
7.5
Ten out of 10.
Services | Website Builder & eCommerce |
Support | Chat, Phone, & Knowledge Base |
Best for | A Simple Website Builder |
Strengths | You can customize CSS and HTML output |
Weaknesses | Email Support Only |
Promotion | 14-day free trial |
Duda website builder is an all-inclusive web design tool. It was initially created to be an easy-to use mobile platform for DIYers. Since then, it has evolved to assist agencies, digital publishers, hosting companies, and other businesses with scaling their websites.
Duda is also well-known for creating responsive websites. This means that the site can be used on any device (i.e. a tablet, phone, computer).
Duda was a product I tried recently. Here’s a complete Duda review. Before I dive into my Duda review and the pros and cons, let’s take a look at some tools that can be used to build websites.
There are many things to consider when selecting a website builder. And there are many ways to achieve what you desire in terms of functionality and pricing. It doesn’t matter if you are building a personal website or a business website, your choice of web design can have major consequences.
It can affect your flexibility, functionality, and brand in the long-term. It can cause headaches in the short-term. However, it is not possible to choose the best or most desirable physical home or office. It’s all about your experience, goals, and circumstances.
What is Duda?
Duda offers a wide range of website building options, but her end is all-inclusive. It provides everything you need for your website to grow and get started. This contrasts with other solutions that allow you to buy, install and manage each “piece” of your website, such as domain name, hosting, or software.
Duda works in the same way as leasing an apartment in a luxurious development and personalizing it. While you retain control over decor, cleaning, and other aspects of living, the property owner is responsible for the infrastructure, such as security and plumbing. This is crucial because convenience and control are often in direct conflict.
Duda is a great website builder. However, it may not be exactly what you are looking for.
Duda is in direct competition with all-inclusive web builders such as Wix, Squarespace and Gator Website Builder.
They are faster than their competitors and more responsive (web jargon to make your website mobile-friendly). Duda has a variety of website templates that you can customize. However, you can also build your own sections. This makes it an excellent solution for DIYers and more experienced users.
Duda’s marketing is also targeted at agencies, digital publishers and hosting companies. It offers features such as content import, PageSpeed optimization and site personalization. But we’ll get there later! ).
Duda Pricing
Plan | Basic | Team | Agency |
Price | $19.00/mo. | $29.00/mo. | $59.00/mo. |
Yearly price (discount). | $14.00/mo. | $22.00/mo. | $44.00/mo. |
Storage | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Visitors/month | Unmetered | Unmetered | Unmetered |
Email accounts | – | – | – |
Domain Name Design | |||
No cost domain name | – | – | – |
SSL Free | |||
Display ads | |||
Analytics |
Duda for 14 days
Duda Alternatives
Wix Review
Rating
9.0/10
Price
Monthly Freebie – $49+
Promotion
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Squarespace Review
Rating
8.5/10
Price
$12 – $40 per month
Promotion
20% Off Promo Code APRIL20WB
WordPress.com Review
Rating
8.0/10
Price
FREE – $15 per month
Promotion
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The Pros of Duda
Here are the pros and cons of Duda’s website builder — not only in comparison to Wix or Weebly, but as a whole website solution.
No-obligation Trial Offer
Duda is a platform that allows you to try it risk-free for 14 days. Signing up doesn’t require you to have a credit card. You can simply create an account and start building.
Duda does not limit your access to any features when you use the free trial option. It’s almost as if they have a plan that you already own and are up and running.
This is a great option if you want to try out a website builder before making a commitment. Keep in mind that the free trial includes Duda’s midtier plan. This includes content import, team functionality, and more.
These features would be lost if you downgrade within the 30 day period. It’s not a problem if they aren’t used, but it could be time-consuming if you use them and have to make major changes to the plan.
Straightforward Sign up process
Duda’s ease of use is another advantage. You only need to enter your information and create an account. You don’t even need a credit card if you are using the free trial.
This is ideal for DIYers who are looking to quickly get started without having to create an account or select a niche.
Simplicity and Flexibility
Duda is extremely easy to use. This makes it difficult to ruin your website design. After choosing a template, it is easy to add your content.
Duda offers a wide range of design options that combine ease-of-use and flexibility. You can, for example, click the “plus” sign to add pre-made sections or new pages to the templates you have selected.
You can also create your own section.
Duda is a great choice for DIY-ers looking for something simple to customize or those who are looking to create their own design elements, without hiring a professional designer or developer.
Product Integration + Functionality
Duda’s integrations are another benefit. Duda hosts on AWS (Amazon Web Services), and this can be both a pro or a con, depending on your Amazon position.
There are pros and cons to this. Your site can still go down (it is inevitable), but big brands like Uber/AirBnB/Amazon, Reddit, Reddit, Reddit, Reddit, Reddit, Reddit, Reddit, Reddit, Amazon, Reddit, Reddit, Reddit, Reddit, Reddit, Reddit, Reddit, and Amazon will be down. Your site is also down, which means that whatever is causing your downtime will likely be quickly fixed. Your site has the best security, storage and speed people around the globe.
The cons are that your hosting comes with Duda. This means you cannot access your files unless Duda is open. Duda also provides a data export. Duda pricing could be affected by pricing changes made on AWS. Duda may not be the right choice for you if you don’t want Amazon’s pricing changes.
Duda offers more than just hosting and DNS services. It also provides advanced functionality such as access to your website’s HTML, CSS, eCommerce functionality and content import.
Duda’s unique advantage is that it adds more functionality while giving customers the convenience and control of an all-in one platform. These types of website builders often see convenience as a compromise between control and ease, but Duda gives you both.
Keep in mind that not all features are available on all plans. Make sure to do your research.
Team Integration
This pro is available only with the mid-tier plan or higher. However, it’s still a solid benefit. Duda allows you to collaborate with your team on your website. This means that you can make comments and submit them for review.
This functionality is great for small agencies, business owners, solopreneurs, and anyone who needs a designer to build a site in Duda. However, you also want an easy way to comment.
Cons of Duda
However, no review is complete without examining the negative aspects. There will be complaints about every piece of software. Let’s take a look at some of the cons that I experienced when using Duda for my website building software.
Pricing + Plans
Duda offers many amazing features but they can be quite expensive, especially when you compare features between their plans. If you want a basic plan you will only get email support. You can also only have 10 products if you create an eCommerce store using a basic plan.
If you look deeper, you will see that Team and Agency plans have a lot more functionality, especially in the area of Team Collaboration. The Agency plan has access to the features that allow you the most control of your website, such as widget builder, website export and API. **
**Aside: DIY users have access to the Duda site builder, and other Tailor Brands branding & design tools. Duda is used to build their website, which allows you to get both their products and Duda for a fraction of the price. Tailor Brands is also available.
Try it Free of Charge
Duda’s 30-day free trial is another disadvantage. I don’t mean to be negative, but having Duda’s amazing features available for 30 days is fantastic! As I said, the trial uses Duda’s Team plan. If you don’t mind paying a higher price, you will lose some features and functionality when your website is moved to the basic plan.
For those who only need a short-term, basic website that uses a subdomain, there is no free plan. It’s not a major drawback, but it all depends on your needs. You might be better off looking for a website builder with less features or a free plan if you only need a basic website builder.
Company Structure
My clients, my team and I have worked with many different software companies. Over the years, I have noticed that companies must not only follow the needs of current customers but also their business model. While a company may be “good” right now, it’s worth spending a few minutes reflecting on their business model and how they will evolve to meet market and customer demands.
Anyone who can see that Facebook’s customers, not their users are their advertisers, can understand why and how they do what they do. There is no “bad” or “good business model. Each model comes with tradeoffs. It is important to understand where you, as the customer, fit into the picture when building something as crucial to your business, such as your website.
Duda is a venture-funded private company. They are located in Silicon Valley and have venture capital partners. Since 2010, they have done multiple rounds of fundraising.
Venture-funded businesses are usually looking for growth. They want to make money, sure, but it will be at the “liquidity events” (i.e. a stock exchange IPO or company acquisition) and not quarterly profits.
Venture-funded companies will often lose money in order to grow their customer base. What are the trade-offs?
Duda’s customers are likely to get better support and more features than they would otherwise. This is a huge advantage. Your amazing product is being subsidised by venture capitalists.
Duda’s business model (e.g. “pivot”) could change at any time. This is a huge problem. They want customers and revenue, but they are more interested in the growth of their customers than anything else.
A publicly traded company is committed to its market strategy. InMotion’s Website Builder, a private builder that is not funded by investors, responds to the founder’s vision as well as customer needs.
Duda currently serves all markets, even DIYers. They state on their homepage that they want to serve only the people they really do.
This is great if you’re a hosting company or agency. It’s also great if you are working on a short-term project. However, if you’re planning to build a site for the long-term, it is important to remember that product development may shift from DIY features towards project management features.
Conclusion
Duda makes it easy to get a website online. Add in the advanced features that allow you more control and it becomes a solid platform for small agencies or DIYers looking for something simple but also scalable.
Duda for 14 days
There is a compromise between convenience and control when using all-inclusive web builders. This is especially true when you consider the price. Duda’s pricing and market positioning leaves much to be desired, particularly when you go for the more expensive plans. I recommend Duda via Tailor Brands as you will have more access to the same website builder and more tools.
You’ll find a lot of advanced features in Wix that will allow you to manage more of your website. If you need an eCommerce component, you can use Website Creator or Weebly.
Are you unsure if Duda is right for you? My best website builder guide.