Final verdict
Between Mobirise and Zoho Sites, Zoho Sites emerges as the more comprehensive and versatile platform, especially for users looking for an all-in-one website solution.
-
Mobirise (Overall Grade: 5.9/10)
is praised for its user-friendly interface and ease of use, making it a solid choice for non-tech savvy users focusing on small to medium-sized projects. Its offline functionality and wide variety of templates offer great flexibility for those looking to create websites without an internet connection. However, its limitations in ecommerce, hosting quality, and customer support make it less suitable for more complex or growing online businesses. -
Zoho Sites (Overall Grade: 7.6/10)
stands out with its integrated approach, offering a wide range of features that cater to various website needs, from ecommerce to blogging. Its seamless integration with other Zoho products enhances its functionality, making it a robust platform for businesses looking to streamline their online presence. With better scores in hosting quality, website speed optimization, plugins and integrations, and customer support, Zoho Sites is the preferred choice for users seeking a comprehensive website building experience.
|
|
|
---|---|---|
Design functionalities & templates |
8.0 |
7.4 |
Ease of use |
8.8 |
7.0 |
Ecommerce |
5.4 |
7.4 |
Website Editors |
7.8 |
7.5 |
Product testing options |
5.0 |
8.8 |
Price |
8.6 |
8.6 |
Hosting quality |
2.0 |
8.0 |
Website speed optimization |
5.0 |
7.1 |
Plugins and integrations |
6.6 |
7.3 |
Marketing features |
5.1 |
7.6 |
Customer support |
4.7 |
8.3 |
Security |
6.6 |
8.1 |
AI capabilities |
3.8 |
7.5 |
User Management |
2.0 |
7.3 |
Overall |
5.9 |
7.6 |
Best for ecommerce
Verdict
: For those prioritizing ecommerce functionality, Zoho Sites outperforms Mobirise with its higher ecommerce score and more robust features.
-
Mobirise
: While Mobirise offers a user-friendly approach suitable for small-scale ecommerce projects, its ecommerce capabilities are somewhat limited. It’s best for users who prefer simplicity and are not looking for advanced ecommerce features. -
Zoho Sites
: With a higher score for ecommerce and integration with Zoho Commerce, Zoho Sites is better equipped for businesses looking to scale. It offers comprehensive ecommerce features, including advanced product management and payment processing, making it the superior choice for ecommerce.
Best for informational & business websites
Verdict
: Zoho Sites edges out Mobirise for informational and business websites, offering a slightly higher score and a more comprehensive set of features tailored for these types of websites.
-
Mobirise
: Mobirise is a solid choice for users who prefer an offline website builder with a focus on design flexibility and ease of use. It’s particularly suited for creating small to medium-sized informational websites. However, its limitations in hosting and security features might not meet the needs of all business website projects. -
Zoho Sites
: Zoho Sites, with its higher score and a platform that integrates well with other business tools, is better suited for creating informational and business websites. It offers a range of customizable templates, managed hosting, and robust security features, making it a more rounded choice for businesses looking to establish a strong online presence.
Detailed comparison
Design functionalities & templates
Design FunctionalitiesRepresents how well each platform allows for creative design and customization of websites.Score Components:
- Template Variety (30%): Range and quality of design templates.
- Customization (30%): Flexibility and options for design alterations.
- User Interface (20%): Ease and intuitiveness of the design process.
- Responsiveness (10%): Adaptability to different devices and screen sizes.
- Innovation (10%): Unique design features and tools.
🏆
Winner: Mobirise.
If you’re looking for a platform that offers a wide variety of templates and designs, and high customization flexibility, Mobirise is the preferred choice.
Mobirise offers a wide variety of templates and designs for users looking to create websites. With over 9,500 free HTML website templates available, Mobirise provides a range of visually stunning layouts that are mobile-responsive, ensuring websites look great on all devices. These templates are designed with clean code structures for easy customization and feature fast load times, beneficial for both user experience and search engine optimization (SEO).
Compared to Mobirise, Zoho Sites offers a diverse collection of over 150 templates, thoughtfully categorized into industries like Restaurants, Architecture, Health, and more. Each template provides a pre-designed layout with responsive design for various screen sizes. Customization options include visual elements such as colors, fonts, and images, as well as the ability to modify layouts and content using the visual editor. For advanced users on the Advanced Plan, there’s the option to leverage HTML and CSS for deeper customization.
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Ease of use
Ease of useReflects the platform’s overall user-friendliness.Score
Components:
- Learning curve (40%): Quickness and ease of getting started.
- Interface design (30%): Simplicity and intuitiveness of layout.
- User guidance (20%): Quality of tutorials and support.
- Flexibility (10%): Adaptability to various user skills.
🏆 Winner: Mobirise
. Scoring an impressive 8.8, Mobirise is renowned for its user-friendly interface, making it exceptionally easy for beginners to create websites without needing to code. Zoho Sites, with a score of 7.0, offers a clean interface and logical workflows but might pose challenges for users requiring advanced features and seamless data integration.
Learning Resources
🏆 Winner: Mobirise
. Both platforms offer comprehensive and user-friendly learning resources, but Mobirise goes a step further with its active community forums where users can seek help, share insights, and learn from each other.
For ecommerce
EcommerceMeasures the platform’s effectiveness in supporting online business activities.Score Components:
- Ecommerce themes and templates (20%): Variety and design of templates.
- Product management (25%): Ease of managing and organizing products.
- Payment options (25%): Variety and convenience of payment methods.
- Ecommerce features (20%): Features for managing an ecommerce store.
- Integration (10%): Compatibility with external e-commerce tools and services.
Mobirise and Zoho Sites offer different ecommerce capabilities. Mobirise is a user-friendly platform suitable for small-scale ecommerce websites, with its drag-and-drop functionality and responsive design templates. However, it lacks advanced features like extensive product sorting and comprehensive SEO options necessary for scaling online stores. On the other hand, Zoho Sites, while lacking built-in ecommerce features, integrates seamlessly with Zoho Commerce, a dedicated platform designed for online store management. This provides clarity, flexibility, and scalability for businesses of various sizes.
|
|
|
---|---|---|
Ecommerce themes and templates |
6.0 |
6.5 |
Product page customization |
6.5 |
7.0 |
Payment processing and commissions |
7.0 |
6.8 |
POS capabilities |
4.0 |
5.5 |
Payment gateways |
6.0 |
7.2 |
Product numbers |
5.0 |
6.0 |
Additional ecommerce features |
5.5 |
7.3 |
Mobirise ecommerce features:
- Stripe and PayPal integration
- Marketing Tools
Zoho Sites ecommerce features:
- Product and Inventory management
- Order management
- Payment Processing
- Marketing and Promotions
- SEO and Analytics
- Security
Ecommerce themes & templates
For ecommerce, Mobirise provides templates equipped with essential features like product catalogs and payment processing, emphasizing a mobile-first design approach. In contrast, Zoho Sites offers a range of eCommerce website templates and themes designed to cater to various industries and business needs. These templates are customizable, allowing businesses to tailor their online stores to their brand and product offerings.
Product page customization
Mobirise offers customizable HTML eCommerce templates that allow for easy modification of product pages to suit various online store needs. These templates are designed to be highly adaptable, enabling changes in colors, fonts, and layouts. However, Mobirise’s ecommerce solutions are best suited for small to medium-sized enterprises, given its simplicity and the scale of features offered. Zoho offers extensive product page customization options, allowing users to tailor the display of their products. This includes features like image galleries, sliders, and video integration, enabling businesses to present their products in a visually appealing manner.
Payment processing
When it comes to payment processing, Mobirise allows for the integration of external payment gateways into websites without directly charging commissions for transactions. Users have shown interest in a variety of payment options, including SquareUp, Stripe, and PayPal, but adding these requires manual integration or the use of paid extensions. On the other hand, Zoho Sites, in conjunction with Zoho Commerce, offers robust payment processing capabilities and supports integration with multiple payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, and Square, facilitating secure online transactions. While direct POS system integration and commission management might require leveraging additional Zoho tools or custom solutions, the Zoho ecosystem provides a comprehensive suite for businesses to manage both online and in-store sales efficiently. This integration ensures flexibility and security for businesses aiming to provide a seamless shopping experience across multiple channels.
Website Editors
Website EditorsEvaluates the platforms’ website building and editing capabilities.Score Components:
- Customization tools (40%): Range and power of editing features.
- Editor usability (30%): User experience within the editor.
- Design flexibility (20%): Freedom in layout and design changes.
- Update and maintenance ease (10%): Simplicity of updating and maintaining the site.
🏆
Winner: Mobirise
. With a score of 7.8, Mobirise offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface that allows users to create responsive websites without needing to code. With its editor, users can easily add and customize various pre-designed blocks, such as headers, galleries, sliders, and contact forms, to their web pages. It also provides a wide range of themes and extensions that can be used to enhance the functionality and appearance of websites.
Zoho Sites, scoring 7.5, is a user-friendly website builder that enables both businesses and individuals to create professional, responsive websites without coding skills, through its drag-and-drop interface. Integrated within the Zoho ecosystem, it offers customizable templates, SEO tools, social media integration, and ecommerce features, along with connectivity to other Zoho applications for enhanced functionality.
Mobile editor/app
🏆
Winner: Mobirise
. Both Mobirise and Zoho Sites offer mobile-responsive designs, ensuring that websites look great on all devices. However, when it comes to mobile editing, Mobirise has a slight edge over Zoho Sites.
Mobirise does have a mobile editor app, but it’s not compatible with all mobile devices. Despite this limitation, it still offers the ability to make changes to your website from a mobile device, which can be a significant advantage for users who need to make quick updates on the go.
On the other hand, Zoho Sites currently does not have a dedicated website editor app. You can edit the visual aspects of the mobile version of your website, such as font size, color, background, and shadow, but you cannot change the content through the mobile interface. This limitation can be a drawback for users who need more comprehensive mobile editing capabilities.
In summary, while both website builders offer mobile-responsive designs, Mobirise offers more flexibility when it comes to mobile editing, making it the winner in this category.
Product testing options
Product Testing OptionsAssesses the options for trying out platform features before commitment.Score Components:
- Trial quality (40%): Extent and usefulness of the trial or free version.
- Feature accessibility (30%): How many features are available to test.
- Trial duration (20%): Length of the trial period.
- Ease of transition (10%): Smoothness of moving from trial to paid plans.
Overall Result
:
Zoho Sites Wins
. Zoho Sites scores 8.8, significantly higher than Mobirise’s 5.0. Zoho Sites offers a 15-day free trial with access to all features of each plan, providing a comprehensive testing experience. In contrast, Mobirise does not offer a trial version and lacks the possibility of testing premium features. Both platforms offer a free version, but Zoho Sites also provides a money-back guarantee, further enhancing its product testing options.
|
|
|
---|---|---|
Free Plan |
Yes | Yes |
Trial Duration |
No |
15 days |
Testing Premium Features |
No |
All features of each plan during trial |
Money Back Guarantee |
No |
Yes (30 days for monthly, 45 for annual) |
Price
PriceLooks at the cost-effectiveness and value for money of each platform.Score Components:
- Plan value (40%): What each pricing tier offers.
- Transparency and clarity (30%): Clearness of pricing structures.
- Flexibility of plans (20%): Range of options to suit different budgets.
- Hidden costs (10%): Additional expenses not included in the plan.
Mobirise and Zoho Sites have similar price scores, but their offerings differ. Mobirise is more affordable and offers a free plan, while Zoho Sites provides more comprehensive features in its higher-priced plans.
|
|
|
---|---|---|
Free |
Free Plan ($0/month): Free for personal and commercial use. Ideal for creating websites, landing pages, online resumes, and portfolios. |
No offering at this amount. |
$0-$5 |
Mobirise Site ($2.42/month): Offers features like domain connection, SSL Certificate, unlimited hosting, advertisement removal, and DNS management. Ideal for basic website needs with a focus on simplicity and affordability. Value for price: 7.0 |
No offering at this amount. |
$5-$10 |
No offering at this amount. |
Starter ($8.00/month): Offers basic features suitable for small websites, including 5 pages, 500MB storage, 10GB bandwidth/month, SSL hosting, domain connection, ad-free experience, and more. Ideal for personal blogs or small business websites. Value for price: 6.5 |
$20-$30 |
No offering at this amount. |
Pro ($23.00/month): Upgrades significantly on the Starter plan, offering 50 pages, 100GB storage, unmetered bandwidth, 50 forms, and advanced features like social share button, audio player, comment box, scheduled blog post, and dynamic content. Best suited for professional sites that require more resources and functionalities. Value for price: 8.0 |
$30+ |
No offering at this amount. |
Agency ($32.00/month): Tailored for agencies managing multiple sites, providing a bundle plan that offers significant savings and flexibility. Includes all Starter features with the option to add Pro features as needed. Value for Price: 9.0 |
location. As a result in rare cases the prices displayed here can differ from the ones you see on their
websites.
Hosting quality
Hosting
qualityExamines the reliability and performance of the hosting solutions.Score Components:
- Uptime (40%): Consistency and reliability of website availability.
- Speed (30%): Loading times and performance.
- Bandwidth and storage (20%): Sufficiency of resources provided.
- Data centers (10%): Quality and distribution of hosting infrastructure.
Winner: Zoho Sites
. Zoho Sites provides managed hosting with a 99.9% uptime guarantee and 12 global data centers, making it a reliable choice for users with various hosting needs. On the other hand, Mobirise provides limited information about their hosting features, does not disclose their type of hosting or uptime, and does not provide any information about their data centers, resulting in a lower score.
|
|
|
---|---|---|
Do they offer hosting? |
Yes, included in paid plan |
Yes, included in all paid plans |
Data Centers: |
Information not disclosed |
12 globally: Canada(Montreal and Toronto), US(Quincy and Dallas), India(Mumbai and Chennai), Australia(Sydney and Melbourne), China(Beijing and Shanghai), Japan(Tokyo and Osaka) |
Type of hosting: |
Information not disclosed |
Managed Hosting |
Uptime: |
Information not disclosed |
99.9% |
Uptime Guarantee: |
No |
Yes, 99.9% |
Website Speed Optimization
Website Speed OptimizationEvaluates optimization of website loading timesScore Components:
- PageSpeed Score (30%): Google’s score indicating performance optimization.
- Loading Time (30%): The average time until a website is fully interactive.
- Mobile Optimization (15%): Optimization effectiveness for mobile devices.
- Resource Optimization (15%): Optimizing images, scripts, and other heavy resources.
- CDN Usage (10%): Use of CDN to enhance speed across geolocations.
🏆 Winner: Zoho Sites
Zoho Sites outperforms Mobirise in website speed optimization due to its proactive strategies and better performance in load times and PageSpeed scores.
|
|
|
---|---|---|
Focus |
User-driven optimization |
Regular testing and updates |
Performance Tools |
User-driven |
Optimized code and libraries, Cache balancing |
Key Strategies |
User-driven optimization |
Regular testing and updates, Optimized code and libraries, Cache balancing |
Load Times |
Varies widely, dependent on user optimization and website complexity |
Below 2-5 seconds average |
Page Speed Scores Range |
Varies widely, dependent on user optimization and website complexity |
70-80/100 average |
Core Web Vitals Improvement |
User-driven |
Implementing various performance optimization techniques |
Mobirise, being primarily an offline website builder, relies heavily on the user for speed optimization. Both load times and PageSpeed scores can vary widely, depending on the optimization and complexity of the website. Similarly, improvements in Core Web Vitals are also expected to be done by the users.
On the other hand, Zoho Sites takes a proactive approach to speed optimization. It regularly tests and implements updates, uses optimized code and libraries, and balances cache to improve website speed. As a result, it achieves an average load time of below 2-5 seconds and an average PageSpeed score of 70-80/100. Zoho Sites also focuses on improving Core Web Vitals by implementing various performance optimization techniques.
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Plugins and integrations
Plugins and integrationsMeasures the range and effectiveness of additional plugins and integrations.Score Components:
- Variety of options (40%): Range of available add-ons.
- Integration smoothness (30%): Ease of integrating plugins into the site.
- Quality of plugins (20%): Functionality and reliability of the options.
- Custom integration capabilities (10%): Support for custom or third-party integrations.
🏆 Winner: Zoho Sites.
Zoho Sites scores 7.3, offering a diverse range of plugins and extensions that span various categories like marketing, design, social media, SEO, payments, and more. It integrates many extensions into their paid plans, providing users with access to more features as they upgrade. Mobirise, with a score of 6.6, also provides a broad array of plugins and integrations, offering over 70 extensions for enhancing website functionality across categories such as social media, e-commerce, and more. However, Zoho Sites’ approach of integrating many extensions into their paid plans gives it the edge in this comparison.
Marketing Features
Marketing featuresAssesses tools and options available for marketing.Score Components:
- SEO tools (40%): Effectiveness of SEO features.
- Marketing automation (30%): Availability and quality of marketing tools.
- Social Media integration (20%): Ease and depth of social media connectivity.
- Email marketing (10%): Quality and usability of email marketing tools.
🏆
Overall Winner: Zoho Sites
. Zoho Sites offers a more comprehensive suite of marketing tools, including advanced SEO features, email marketing, blogging, social media integration, analytics and reporting, and ads and promotions. Mobirise, while offering basic marketing tools, lacks in areas such as email marketing and ads and promotions.
|
|
|
---|---|---|
SEO Tools |
Basic SEO tools |
Advanced SEO tools |
Email Marketing |
Through third party integrations |
Integrated with Zoho Campaigns |
Blogging |
Limited blogging capabilities |
Advanced blogging features |
Social Media Integration |
Basic social media integration |
Extensive social media management |
Analytics and Reporting |
Through third party integrations, such as Google Analytics |
Integrated traffic analytics and Google Analytics |
Ads and Promotions |
No |
Integrated with Zoho Marketing Automation |
Customer Support
Customer supportEvaluates the quality and availability of support options.Score Components:
- Response time (40%): Speed of support responses.
- Support quality (30%): Effectiveness and helpfulness of the support.
- Availability (20%): Range of support channels (phone, chat, email).
- Resource richness (10%): Quality of self-help and educational materials.
🏆 Winner: Zoho Sites
. Zoho Sites outperforms Mobirise in this category with a customer support score of 8.3 compared to Mobirise’s 4.7. Zoho Sites offers 24/7 customer support through various channels, including live chat, email, and phone. They also provide a comprehensive knowledge base and community forum where users can find answers to common questions and interact with other users.
On the other hand, Mobirise primarily provides customer support through email and does not offer enterprise-level support. Users can send their ideas, bug reports, suggestions, or any feedback to their support email, and typically, responses to inquiries are received within 24 hours. However, compared to Zoho Sites, Mobirise’s support options are limited.
Security
SecurityLooks at the platforms’ security measures and data protection.Score Components:
- Data protection (40%): Safeguards for user and customer data.
- SSL and encryption (30%): Implementation of secure connections.
- Compliance (20%): Adherence to industry security standards.
- Regular updates (10%): Frequency of security updates and patches.
🏆
Winner: Zoho Sites
. Zoho Sites offers a more comprehensive security package compared to Mobirise. It provides secure private data storage and protection through advanced encryption and access controls. The platform uses SSL encryption to protect data transmission and offers two-factor authentication for added security. Regular software updates are also part of Zoho Sites’ commitment to security, ensuring potential vulnerabilities are addressed promptly.
Although it may not offer the same level of specialized ecommerce security features as Zoho Sites, Mobirise provides robust security measures for websites, including modifications to the .htaccess file for HTTPS enforcement, XSS protection, and other security headers to mitigate common web threats. However, the protection of private data in websites created with Mobirise primarily depends on the user’s practices and the security measures of the chosen web hosting service, which may not be as comprehensive as Zoho Sites’ in-built security measures.
AI Capabilities
AI capabilitiesMeasures the effectiveness of AI-driven features and tools.Score Components:
- Automation efficiency (40%): Impact of AI on streamlining processes.
- Personalization (30%): AI-driven customization for users or customers.
- AI-Assisted design (20%): Role of AI in website design and functionality.
- Data analysis (10%): Use of AI in interpreting user data and analytics.
|
|
|
---|---|---|
AI Builder |
Mobirise’s experimental AI builder generates websites based on user prompts |
Zoho Sites does not have an AI builder |
AI Ecommerce features |
|
AI-backed product recommendations, sales predictions, workflow automation, and customer service enhancements |
AI Content Generation |
|
Zia, Zoho’s AI content assistant, provides intelligent, contextual suggestions for headlines and paragraphs |
Additional AI features |
|
Zia boosts productivity, sales, and customer service processes across Zoho’s suite |
🏆 Winner: Zoho Sites
. Zoho Sites, with a score of 7.5, leverages AI for content generation and ecommerce features, providing a more comprehensive AI experience. Although Mobirise has an experimental AI builder, its overall AI capabilities are limited and score lower at 3.8.
User Management
User ManagementAssesses the platforms’ capabilities in managing user roles, permissions, and accessibility.Score Components:
- Role Customization (40%): Flexibility in creating and defining user roles and
permissions. - Ease of Management (30%): User interface and tools for managing users.
- Access Control (20%): Effectiveness of access control measures for different user
levels. - Scalability (10%): Ability to manage a growing number of users efficiently.
🏆 Winner: Zoho Sites
. Zoho Sites offers a more comprehensive user management system compared to Mobirise.
- Mobirise does not natively support multi-user collaboration in the same way that content management systems do. This means that it may not be the best choice for teams that need to collaborate on website design and content.
- On the other hand, Zoho Sites provides a more robust user management system. The number of users who can edit a Zoho Sites website and their access levels depend on the chosen plan. The Free Plan allows only the owner to edit, while paid plans like Pro, Business, and Enterprise offer access for up to 10, 25, and 50 users respectively. Zoho Sites provides four access levels: Admin, with full editing rights and user management; Contributor, who can edit content and create pages but not manage collaborators; and Author, limited to editing text content without access to settings or user management.
Given these differences, Zoho Sites is the clear winner in terms of user management capabilities.
Additional Features
|
|
|
---|---|---|
SSL Certificate |
|
|
Custom Domain |
|
|
Free Custom Domain Included |
|
|
International Domains |
|
|
Mobile Responsive |
|
|
Page Speed |
|
|
Website Builder Mobile App |
|
|
Convert a Website To An App |
|
|
Website Analytics |
|
|
Multilingual Sites |
|
|
Multiple Users |
|
|
User Feedback
Mobirise is praised by users for its user-friendly interface, ease of use, and quick website creation without the need for coding. Users appreciate its drag-and-drop feature, customizable templates, and built-in code editor. However, some users have expressed concerns about pricing, limited free templates, and occasional compatibility issues. Despite these concerns, Mobirise is valued for its ability to swiftly prototype websites, particularly for those lacking coding skills, making it a go-to tool for small to medium-sized projects.
Zoho Sites receives mixed reviews from users. Users praise its user-friendly interface, extensive template library, and seamless integration with other Zoho products, which simplifies website development and management for small businesses. However, some users express dissatisfaction with its limited design flexibility and the inability to create custom features. Despite these concerns, Zoho Sites addresses the need for cost-effective website solutions, particularly for those without coding knowledge, offering a one-stop-shop for building and managing websites with varying degrees of customization and integration with other business tools.
The making of this blog
We followed a clear, step-by-step process to write and research this article.
FAQ
Which platform is better for beginners, Mobirise or Zoho Sites?
Can I use both Mobirise and Zoho Sites for ecommerce?
How do Mobirise and Zoho Sites differ in terms of customization and design flexibility?
What are the major differences in pricing and value between Mobirise and Zoho Sites?
Which platform offers better customer support, Mobirise or Zoho Sites?