IONOS vs Format: Comprehensive comparison guide for 2024

Final verdict

IONOS and Format cater to different user needs, each excelling in specific areas.

• 
  IONOS (Overall Grade: 6.9/10)
  
  is a versatile website builder and hosting platform that offers a wide range of customizable templates and robust ecommerce capabilities. It is ideal for users looking to create professional websites with extensive functionalities, including ecommerce, without needing coding skills. IONOS stands out with its comprehensive marketing tools, strong security features, and reliable hosting services, making it a solid choice for businesses aiming for a strong online presence.
• 
  Format (Overall Grade: 5.8/10)
  
  is tailored for creative professionals such as photographers, artists, and designers. It provides nearly 100 customizable templates designed to showcase portfolios in a visually appealing manner. Format excels in ease of use, offering an intuitive drag-and-drop interface and specialized features like client proofing and integrated online stores. While it may lack some advanced functionalities and broader ecommerce capabilities, Format is perfect for creatives looking to present their work professionally and connect with potential clients.

Best for ecommerce

Verdict

: IONOS is better suited for comprehensive ecommerce needs, while Format is ideal for creative professionals looking to sell their work online.

• 
  IONOS
  
  : As a website builder and hosting platform, IONOS offers a robust set of ecommerce features, making it suitable for businesses aiming to establish a scalable online store. It provides extensive customization options, a variety of payment gateways, and advanced marketing tools. However, when comparing IONOS vs Format, IONOS may be more complex for users who only need basic ecommerce functionalities.
• 
  Format
  
  : Designed for creative professionals, Format offers basic ecommerce capabilities that are perfect for selling creative work. It includes essential features like inventory management and multiple currency options but lacks the depth and scalability of IONOS. This makes Format a good choice for artists and designers who need a simple, visually appealing platform to showcase and sell their work.

Best for informational & business websites

Verdict

: IONOS and Format both offer strong features for creating informational and business websites, but they cater to slightly different audiences. IONOS is more versatile and suitable for a broader range of business needs, while Format is tailored specifically for creative professionals.

• 
  IONOS
  
  : Scoring 7.4, IONOS is a robust website builder and hosting platform that excels in providing a wide range of customizable templates and reliable hosting services. It is ideal for users who need a professional-looking website with various functionalities such as ecommerce capabilities, contact forms, and social media integration. IONOS also offers comprehensive learning resources and strong customer support, making it a solid choice for businesses looking to establish a strong online presence.
• 
  Format
  
  : With a score of 7.2, Format is designed for creative professionals like photographers, artists, and designers. It offers nearly 100 customizable templates that are perfect for showcasing portfolios. Format’s intuitive drag-and-drop interface and features like an integrated online store and client proofing make it a great platform for creatives to share their work and connect with potential clients. However, it may not be as versatile as IONOS for broader business needs.

Detailed comparison

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Winner: IONOS.

If you’re looking for a platform that offers a wide range of customizable templates and designs, IONOS is the preferred choice.

IONOS offers a wide variety of templates and designs for their website builder. With over 200 templates to choose from, users can find a design that suits their needs and preferences. The templates are categorized into different industries and styles, making it easy for users to find the perfect design for their website. Additionally, IONOS regularly updates their template library, ensuring that users have access to the latest design trends.

IONOS Themes

On the other hand, Format is a website builder specifically designed for creatives, offering nearly 100 customizable templates tailored for various artistic disciplines. It emphasizes high-quality imagery and mobile-friendly designs, ensuring portfolios look professional on any device. While it offers easy-to-use features and e-commerce tools for selling work directly, some users find its interface less intuitive and its feature set somewhat limited for broader website needs.

Format Themes

🏆 Winner: Format

. With a score of 8.3, Format edges out IONOS (7.8) in terms of ease of use. Format’s intuitive drag-and-drop interface and user-friendly platform tailored for creatives make it a more accessible option for users without extensive technical skills. IONOS, while offering a straightforward and intuitive interface, may not provide the extensive functionalities of more complex platforms.

Learning Resources

🏆 Winner: IONOS

. IONOS offers a more comprehensive set of learning resources, catering to users of all levels and providing detailed advice on various aspects of website creation and optimization. Format, on the other hand, provides a help center and a YouTube channel with tutorials and updates.

IONOS and Format offer different ecommerce capabilities tailored to their target users. IONOS, a website builder and hosting platform, provides a comprehensive set of ecommerce features, making it suitable for businesses looking to set up an online store. On the other hand, Format, a website builder designed for creative professionals, offers basic ecommerce functionalities, making it ideal for individuals looking to sell their work online.

IONOS ecommerce features:

• Store Management
• Marketing Tools
• Payment and Shipping options
• Products and Inventory management

Format ecommerce features:

• Inventory management and tracking
• Discounts
• Multiple currency options

Ecommerce themes & templates

IONOS offers a variety of ecommerce themes and templates designed to help businesses set up their online stores efficiently and effectively. Their online store builder is tailored to support a range of ecommerce needs, from selling on social media platforms to managing a scalable ecommerce website without any coding or design skills required. In contrast, Format does not offer ecommerce specific templates, reflecting its focus on portfolio websites for creative professionals.

Product page customization

IONOS provides users with the ability to extensively customize product pages, including the flexibility to adjust the design and layout, ensuring that product images, descriptions, and specifications are displayed according to individual preferences. Additionally, IONOS allows for the setup and management of product options and variations, such as size and color, enabling customers to select their preferred version of a product. Format, on the other hand, offers limited specific details on product page customization, but its ecommerce features suggest a focus on showcasing products through high-quality imagery and detailed descriptions.

Payment processing

When it comes to payment processing, IONOS supports a wide variety of third-party payment processors, including PayPal, Stripe, and Square, without charging direct fees for payment processing. Users can choose from an extensive list of payment options to suit their business needs and customer preferences, enhancing the flexibility and security of online transactions. Format, however, charges a commission on its Pro and Pro Plus plans and does not have built-in POS (Point of Sale) capabilities. It offers integration with major payment gateways, including Paypal and Stripe.

Considering the features, availability, cost, and flexibility, IONOS appears to be a more robust and flexible ecommerce solution compared to Format. However, if you are a creative professional looking for a platform to showcase and sell your work, Format might still be worth considering.

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Winner: IONOS

. IONOS, with a score of 7.8, provides an intuitive website builder equipped with AI assistance, designed for users to quickly create professional-looking websites without needing coding skills. This platform offers customizable templates, AI-generated content, and is optimized for mobile use, ensuring a responsive design across all devices. With features that cater to both basic and advanced website needs, including eCommerce capabilities, IONOS aims to simplify the web creation process.

Format’s editor, scoring 7.5, offers a variety of features for creating online portfolios. It provides nearly 100 professionally designed templates and thousands of design variations without requiring any coding. Users can express creativity with custom pages, incorporating unique gallery layouts, colors, text formatting, and custom code embeds. The templates and pages are fully responsive, ensuring a mobile-first experience. Format also supports direct video hosting, high-quality image rendering, and easy template switching to give sites a new look. Additionally, it includes studio management tools, e-commerce capabilities, and SEO tools.

Mobile editor/app

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Winner: IONOS

. Both IONOS and Format do not offer a dedicated mobile editor app. However, IONOS provides limited editing abilities on a mobile browser, which gives it a slight edge over Format.

IONOS’s mobile browser editing capabilities, although limited, allow users to make some changes to their websites on the go. This can be particularly useful for quick updates or urgent changes.

On the other hand, Format does not offer a dedicated app for editing on mobile devices. While it is possible to edit your website using a mobile browser, the interface presented is the same as the desktop version, making it difficult to use on a smartphone.

In summary, while neither platform offers a robust mobile editing experience, IONOS comes out ahead due to its limited mobile browser editing capabilities.

Overall Result

:

Format Wins

. Format scores 8.3, outperforming IONOS which scores 6.5. Both platforms offer a 30-day money-back guarantee and allow testing of premium features. However, Format provides a 14-day free trial, which gives users an opportunity to test the platform before making a purchase. IONOS, on the other hand, does not offer a free trial.

Both IONOS and Format offer competitive pricing, with Format providing more specialized features for creative professionals.

Winner: IONOS

. IONOS offers a diverse range of hosting services including shared, VPS, dedicated, and WordPress hosting, with features like daily backups, and unlimited traffic. It also boasts a 99.99% uptime guarantee and has 7 data centers in the EU and USA. On the other hand, Format does not provide detailed information about its hosting services, including the type of hosting, uptime statistics, and the location of its data centers, which makes it difficult to assess the quality of its hosting services.

🏆 Winner: IONOS

Both IONOS and Format have strategies in place for website speed optimization, but IONOS takes the lead with a more comprehensive approach and a higher Website Speed Optimization score.

IONOS, a website builder and hosting platform, focuses on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript optimization, image and multimedia optimization, caching, WordPress optimization, and CDN for speed optimization. The load times and PageSpeed scores vary widely, depending on the optimization and the user’s location. IONOS also emphasizes on LCP, FID, and CLS improvements for Core Web Vital improvements.

On the other hand, Format, a website builder specifically designed for creative professionals, focuses on image and video optimization for speed optimization. The load times and PageSpeed scores vary depending on the optimization and website complexity. However, Format does not disclose any information on their Core Web Vitals improvements.

🏆 Winner: IONOS.

With a score of 6.5, IONOS offers a wider range of plugins and extensions compared to Format, which scores 4.9. IONOS provides over 100 plugins, enhancing functionalities like ecommerce capabilities, social media integration, and SEO optimization. Format, on the other hand, offers a limited selection of plugins/integrations, including Adobe Lightroom, Mailchimp, and Google Analytics. While these integrations are useful, they represent just a fraction of the broader ecosystem of web development and marketing tools that modern websites often rely on.

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Overall Winner: IONOS

. IONOS stands out for its comprehensive marketing tools, especially in SEO, email marketing, and ad campaign management. Format, while offering basic marketing features, lacks in advanced promotional capabilities and third-party integrations.

🏆 Winner: IONOS

. In the comparison of IONOS vs Format, IONOS takes the lead with its comprehensive 24/7 customer support. Users can reach out to IONOS support at any time via multiple contact numbers, ensuring immediate assistance. This round-the-clock availability is a significant advantage for users who may need help at any hour.

Format also offers 24/7 customer support through email and live chat, with a tech support team distributed across different countries to ensure continuous availability. However, IONOS’s multiple contact numbers and immediate assistance options give it an edge in providing more accessible and responsive support for its users.

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Winner: IONOS

. IONOS takes the lead in security with a score of 7.5, slightly higher than Format’s 7.4. IONOS provides robust data storage and protection measures across its services, including HiDrive Cloud Storage and secure email solutions. It supports two-factor authentication for added security and offers end-to-end encryption as an option, ensuring that data is encrypted during transfer and stored securely.

IONOS also integrates various security measures to safeguard websites created on its platform, focusing on preventing malware spread, spamming, and data breaches. It offers guidance on staying updated with security patches, conducting backups, securing logins, and implementing HTTPS and SSL certificates.

On the other hand, Format emphasizes the security of user data through encrypted data storage and employs strict access controls. It regularly updates its security measures to protect against new threats and complies with data protection regulations like GDPR. However, specific details about Format’s website security measures were not directly mentioned, which gives IONOS an edge in this comparison.

🏆 Winner: IONOS

. IONOS, with a score of 7.2, leverages AI to streamline the website creation process, offering personalized design recommendations, automatic content generation, and SEO optimization. It enables users to customize their websites with ease, adjusting layouts, images, and text to perfectly match their vision. Moreover, it integrates with various features and services, enhancing the website’s functionality and user engagement.

Format, on the other hand, does not have any AI capabilities. It is a website builder specifically designed for creative professionals such as photographers, artists, designers, and illustrators. It offers a range of customizable templates that are tailored to showcase portfolios in a visually appealing manner. However, it lacks the AI capabilities that can streamline the website creation process and enhance user experience.

🏆 Winner: IONOS

. Both IONOS and Format have different approaches to user management.

• IONOS permits multiple users for website editing. However, there is no mention of user roles and permissions, nor is there information about limitations on the number of users allowed to edit a website.
• Format, on the other hand, allows only one user to manage and edit websites.

Unfortunately, neither platform provides information about user roles and access levels.

Additional Features

User Feedback

As IONOS is primarily a hosting provider with a website builder as an additional product, most reviews focus on its hosting services. Users have mixed experiences with IONOS 1&1 Websites & Shops. While praised for its great packages, personalized support, and streamlined interface for IT professionals, some encounter issues with backend functionality and find customer service representatives too pushy. Despite occasional short outages, the overall reliability and responsiveness of the service are appreciated by users.

Users highly praise Format for its user-friendly website builder, particularly noting the ease of adding images and the effectiveness of customer service. Many reviewers appreciate the variety of modern templates and the platform’s suitability for users without technical expertise, especially photographers. Format’s mobile app and proofing section receive special mentions for their convenience and functionality. However, some users desire more customization options, particularly for mobile views, and mention minor limitations in template flexibility and SEO functionality. Overall, Format is celebrated for its ability to provide a professional online presence easily and efficiently, solving users’ needs for showcasing work and attracting new clients.

FAQ