builder in the meantime.

About 18 hours after we signed up, we got another email from IONOS requesting that we verify the account by either sending a photo of a passport, driver's license, or utility bill.

This was unusual; we've never had any other web builder ask for this information.

Finally, 37 hours after we submitted the requested documentation, we received the confirmation email and access to the web builder. The entire process took a few days, which is a huge drawback to using IONOS.

Overall, the registration process was time-consuming and frustrating. Other web builders give you immediate access when you sign up to use their product. Even though the IONOS web builder was simple to use, it doesn't make up for the strange approval process.

Creating the website was a different experience, though. We got to choose between templates or using an AI builder. The templates ranged from extremely basic to modern designs. We chose the AI builder.

The AI asked for the business name, industry, tone of voice, and a description of the business. It generated preselected fonts and colors to pick from based on this info.

At this point, the AI builder created four website designs. Each of them had a different layout and overall design aesthetic. We liked how we could pick the one we thought was best, instead of the AI builder creating only one design.

If we didn't like any of the designs, IONOS gave us the option to start over and refine the instructions for the AI builder.

IONOS prices and subscriptions

IONOS offers a competitive introductory rate with a 30-day money-back guarantee. While all plans offer ecommerce tools, you’ll want to keep an eye out for storage space.

The Starter plan offers only 10 GB of storage, while the Pro plan has unlimited storage. Premium plans also have access to additional site analytics and AI tools.

Features	Starter	Plus	Pro
Price	$6.00/mo	$1.00/mo	$17.00/mo
Money-back guarantee
Number of collaborators
Storage space	10GB	50GB	Unlimited
Custom domain
Site analytics	Basic	SiteAnalytics	SiteAnalytics Plus
Ecommerce tools
AI tools	Yes — website builder	Yes — website builder, text generator, text improver, image generator, SEO text generator	Yes — website builder, text generator, text improver, image generator, SEO text generator
Learn more	View plan	View plan	View plan

IONOS’ introductory rate is affordable for nearly any budget. However, look at the pricing after the introductory rate is over. It may be more than you want to pay in the future.

The Pro plan offers the best value since it has access to all of the AI tools plus advanced analytics.

IONOS features

IONOS has a basic web builder with robust ecommerce tools. However, it lacks a blogging platform, design customization options, and extensive widgets for third-party use.

Building a website

Creating a website is effortless with IONOS’ drag-and-drop builder. We easily added and removed sections, and IONOS provides layout options for new sections. Even adding pages was quick since we could use AI to design and write content for a new page.

One downside is that there is no way to customize the CSS or Javascript. You are stuck with IONOS’ functionality. However, there is an option to add an HTML module to sections, which can let you embed code from third parties.

The biggest issue we came across was mobile responsiveness. IONOS templates don't translate well to mobile. The template we chose left large gaps between content on the mobile view.

There wasn't any way to fix it either.

Using and editing media

It's easy to upload photos to IONOS, but keep in mind that you may run into storage space limits if you have large file sizes or several photos. IONOS doesn't offer any image editing feature, so you'll need to use a different tool if you need it.

If you want to add a video, you can only use YouTube links. Other video hosting services like Vimeo aren't supported. You also can't use IONOS to host videos.

Widget library

There is an app library for the online store. It adds third-party capabilities to help with dropshipping, marketing, and additional store design features.

We didn't recognize most of the apps, and they seemed to provide only secondary value. For example, there were apps for "back in stock" notifications or timers. Many of the apps require another subscription to use, so it's not a useful addition if you want a minimal overhead.

Ecommerce tools

Given the simplicity of the web builder, we were surprised to see that the ecommerce tools provided a lot of value. You can sell digital and physical products, sync with a POS for in-person sales, and sell on online marketplaces.

However, we don't think IONOS is a great platform if you need advanced ecommerce tools. It lacks a variety of third-party app integrations, which limits functionality. Other platforms like Squarespace and Shopify offer more choices.

Another drawback is that IONOS can't create customer accounts, which are crucial for improving the checkout experience and increasing repeat sales. Customer accounts are part of an effective ecommerce strategy, so IONOS may not be a suitable fit for online stores.

SEO and blogging tools

There is no built-in blogging platform with IONOS. No blog makes it difficult to execute SEO strategies or conduct affiliate marketing. However, IONOS does offer a managed WordPress plan if blogging is crucial to your business.

IONOS only has basic SEO available for page titles and page descriptions. While the Pro plan offers SEO optimization, we wouldn't count on IONOS to get you a strong SEO standing.

It lacks the overall tools you need for successful SEO.

Marketing tools

IONOS doesn't have a lot of built-in marketing tools. The basic site offers only a contact form and a booking tool powered by BookingPress.

The ecommerce platform offers more marketing capabilities with the options for automated email campaigns, abandoned cart emails, discount codes, sales, and gift cards.

However, you'll need to upgrade to the Pro plan to use the gift cards, automated emails, and sales features. We weren’t too impressed that we needed to upgrade plans to access these crucial ecommerce marketing tools.

When we looked over the different plan features, it didn't mention these tools were excluded from the Starter and Plus plans.

If you need advanced ecommerce marketing tools, other platforms, like Squarespace or Square Online, provide more value for a lower monthly fee.

Security and bandwidth

All plans come with an SSL certificate. IONOS helps protect against data loss, viruses, malware, and other online threats.

Create a free cookie policy for your ecommerce business

As a business owner, you need a cookie policy to disclose what you do with user data. You also need privacy policies, a refund policy, and others. With TermsFeed, you can quickly create legal provisions for GDPR, CCPA, CPRA, and more.

IONOS customer support

Support type	IONOS
Email or live chat	Yes — chatbot
Phone	Yes — (484) 254-5555 You need a customer ID and a temporary phone PIN to use it.
Online guides or forums	Yes — help center

IONOS has three channels for customer support, and only one of them involves a real person. You need to call if you want to talk to a human. Before you call, you'll need to know your customer ID and a temporary phone PIN.

You can get the PIN by logging into your admin account and navigating to the Contact us page.

You can use the AI chatbot, but we found it unhelpful — even for basic questions. It gave a long-winded answer that ultimately said, "I don't know." There is also an online help center that covers many topics related to setting up your site.

FAQs

Bottom line: Is IONOS good?

There are less frustrating web builders than IONOS. While IONOS has implemented effective AI tools and an easy-to-use web builder, getting approval to use it took days.

The web builder also lacks features like a blog, mobile responsiveness, and advanced ecommerce capabilities with third parties. Other platforms offer these features at a more affordable price.