If you’re a small business owner who’s just starting out and doesn’t have much time to put into building an online presence or money to spend on a massive marketing campaign - UENI’s don't-do-it-yourself website builder (opens in new tab) might be worth a look.
In addition to site builder, UENI (opens in new tab) also offers a web hosting (opens in new tab) service that will make “your web presence work as hard as you do”, implying you work hard - hopefully also smart.
While there was a free edition among UENI plans once, it was unfortunately discontinued in favor of four paid plans - one of them boldly titled “Lifetime Deal”. If getting the deal of your life seems a bit too much, you can choose between “Basic”, “Plus”, and “Growth”.
UENI offers a user-friendly user interface (UI), a rich library of responsive templates, built-in e-commerce features, advanced web analytics, support for multi-language, and much more. It’s not as popular as Wix (opens in new tab) nor as superbly customizable as open-sourced WordPress, but it might be one of the simplest solutions for a small business that wants to get online.
Pricing and payment methods
Currently, UENI has four site builder plans on offer: three plans with recurring billing (you can choose between monthly and annual cycles) and a one-and-only plan which you can play once and use forever - a very welcome one-time-payment option indeed.
The most budget-friendly option is called “Basic” and it will cost you $10.75 per month on an annual basis - unfortunately, this plan isn’t available on monthly billing. However, if you’re looking for a way to save a few bucks in the long run, Lifetime Deal (the plan with one-time payment) is probably your best bet. Also, it includes a web hosting service and an SSL certificate (opens in new tab).
We must also note that all plans besides “Lifetime Deal” come with an additional one-time $149 setup fee, which significantly spikes up the initial cost.
There are no free editions nor free trials with UENI but there is a 30-day money-back guarantee for purchasers of their “Lifetime Deal” plan. However, you can cancel or downgrade any of their plans before the end of your subscription period.
As for payment methods, UENI accepts all major credit/debit cards, PayPal, and Stripe.
As we write, the best deal you can get with UENI is their “Lifetime Deal” plan as it is $149, which isn’t much if you consider you pay once and own UENI’s site forever. Also, this plan was previously $599 making a drop to $149 a pretty good deal.
If you’re lucky enough to have a UENI discount code or voucher, you can use it to drop the price even further.
Alternatives
The most amazing alternative to UENI (or any other site builder for that matter) is a beginner-friendly, feature-rich professional site-building solution named Wix. It’s simpler to use than UENI, it supplies more features (such as Site Booster and Visitor Analytics apps), and it’s cheaper to use - it even includes a freemium edition although we wouldn’t recommend using it for a professional site.
Squarespace (opens in new tab) is another alternative to UENI that often turns up at the top of Google search results, and there are plenty of reasons why. You can create a beautiful business site with Squarespace with no technical know-how for as little as $16 per month - and if you wish to create an e-commerce store you can do it for $27 per month. You’ll also get a complete set of SEO features, advanced analytics, and round-the-clock customer support.
Webnode (opens in new tab) is known for its free plan geared towards beginners and less experienced users in general. This site builder might not have the most modern user interface, but it comes with a great set of SEO tools (opens in new tab), support for over 40 languages, and tons of templates.
With Web.com (opens in new tab) you can build a professional site in almost no time at all, and if you get stuck somewhere along the way there’s a 24/7 support team to help you out. However, Web.com is a simpler solution than UENI and isn’t the best fit for more complex sites that require lots of integrations.
Features
Unlike other down-to-the-ground DIY site builders that will supply you with all the tools and leave you to fend for yourself, UENI will create the site for you based on the information you provide. However, we’re not talking about artificial intelligence (AI), but a human being with superb web design skills.
To start the site-creation process, go to the plans and pick out one. After this, create an account with UENI by providing your personal data (your name, e-mail address, phone number, and so forth), and then answer a series of questions about the site you wish to create.
Your new site should be ready to go live within seven days, but you can always utilize an easy-to-use editor to tweak it up to your taste - however, we must note that editing options are somewhat limited.
With your newly-created UENI site you can immediately start selling products and services, run promotions, communicate with your customers via social media, and much more.
If you don’t have a Google My Business account, UENI will create one for you so you can start working on your business’s online presence straight away.
About UENI
Launched in 2014, UENI is an international small business service company with headquarters in London (the UK). Its main mission is to empower small businesses with an easy, budget-friendly way to get online and draw in new customers.
The company was set up by Christine Telyan and Anh Pham Vu after they found out that around 70% of small businesses lacked an online presence. Once they secured a £1.5 million investment in 2015, the idea of creating a company centered on small businesses was turned into reality.
In 2019, UK-based UENI expanded its market to the USA, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Peru, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, and India.
Support
UENI offers several customer support choices including blog, knowledgebase, video library, FAQ section, live chat (opens in new tab), and email.
While all support channels are available to all of their users, they aren’t available all the time - at least, not for all of them. To get round-the-clock support via live chat and e-mail, you’ll have to go for pricier plans and get labeled as a so-called “VIP customer”.
UENI’s knowledgebase seems well-stocked with well-written guides to boot but it isn’t very well organized - so, utilize the search box. The video library is a nice touch, although we didn’t find it helpful enough.
Speed and experience
After checking the speed of UENI’s official site via GTmetrix - our trusting tool - we got blown away by the picture of near-perfect performance. The site fully loaded in 2.5 seconds and all vital web metrics (such as total blocking time, cumulative layout shift, and largest contentful paint) showed splendid results.
However, since UENI utilizes web hosting from super-fast Amazon servers, you can expect fast loading time and superb speed performance wherever you are. Also, to check the speed of your site you can also utilize the Dotcom-Tools website speed test.
To check the uptime of your site, you can make use of web tools such as Uptime.com, UptimeRobot, and Freshping - all of them provide free uptime monitoring services.
After monitoring the uptime of UENI’s site for a week (via Uptime.com) we failed to detect any downtime at all. However, we should note that this period is far too short to paint a picture of long-term uptime performance.
UENI website builder FAQs
What is UENI?
UENI is a London-based company that provides small businesses with all-in-one solutions for building their online presence, including web design, basic site editor, and web hosting service.
Who owns UENI?
While this tech company was founded by both Christine Telyan and Anh Pham Vu, it’s owned by Christine Telyan herself. Originally from New York (the USA), Christine Telyan has been living in London for many years.
How can I delete the UENI website?
If you wish to delete your UENI site, log in to your UENI account and go straight to the “My Account” section. There, go to the “Subscription” tab and click on the “Close account” button right next to the name of your plan. After this, you’ll be asked to fill in a short form about the choice you made and send feedback to the company. Once this is done, your UENI subscription should be canceled and your site deleted within five working days.
Where is UENI based?
UENI was founded in 2014 in London (the UK), and the company is still headquartered there.