Review of Duda — Is It the Best Website Builder for You?

Over 450,000 companies are currently utilizing the website builder offered by Duda, which strives to "make web design painless" by utilizing designs that are both simple and creative. Building a website with Duda takes only a few minutes and requires no prior experience or technical knowledge on your part; all you need is access to the internet.

It accomplishes this by providing you with a selection of templates from which to choose. After making your selection, you can modify the template to your liking by altering the text, adding images, creating new pages, and even constructing your own widgets. After you have finished customizing your website, all that is left to do is publish it online. Duda will handle the hosting of your website, so you won't have to worry about any additional costs or any technical headaches.

Anyone can use Duda, but web designers who need to quickly create multiple sites for their clients will find it to be the most beneficial use of the platform. In point of fact, the primary demographic that Duda caters to consists of freelancers and agencies.

How user-friendly is Duda?

When we tested Duda, it received an outstanding score for its ease of use, and it ended up coming in third place overall in our rankings for its friendliness toward novices.

It might be possible to speed up the process of signing up for a free trial; after entering your name, email address, and password, you are prompted to provide the address of your website, your phone number, your role, and the number of sites you are currently building. You don't need to have any prior experience as a web designer in order to use Duda, so don't let this deter you.

Once you are a member, things are much simpler than they were during the signup process, which consisted only of entering your email address and password.

Because Duda is a builder that uses a drag-and-drop interface, you can personalize your chosen template without needing any prior knowledge of coding. To edit your pages, all you have to do is click, drag, drop, and type until you are satisfied.

By providing you with pre-designed, structured templates that can be modified, Duda makes it simple to create a website that is unique to you.

Duda assists you by providing you with pretty templates that are well organized. This means that you have less creative freedom than you would with, for example, Wix. Rather than being able to put anything anywhere, you are restricted to making changes that fall within the "rules" or guidelines of the layout of the template.

As long as you adhere to the specifications of your chosen template, it is abundantly clear that Duda is a simple website builder to work with, as evidenced by comments such as these.

Even though some of our users experienced frustration when using Duda, they still gave it a relatively high rating overall. It finished with a score of four out of five stars for customer satisfaction, which was higher than a number of other builders (including WordPress.com).

What Quality Are Duda's Templates?

We won't beat around the bush – the area in which Duda excels the most is design. There are 98 professionally designed templates for you to choose from, and in addition to the customary examples that have already been filled in, there are 10 templates that are blank for you to fill in by hand.

Are you uncertain about your ability to scroll through almost a hundred different templates? You can filter them by category to narrow down your selection, and there are ten categories from which to choose, including online store, business, travel, and portfolio.

There are nearly one hundred different templates available on Duda, each of which is uncomplicated yet fashionable and incredibly well-designed. Simply click on the thumbnail to view all of Duda's work.

You are able to view a preview of each template before deciding which one to use. In fact, Duda goes above and beyond by allowing you to view the design on your desktop computer, tablet, and mobile device so that you can make sure it meets all of your requirements.

Because each template can be tailored to a specific device, you can ensure that your website always looks its best, irrespective of the presentation format. This is a fantastic feature to have, especially when you consider that mobile traffic accounts for approximately half of all web traffic worldwide.

You should have no trouble customizing Duda's templates, as you read earlier, provided that you are content to adhere to the style that is specified by your design.

To edit text, for instance, you simply click on it and start typing rather than being taken to a different page where the edits are made "behind the scenes." All of the changes take place on the screen directly in front of you.

It is very simple to make changes to the content that has already been pre-filled, and it is also very simple to add new sections, such as a gallery, testimonials, or contact form. With just a few clicks of the mouse, you can make adjustments to the border widths and background colors, replace images, and change the layout of the menu.

Because Duda provides you with a variety of pre-designed sections from which to choose, creating your website with it is both quick and simple.

The fact that Duda provides you with a variety of pre-filled section options and layouts makes it even simpler to put together a website that looks professional. However, it is more difficult to play around with the actual layout of your webpage. Whereas Wix allows you to drag images and other elements wherever you want, Duda places more restrictions on you.

Despite this, Duda scored highly in our research for design flexibility, achieving the same high score as Squarespace and earning a perfect score of five stars. The design is the primary focus of Duda, which aims to assist users through the structure of its templates by adhering to the most effective design practices.

You'll quickly start to struggle if you try to push your design too far, so it's a good idea to pick a template that you love and that you don't want to change radically. This is because you should pick a template that you love.

The Tools and Functions Available in Duda

Uda comes pre-loaded with a plethora of design features and options for customizing your website, such as an in-built photo editor and more than one hundred different font styles. It also provides the unusual benefit of allowing you to create your own widgets and develop an experience that is individualized for each of your site's visitors.

For instance, Duda makes it simple to trigger pop-ups, videos, promotions, special messages, and more for users based on a variety of factors, such as location or the number of times they visit the site. Other examples include the following:

Duda makes it very simple for you to provide a personalized service to your site visitors, which enables you to better connect with and target your audience.

This is an excellent method for connecting with your audience and increasing the amount of engagement that they have with your website. Duda users are encouraged to think creatively while also being provided with an environment that makes such thinking accessible to novices.

Duda could, however, do more in other areas, such as SEO, to give your website more power and a greater chance of competing favorably with other websites that are available online. Let's take a more in-depth look at some of the builder's most noteworthy characteristics…

Ecommerce

Does Duda let you sell online?

Actually, yes!

In point of fact, even with the most basic plan, you have the option of including e-commerce tools in your business.

This is quite unusual because the vast majority of website builders reserve ecommerce functionality for their more expensive subscription packages, rather than including it right away.

Aside from the design aspect, which consists of multiple product images, an integrated design between your website and your storefront, and pre-designed product page layouts, Duda also comes with some respectable sales tools to help you make the most of your online storefront.

These are the following:

• 30+ payment options (including Paypal, Square, and Stripe)
• Automatic tax calculations
• Coupon codes
• Product categories
• Notifications to customers regarding low stock levels
• Digital downloads
• Shipping options and prices that can be tailored to your needs

Because of this, Duda is a good option to consider if you want to sell products through your website; however, it cannot compete with a builder that is specifically designed for online selling, such as Shopify.

SEO

When we tested Duda, we discovered that it had some minor deficiencies in the area of search engine optimization (SEO). Simply put, it does not provide the same features that other builders do, such as Weebly; rather, it adheres to the fundamentals, which include the following:

• Free SSL is included with each and every Duda site, but it must be installed manually (one-click process)
• Responsive templates that instantly adjust their size to fit any screen or device
• The optimization of Google PageSpeed
• Customizable titles, meta descriptions, and page URLs
• Images are capable of having alt text added to them

These search engine optimization tools aren't terrible; however, they aren't the most impressive ones available either. Your Duda website will still be found online, but if you have previous experience with SEO or have very specific requirements, you might find this frustrating.

Marketing

When it comes to marketing, Duda has thought of things that are outside the norm. You will find a list of marketing materials that are available to Pro clients on the Team plan or higher on its resources pages. This list is only available to Pro customers.

These many resources consist of:

• Template for a lead generation landing page
• White label sales decks
• Handouts with a white label
• White label support portal
• Images used in email headers

These individualized tools are part of the client management category and will become available to you after you upgrade to the Team plan or a higher tier. They were developed specifically to help you increase your sales. Additionally, this enables site comments and individualized branding.

Duda gives its pro users with a lead generator landing page template, which can assist you in expanding your business and impressing customers.

When it comes to increasing the number of people who follow your website, the most significant disadvantage of using Duda is that it does not include any fundamental marketing elements, such as a mailing tool.

A further shortcoming of Duda is the absence of an app shop. Without a store, users are unable to quickly and simply add new features and capabilities to their websites when the need arises. You are instead limited to the built-in capabilities that are included with your plan; if you require access to more sophisticated tools, you will have to pay a higher price.

Who Would Benefit Most from Using Duda's Features?

Duda includes a variety of features that are one of a kind and custom-made, in addition to certain downsides that are clearly visible.

Duda's client management suite is a particularly wonderful benefit, and one that is quite unique amongst most builders; therefore, using it is a particularly great option for freelance web designers or web designers who are producing sites for customers.

But other than that, it's an excellent choice for small business sites who want a well-designed site with a modest variety of professional capabilities. We do not recommend it for bloggers or anyone whose brand is built around marketing, but it is a solid choice for small business sites.

What is the price of Duda?

You might have observed that Duda's ratings are, on the whole, pretty good; yet, its value for money score is, to put it mildly, less than stellar. This is due to the fact that Duda is the website builder that we've found to be the most expensive so far, with costs beginning at $14 per month (billed annually).

When paid for annually, you have the option of selecting from three different price options that range from $14 to $44 each month. There is additionally a Custom plan available for those that have hundreds of websites and require a personalized price quote.

When paid for annually, Duda's three different pricing tiers range from $14 to $44 per month in cost. Simply click on the image to be taken to the pricing page for Duda.

There is no plan that is free, but the Team plan that costs $22 a month comes with a free trial period of 14 days that you can use. After you've given it a try, you'll have the option of signing up for any of the available plans.

You can make a savings of up to 25 percent by selecting an annual plan rather than a monthly plan. Since both options are accessible, you can select the subscription that meets your needs and preferences the best.

Let's begin by taking a more in-depth look at each of the available pricing plans. Continue reading for a concise summary of each strategy as well as its primary characteristics:

Basic Plan: $14 monthly, paid yearly

Personal websites that don't require a lot of bells and whistles or services that are centered on the customer. You will receive one website that is equipped with all of the fundamental elements necessary for you to manage it, including the following:

• Instruments for personalizing websites
• Security via SSL
• Multi-language tools
• Library of connected digital content (limited)
• There are millions of free and paid pictures available

You have access to a restricted version of the integrated content library that Duda provides, which enables you to manage photos, files, and fundamental business information from any one area. You are allowed to have one additional team member to collaborate with, and the cost of maintaining each additional website is $19 per month.

Team Plan: $22 a month, payable yearly

The Team plan is ideal for independent web developers who are constructing websites for clients and possibly managing a small team. With this plan, you can invite up to four members of your team to collaborate on the website with you.

Because this is the only plan that provides a free trial period of 14 days, you are able to test out all of its features without incurring any costs.

You get everything that is included in the Basic plan, plus a complete suite of tools for managing clients and collaborating with teams. Included in the following are features of the Team plan:

• Configuration options for users and permissions applicable to team members
• White label client access (custom branding and domain)
• Configuration options for users and permissions applicable to customers
• Site comments
• Materials for sales and marketing under a white label

When compared to the Basic plan, these capabilities provide you with a significant increase in the amount of control you have over your website and equip you to deliver a more expert level of service to your customers. The Team plan still only provides you with one website, but you have the option to pay an additional $13 per month for each additional site.

Agency Plan: $44 monthly, payable yearly

The Agency plan is ideal for larger-scale projects, such as those in which you need to develop multiple sites or have up to ten employees on your team. This plan provides you with all of the capabilities that are included in the Team plan, in addition to more advanced tools such as:

• Instant websites
• Website export
• Widget builder
• API integration
• Establishing a connection using Google Sheets and Airtable

These tools are intended to support your company and help you give a more personalized service to your customers in a more distinctive manner. The Agency plan gives you access to four websites, but if you need more, you can purchase them for an additional $11 per site each month.

Add-ons for e-commerce range from $7.25 to $39 per month and are payable annually

If you wish to sell your products online, you may choose an ecommerce add-on that works with any of Duda's price plans. There are three different ecommerce add-ons available, and the one you select will mostly rely on the quantity of things you plan to sell:

• The standard plan is $7.25 per month and includes 100 items
• The advanced plan costs $19.25 a month and includes 2,500 goods
• Unlimited: $39 per month for access to a limitless selection of products

Your shop will have more options available to it if you add Duda's e-commerce solution, which can be added to your plan for an additional charge. Simply click on the image to be taken to the pricing page for Duda.

All of them are charged on a per-site basis, which is something to keep in mind if you intend to operate more than one online store. There is no price for transactions with any of these plans, and all of them come included with an infinite amount of storage space.

You have the option of paying for these programs on a monthly basis rather than on an annual basis; if you choose to do so, the cost will range from $8 to $49 per month.

What kinds of assistance and support are available through Duda?

There is a wide variety of help and support choices available through Duda; however, the type of support you receive will be determined to a considerable extent by the pricing plan that you select. The following is a summary of the different types of support that come with each plan:

• Basic plan: Email
• Team plan: Email, chat, and phone
• Agency plan: Priority email, chat, and phone

In addition to these many avenues of help, Duda also features a Help Center, within which users of each given plan may access various articles and how-to tutorials. In addition to it, there is a Resource Center, which among other things hosts webinars, marketing materials, and product updates.

When you're just getting started with Duda, the Help Center is an excellent resource for finding answers to your questions. Simply click on the picture to be sent to the Duda help center.

If you have questions, you can use Duda's live chat facility. This comes in the form of a chat bot, so it's a quick and easy way to acquire answers to simple queries if you have them.

On the other hand, when we inquired about Duda's customer service, we were provided with a manual that detailed how to copy and paste on the website builder. So, just a heads up - keep any conversation inquiries incredibly basic!

Duda’s Pros and Cons

Pros

• You can choose from a fantastic selection of apps and widgets, or even build your own from scratch. Users are encouraged to think creatively and add more one-of-a-kind features to their websites by virtue of this feature, as very few builders make the process of personalization this simple.
• You have access to a respectable degree of creative control, but you are constrained by the parameters of the template. People who aren't very confident with website design but still want an attractive website may benefit from this in a positive way.
• This is a builder that excels in simplicity overall, despite the fact that it requires you to largely adhere to the design guidelines of the template you choose to use.

Cons

• There is no free plan available, and even the cheapest option costs $14 per month when billed annually. The plans are very expensive.
• Despite the fact that it has a large number of design features, Duda does not offer very many powerful website features. For instance, in terms of search engine optimization (SEO), other builders are more capable than Duda.
• During user testing, some people found Duda to be quite clunky. They also found that it was difficult or confusing if you tried to push the template's limits; therefore, if you're looking for complete creative freedom, Duda is not the best option for you.

A Brief Synopsis of the Duda Website Builder Review

Even though Duda isn't the best website builder available, it's still a good option to go with, particularly if you work as a freelancer or for an agency and need to construct multiple websites in a quick and simple manner. Its client management features are pretty unique, and using them will help you create a professional service for your customers.

The designs produced by Duda are where the brand truly shines. It's the perfect solution if you want an attractive website but don't want to be responsible for all the creative legwork involved in making it. Rather than overburdening you with options, Duda's templates offer you a helping hand by utilizing structured designs.

On the other hand, if you want complete freedom in the creative process or low prices, this is not the right builder for you. If you try to push the boundaries of Duda's templates too far, using Duda can become challenging. In addition, Duda has some of the most expensive starting prices available among similar products on the market.

There are many other options available to you in the event that Duda has not yet won you over. You have complete creative control over your site with Wix, while Squarespace offers equally stunning design options, and Weebly offers much more affordable beginning plans for websites.

For those of you who are excited by the prospect of using Duda's website builder and can't wait to get started, take advantage of the website builder's free 14-day trial to learn more about its features and capabilities.