Tilda is one of those website building services, but does it offer something unique that sets it apart from the competition? Unlike some, Tilda offers a free service, which gives you a taste of what's free, without unlocking all the features, and is a great way to see what it's all about without committing to it. Better yet, you can also try the paid features for free for XNUMX days.
Tilda offers 2 paid plans and a free plan (Image credit: Tilda)
Packages and prices
There are 3 free plans, while Tilda tries to make things as easy as possible. The first is called "Free" and lets you create a site, with up to fifty pages and fifty MB of storage. However, your customization is limited, with access only to the "key blocks" to design and personalize your online presence. Then comes “Personal”, the first of the 2 paid plans. Any and all "No Cost" limitations are removed because not only can you completely customize your site, but you also have 1 pages and 5GB of storage. He is also open to creating a weblog and setting up an online store. This plan would cost you $XNUMX per month when billed annually, or $XNUMX per month. Finally, there's "Business," which expands its inventiveness to XNUMX sites instead of one, for $XNUMX a month when billed annually or $XNUMX a month.
Features
The service of the Lda site is based on blocks: you choose the ones you want, add them to your page and build your site that way. Today there are over five hundred fully customizable blocks with more being added on a regular basis. You also have access to over two hundred responsive templates, you can add animations to liven up your place, access to photo editor, royalty-free image library, icon build, and you can integrate YouTube, Vimeo, SoundCloud, and Coub media. Without mentioning, obviously, the installations of weblogs and online commerce. There are many things to attract potential customers, so let's take a look at it first hand...
Basic customization
After registration (which involves giving your name, email address and setting a password), you have access to the control panel without even having to manage your credit card details (that is, because the free plan is chosen from automatically when it does).
Choose from hundreds of responsive templates to build your site with (or create one from scratch) (Image credit: Tilda) Creating a new site takes you to the templates section, which is divided by category (such as Business , Store, Event, etc.) and also includes a search box. Pick the one you like best and get ready to customize it...
Swapping one block for another is simple, via the leftmost menu (Image credit: Tilda) As you scroll through your model, you'll see menus appear at the top left of each block. These let you replace this block with another, alter the block's factors, or customize its content.
Customization options for each block appear in a sidebar (Image credit: Tilda) Customization is done via a sidebar that appears on the left when invoked. From there, you can change the block's height, color, padding, button style, different fonts, or any animation you want to apply to specific parts of the block. Everything is very simple, although you must go through multiple menus to access the control you are looking for.
To edit the text, simply click on it and start composing (Image credit: Tilda) The content of a block can be edited by clicking on the orange 'Content' button, or more simply by clicking on or choosing the existing text and typing it. When you do this, the basic text controls appear at the top of the window.
Go beyond the 'free' plan to get extensive customization control in each and every block (Image credit: Tilda)
Give zero blocks
Going beyond the free plan unlocks Tilda's true potential. For example, each part of a block can be completely altered and customized. This is called "zero blocks". You can move objects, resize them, remove them, add more, etc. Essentially, the block is just a placeholder for your inspiration, allowing you to customize any of them beyond recognition.
Weblogs have all the tools you'd expect, but starting a weblog is a lot harder than it probably needs to be (Image credit: Tilda) Starting a weblog is a lot harder than you might expect But thank goodness Tilda has a bunch of really helpful and informative video tutorials to walk you through the process, but keep in mind that this isn't a big deal. "One click and that's it." You need to set up a unique block (from the News and News section), create a feed from scratch, and most importantly, link your feed to the blog block on your page. However, once set up, the process is similar to other competing weblogging tools. For example, you can add text, insert images and videos, and schedule the posting of the article. Another feature that is considered increasingly essential these days is an online store, reachable via one of Tilda's many "Shop" blocks. Use the content section to manually replace the images, text, and cost of placeholders. Adding products can be done faster via the Catalog option, although this is still a manual process and we couldn't find a way to upload a CSV or similar file with all the required information in one go. The configuration of a payment gateway is carried out through the main page of the Place factors (in the "Payment systems" section appropriately named). You have the usual suspects, like Paypal, 2Checkout, and Stripe. There are also options such as cash on delivery or transfer. You can add as much as you want. This is also the site where you can create promotional codes. Its customization options are quite extensive, and what you lose by having to configure pretty much everything yourself, you gain by creating a truly unique experience for your visitors. Of course, this isn't ideal if you just want to get your info and then go, and if that's the case, there are a myriad of other services available to you, but we like Tilda's more tailored approach, even if it does. It takes longer to install.
Tilda's help center is searchable and overly organized (Image credit: Tilda)
Support
Tilda has a fairly comprehensive support section, with articles divided into categories and a search box to help find answers faster. The articles are well written, easy to understand, and packed with annotated screenshots to make the whole process easier. As previously mentioned, video tutorials can also be found to help you navigate through the more complex features. If you require more tailored care, you can open a ticket with your query. We found that during their business hours the staff responded quickly and efficiently (be advised that it can take up to two hours to get a response during these hours, but we get responses faster than that, obviously YMMV).
Final verdict
Tilda is a good site author and is ideal for people who like to understand how their system works by essentially connecting each and every point themselves. Although it is given extensive brush strokes, you have full control over customization, and nowhere is it clearer than with weblogging and online commerce tools that they will only work if you connect each and every system yourself. It is not difficult enough when you know how to do it and the instructions are very clear, but it is not a service for people who want everything to be done for them. Yes, Tilda can help you create very simple sites with very little input from the site owner, but her power is in her customization features, which are really good.