Network Solutions Ecommerce Website Builder Review (2024)
Our Research
Network Solutions offers a fluid, all-in-one Ecommerce solution for businesses interested in bringing their inventory to the web. Its core philosophy is to provide a one-stop solution, and in that vein the service does a commendable job of combining solid storefront design options, secure order processing features, and inventory management and marketing tools into accessible and affordable plans.
Network Solutions Pros & Cons
Pros
- Pricing does not increase upon renewal
- Domain lock available
- DNSSEC is included with all domains
- Includes one month of web hosting for free
- Long-term domain registration options (e.g., 10, 20 and 100 years)
Cons
- Very expensive compared to top competitors
- Pricing has a tendency to be deceptive
- Domain name privacy is only free for the first year. It costs an extra $3.99 to $4.99 per month thereafter
- It advertises that its drag-and-drop website builder is included with the purchase of a domain, but it costs extra
Network Solutions at a Glance 9.0 Editor Score
Features & Integrations
9.6
Security Features
9.5
Ease Of Use
9.0
Pricing & Packages
9.5
Customer Service
9.9
9.0 Editor Score
How do I know I can trust this Network Solutions review?
TopRatedTen.com authors, contributors, and editors are serious about research. We combine our own experience with the services we recommend, with reviews that come from verified users–just like you! Together, with reviews from industry experts, we find the Top 10 best products and services to make sure you can choose with confidence and ease.
Overview
Ideal for
- New businesses with small- to medium-sized inventories
- Emerging businesses looking to expand online
Why Go With Network Solutions
Presentation is just one of many elements to creating an online business. Even business owners intimately familiar with their inventory might struggle to balance the many tasks in creating an online business. Marketing, store-front design, shopping-cart details, and payment integration are just a few of the elements of an online store that must coalesce without error in order for a site to be successful. Network Solutions has the benefit of being a major web domain, sitebuilding, and hosting company, so it’s already equipped to handle the many needs of an Ecommerce site. Using these strengths as it core, it weaves inventory management, marketing tools, and training and support into a service that touches on all the necessary elements of online retail.
Features
- Add-A-Store feature can be integrated into pre-existing websites and blogs
- Fully customizable storefront with logo-generator
- Social media integration
- Integration with Google Analytics
- Web-traffic reports, and search query reporting
- SEO marketing tools
- Mobile-friendly design templates
- Mailing lists and coupon campaigns
Pricing and Plans
Starter package
$7.95/month
Standard package
$9.95/month
Premium package
$19.95/month
There’s a substantial difference in the features included in each plan, and interested customers would do well to consider their needs and projected growth before settling on one. The most notable difference is the size of the inventory: the starter plan accommodates only 25 products, while the standard lets you list 300 products and the premium plan maxes out at 100,000.
Other differences from plan to plan include the size of storage space and some integration features. For example, only the premium plan is fully integratable with QuickBooks and allows bulk order management.
Customization
Network Solutions’ dynamic store design options give you control over how your site looks, functions, and presents your inventory to the customer. You can choose from more than 50 store templates that are professionally designed and feature a web-based administration tool that allows you to make changes from your laptop, phone, or tablet. The templates include a step-by-step guide that will empower you to tweak fonts, colors, layouts, and design themes until you have a store that reflects your inventory and vision. Additional features, such as logo generation tools, customizable product displays, and tailored browsing options give you even more control over how your site looks and performs.
Payment Processing
When considering an ecommerce solution, one of the biggest concerns is the shopping cart and payment integration provided. Network Solutions certainly does not disappoint in this area, either. In fact, your new shopping cart will easily integrate with a wide variety of credit card processing companies. This includes actual merchant accounts and their payment gateways, or other providers such as PayPal. Your merchant will also help provide additional fraud protection tools.
Rest assured that your site is also considered safe by the major credit card companies. You will be in full compliance with the Visa Certified Cardholder Information Security Program. Additionally, all PCI data standards are met. This includes using secure 128-bit data encryption. This fights against hackers and other unauthorized intrusions into your site. No customer transaction data is ever stored on your site as an extra precaution.
SEO Tools
Network Solutions isn’t satisfied with merely helping you build your Ecommerce site; it wants to help customers find it as well. To that end, the technology includes SEO site code and XML sitemap tools where you can input titles, meta keywords, and descriptions with easy to use prompts to bolster your success.
Secure Hosting
Network Solutions offers 3 different plans with a varying degree of hosting and storage space. But a constant is a dedication to ensuring the stability of your site regardless of the plan you choose. Each client receives an unlimited amount of monthly data transfer. Storage space differs from plan to plan, with starter plans offering 1GB of storage and the premium offering 5GB. Same with mailboxes and mailbox storage: plans start at 5 mailboxes per account and go up to 100 for the premium plan, with storage space for mailboxes running between 1-2GBs.
WordPress Alternatives and How They Compare
Network Solutions Alternatives
| Network Solutions | Godaddy | Wordpress | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $14.95/month | $6.99-$29.99/month | $7-$59/month |
| Hosting included? | No | Yes | Yes |
| Number of templates | 100+ | 22+ | 31,000+ |
| Blogging functionality | Good | Good | Advanced |
| Ecommerce functionality | Good | Good | Advanced |
| Email marketing functionality | Good | Advanced | Limited |
| Responsive design | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Analytics & Reporting | Google Analytics | Built-in and Google Analytics | Google Analytics (with upgrade) |
Customer Support Services
The site offers a few different customer support options. Start by using a toll-free telephone number, which is open to Ecommerce customers 24/7.
There is also an online training site. This uses a number of different videos to provide hands-on help and guidance. Of course, you may also send an email to ask any questions you like. Response times are fairly quick, averaging just a few hours (sometimes less during normal business hours).
Bottom Line
Network Solutions offers a pretty well-rounded slate of Ecommerce services. This is surprising at first, considering that Ecommerce is just one of many services that the company offers, and appears as something of an afterthought compared to the main services. This can be seen as a detriment or an advantage, however, since the more heavily featured services, such as website building and hosting, funnel directly into Ecommerce. The company seems to have successfully ushered its strengths into Ecommerce and surrounded them with substantial features that hit all the notes of business-owners’ needs, from storefront design to inventory management, marketing, analytics, and social media crossover, making it an attractive option for the price especially for smaller businesses.
About the Company
Founded in 1979, Network Solutions has seen the internet evolve but hardly stood by the sidelines. By 1997 it had registered a million domains; the number grew to 5 million by 2000. Today, Network Solutions has successfully expanded into website building, hosting, Ecommerce, and online marketing services.
