BoldGrid is a little different from other website builders in that it isn’t an all-inclusive web hosting package. It is a free high-end site builder that can be packaged with a hosting plan from InMotion Hosting and Web Hosting Hub. Those who like WordPress and have a web hosting company they want to work with may want to consider BoldGrid for an innovative way of website building.
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Pros:
- Portable
- Site-staging
- Excellent publishing choices
Cons:
- Not functional for e-commerce sites
- No mobile site customization
- Limited widget selection
What is BoldGrid?
BoldGrid is a professional tool for building beautiful websites. It utilizes a drag-and-drop website builder based on WordPress that utilizes cloud sharing. With BoldGrid, users can test the website on the BoldGrid platform and transfer it to any number of web hosting providers. It is compatible with all the major web hosting accounts, even a lot of the smaller ones.
Using BoldGrid doesn’t require software as you can use it from your browser. Since it is on the WordPress platform, it is powerful and reliable and has a lot of plugins that expand it. WordPress has great customer service to help you address any problems and it is easily migrated.
What are the pros and cons of BoldGrid?
BoldGrid has several reasons it is great to work with and some disadvantages as well. Whether or not it is right for you depends on what you consider a priority. Here is a list of pros and cons.
Pros
- It is portable. Nothing is holding you back from where you want to be. Since BoldGrid isn’t all-inclusive with web hosting, you get to choose where you park your site. Advantages exist with those who have portable sites because you aren’t locked into a web host you don’t like.
- It has site staging. WordPress is known for helping create organized, clear sites. You won’t need to worry about where to put elements or whether you need to buy themes.
- You can save your uploaded media. It is a plus to be able to save media you upload because you can then rotate it out and use it again in a few months. This works well when you change up your site as the seasons change since you won’t need to repeat work and upload the same media again.
- It has excellent publishing choices. WordPress is compatible with many web hosting companies so there are many excellent choices to choose from when you are ready to publish your site.
Cons
- You have to contract with a separate WordPress host. Just as portability can be a good thing, there is a flip side. You will need to research and pick a separate WordPress host to actually publish your site. This can be slightly overwhelming because of the different companies and all their individual options out there.
- It isn’t functional for e-commerce sites. This is a definite disadvantage if you ever want to grow into an e-commerce site. That type of change would require you to go to another web builder that can accommodate e-commerce and start over from scratch.
- It doesn’t have mobile site customization. While BoldGrid is responsive to mobile sites, meaning customers can easily view it on a smartphone, you can’t customize it using a mobile phone.
- Its widget selection is limited. Some people don’t care if they have a lot of widgets on their site but others see them as ways to grow their website. BoldGrid has a few but not as many as other website-building tools.
What are the best features of BoldGrid?
It is fairly easy to work
BoldGrid uses a drag-and-drop editor so you don’t need to know any coding to quickly build a site. The tool also has design elements so you have options in styles and colors. You can add widgets straight into the editor interface.
It has image sliders
This is a feature that puts your images and texts up on your website in real-time. That means you can preview it before making it go live. There are two sliders most find helpful.
The content slider is where you edit anything you want on top of the background. The section slider is where you can change and edit the background.
It uses block-based tools
Block-based tools are incredibly easy to use. You have choices of the types of blocks you want like a gallery or a testimonial. You can narrow down your subjects even more by subjects like food or exercise.
It has powerful text editing
With all the available options on BoldGrid, you can change the padding of your texts, margins, borders, shadows, and background. There are also animations available and you can hide things from mobile devices if you know that image won’t display well on a certain device.
What are the benefits of BoldGrid?
There are several benefits to BoldGrid, including specialization of sites and it offers more control over your site. These benefits are described below.
It divides your interface based on experience
BoldGrid asks if you are experienced or inexperienced and adjusts its platform to your level of knowledge.
It makes it easy to pick a template
The platform will then divide your website building into two categories:
- Inspiration
- Customization
The inspiration phase is where you pick a template. BoldGrid makes that process easier by dividing templates into 10 themed categories like real estate, restaurant, music, marketing, and home repair among others.
However, you can use a theme you love for other purposes. For instance, you can use a photography theme for clothing and fashion to help your site stand out.
The customization comes when you select colors, texts, and other elements for content.
One of the best features of BoldGrid is that you can do some heavy customizing of your site. It allows you to set the exact perimeters of any and all your content from titles to content text and images.
What are the disadvantages of BoldGrid?
BoldGrid is handy to create good-looking sites but it does have some obvious disadvantages.
Building it from WordPress can be more complicated than you want
BoldGrid does require that you know how to use WordPress. No coding is required but adding widgets and using the WordPress website builder does require some knowledge. You’ll need to get web hosting too.
Those who know something about website building may find this platform freeing because there are many ways to customize even the smallest details. However, those who have never built a website before may feel a bit too challenged with all the choices.
It isn’t all in one
Sure, BoldGrid can come as part of a package with InMotion Hosting and WebHosting Hub but otherwise, you will need to find a web host on your own. That makes it a bit inconvenient when other website builders include the building tool, domain names, web hosting, and other things like marketing and SEO as part of the package.
It may cost more in the end than you expect
BoldGrid is free with some web hosting packages but if you choose to go to another site, it may cost more to get BoldGrid access and a key and then pay for hosting on another site.
Many sites offer free professional website building tools and free domains anyway, so consider your options and cost.
What is the security of BoldGrid?
BoldGrid doesn’t come with an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate with your website. You can buy one and it is required to accept online payments. However, some people have gotten messages on the site saying their BoldGrid page no longer works after installing an SSL certificate.
The easy fix is to change your site from an HTTP to an HTTPS site.
Other than that, BoldGrid has the same type of security as WordPress.
How much does BoldGrid cost?
Those who get a hosting plan from Web Hosting Hub and InMotion Hosting can get BoldGrid for free. Pricing starts at $8.99 a month with Web Hosting Hub and $7.99 a month at InMotion with a two-year commitment.
Those who don’t like these options can pay for a key and access support to use BoldGrid. Then you will need to find a web hosting company, pay for hosting service and move your BoldGrid site to that host.
While there is no free option for BoldGrid, you can get a free beta account by signing up at the page builder site.
Trying out BoldGrid for free is simple. You give it your email address and click a button. A cloud-based WordPress installation opens up as a BoldGrid testing site. Once you confirm your email, the setup is yours and you can test out many of the available features. However, you won’t be able to export or publish your page until you’ve paid for a subscription.
What kind of customer support can users expect?
Numerous options for customer support exist with BoldGrid. BoldGrid itself has a knowledge base where you can research articles to diagnose issues and find solutions yourself. There is also a user group on Facement and a feedback form where users can ask questions about the website builder to customer service.
The real customer service comes from the web host you are paying to park your site. Those opting to get the package with InMotion hosting or WebHostingHub can get help through phone support, email as well as an online knowledge base.
FAQs
Can you have an e-commerce site with BoldGrid?
Yes, you can build an e-commerce site with BoldGrid as it does allow payments. However, it isn’t meant to be used for large online stores.
You will need a plugin to have an e-commerce site with BoldGrid. The WooCommerce plugin has many features because WooCommerce bridges BoldGrid with WordPress page builder, allowing you to fully manage your online store from SEO to shipping.
Can I preview my site before I publish it?
Yes, BoldGrid allows you to put up a “site coming soon” page online while you stage your site. You can save pages and keep them pending while you preview them. You can even set a schedule for the updates or initial publishing to happen at a specific date and time. That makes it easier to market and allows more control over updates.
You can even customize publishing so only those who sign in can see your page.
Does a WordPress theme work on a BoldGrid site?
Thousands of WordPress themes are available that work with BoldGrid. There is also a lot of functionality on BoldGrid, so you can quickly change your theme without having to redo your whole website.
How can I put a form onto my BoldGrid page?
There is a tool called Ninja Forms that inserts customized forms into your BoldGrid site. The most popular use for these types of forms is for contacting you but they can be used for other things as well. Forms come pre-built or customized.
Can I customize my site for mobile devices?
No, the website building tool makes those decisions for you so you can’t customize separately for mobile devices. Your site is responsive so it can be seen on any kind of device from tablets, to personal computers to mobile phones.
Can an inexperienced website builder use BoldGrid?
Yes, but BoldGrid is more suitable for those who are more experienced and have worked with WordPress. Otherwise, it could feel challenging.
How much customization can I do with BoldGrid?
This platform has a lot of impressive ways to customize a WordPress website. A number of widgets are available to make a website unique and the customization is impressive enough that it makes websites look unique even when the same themes are used.
Does BoldGrid offer any commerce tools?
No, this platform doesn’t have any type of commerce tools. It doesn’t even have PayPal buttons. You can get these types of things from plugins and a web hosting service.
Does BoldGrid offer traffic analysis?
No, your website hosting service will have traffic measurement tools. The dashboard for BoldGrid shows your planned page launches and comments made to your site but there isn’t any detailed traffic information like on other sites.
What does BoldGrid offer that other website-building platforms don’t offer?
The main thing this platform offers is a highly professional, customized website that is unique to you. Its templates are excellent and those who know WordPress understand how customizable this type of platform can be. Customization is important when you are trying to build the online presence of a business or hobby and want to attract visitors.
Those who want something highly creative and unique will find BoldGrid the right platform for them.
How effective is BoldGrid for business?
BoldGrid can be incredibly effective for small businesses to get some online presence. It isn’t the best option for e-commerce since it doesn’t come with shopping carts or payment buttons.
Can I put up a website quickly with BoldGrid?
That depends on how well versed you are with WordPress. You can’t create a website with BoldGrid in minutes, but you can get it up fairly quickly even with little experience. One of the best parts about BoldGrid is you can work on your site for free until you decide to launch it so you won’t feel rushed to learn it to meet a subscription payment deadline.
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