Jimdo has firmly established itself as one of the go-to solutions among smaller online stores. Why is that, you ask? Well, first and foremost, it simplifies running a store by removing complexity from the equation. These days, 200,000 e-commerce shops worldwide use the Jimdo system.
While Jimdo does not have as many functions to offer as Magento, WooCommerce or Shopify, being full to the brim with a wide array of tools and gadgets has never been their goal, either. Jimdo wanted to be one thing, and one thing only: an easy-to-use online store system enabling anyone to sell goods online. Without having to hire a tech team, of course.
See whether Jimdo succeeds in that regard in this review.
Jimdo’s Online Store also features a Free Plan where you can sell up to 5 products
Jimdo Online Store Screenshots
Jimdo Ecommerce Pricing
| $0 | FreeSell up to 5 products. |
| $10 | ProComes with all the SEO options that you'll need. Sell up to 15 products. |
| $20 | BusinessSell unlimited products and use coupon codes. |
Only the Business plan offers an unlimited item number for your store. To learn more, please check our detailed comparison of the Pro and Business plan.
Jimdo Ecommerce Pros & Cons
Fulfills ecommerce regulations for EU countries
Ease of use
Great cost/performance ratio
No additional sales fees charged by Jimdo
No selling of digital goods possible
No import / export of product data
Rating Details
| criterion | rating | comments |
|---|---|---|
Ease of use |
| It’s not complicated at all to add products to your page. Their settings page provides clear instructions. |
Choice and flexibility of templates |
| All of Jimdo’s templates can be used for online stores. And while they are all responsive, more flexibility would be desireable. Some of the designs from the ecommerce category lack a bit the look and feel of an online store. The templates are optimized for both smartphones and tablets (e.g. iPad) and they integrate perfectly with the checkout process. |
SEO |
| It’s possible to customize the title, description and URL of your pages. If you require 301 redirects, you’ll need to get the Business plan. |
Basic functions | ||
Product presentation |
| Great zoom function, flexible use of any and all elements, including video, etc. |
Product variants |
| Add article variants for different colors or sizes. Unfortunately you can’t use separate dropdown menus for different product options. This makes editing a little bit more complicated. |
Cart function | | A real cart function, making it possible to combine any choice of products with one another. |
User ratings | | Product reviews can’t be added. |
Article numbers | | Assign each product an individual article number. |
Checkout, payment & shipping | ||
Payment options |
| Paypal, invoice, advance payment, cash on delivery, cash upon pickup, check, etc. Jimdo also handles credit card payments via PayPal and Stripe. |
Sale of digital goods | | There is a way. However, due to its complicated nature, you can find more on this subject in the FAQ section below. |
SSL encryption | | The entire website and store is SSL encrypted (https) and fulfills all modern security standards. |
Customer log-in area | | Not available. |
Coupon codes | | Fixed amount and percentage rebates are possible. Minimum order values can be defined. |
Shipping cost settings |
| Shipping rates can be set for each individual country worldwide. (One rate per country, no regional settings for states.) Set maximum shipping costs per order based on price or weight. Only one shipping carrier can be used. |
Dropshipping | | There’s no such feature available for Jimdo online stores. |
Tax settings |
| It allows you only to set up only one tax rate, which can be quite a limitation if you are selling internationally. On the other hand it is possible to display VAT prices on the product pages, which is a requirement in most European countries. |
Backend | ||
Article management |
| Jimdo tracks what you have in stock. |
Confirmation emails customizable |
| Completely customizable. E-mails are sent automatically upon marking an order as “shipped”. |
Importing product data | | Not available. |
Exporting product data | | Not available. |
E-Commerce analysis | | The order confirmation page can be customized. As a result, you can include Google Analytics E-Commerce Tracking and other functions. |
Exporting order data | | Creates imports for billing and accounting software. |
Support | | |
Total Score |
3.6/5 | Great cost/benefit ratio. Very easy to use thanks to the limited amount of functions. An added benefit for users from EU countries: Jimdo fulfills local ecommerce regulations. Try Jimdo’s Online Store here. |
Conclusion
And indeed, Jimdo makes ecommerce possible for small-scale vendors. Anyone sticking to eBay or Amazon until now could consider taking steps towards a more individual and personal platform. The great advantage is that you are in control: you make the rules and have no expenses beyond payment service fees.
Additionally, the online store integrates really well into the rest of the website builder. Everything fits together seamlessly and feels consistent. As Jimdo offers a blogging feature, too, you can use that for content marketing and save on advertising.
The JimdoBUSINESS plan covers a great functional range for search engine optimization. We can definitely recommend it for small to medium-sized online stores!
> Click here to test the Jimdo Business Plan for free
Should you want to sell only a few articles, you might want to look at the JimdoPRO plan. It costs only $10 per month and lets you sell up to 15 articles.
Jimdo eCommerce Example Sites
Jimdo Ecommerce Alternatives
FAQ
Does it only work in the U.S. or can I also use it elsewhere?
You can use Jimdo’s e-commerce feature anywhere in the world.
Can I sell digital goods like MP3s or PDFs?
There is an “inofficial” way to automate sales of digital goods. As you see in the screenshot, you can add an item number to your product items. (You need to activate the item number in your settings first.) Instead of the item number you enter the download link here.
When a customer now orders the digital good, the item number will be emailed to him in the confirmation message.
If you prefer a website builder that has this feature integrated and supported you should check out Weebly or Squarespace’s web store.
Can I set multiple sales tax rates in one US state?
Sales and use taxes is pretty tricky some states (e.g. California). You can only set one sales tax rate for your state in Jimdo. I think it makes sense to set this to your combined sales tax rate (California + local district). You’re not responsible for the local tax rate (local district) of the buyer on online sales (shipped through the mail). This was originally posted by Powen Shia of Jimdo.
About Armin Pinggera
Hi! My name is Armin Pinggera, the tech guru at Tooltester. After having tested hundreds of web tools and site builders, I'm convinced that anybody can create a website or online store by themselves. Please leave a comment if you have any questions!
Latest Review Updates
10 Jan 2017 – SSL encryption is now available site wide and in all Jimdo plans.
11 Apr 2016 – SSL encryption (https) is now enabled for the entire checkout process.
28 Jan 2016 – Stripe credit card payment added. Only available for Jimdo Business.
26 Nov 2014 – Tax settings added
26 Mar 2014 – Shipping costs are now more flexible and can be set for each individual country worldwide.
04 Dec 2013 – Full review of Jimdo Online Store
23 Apr 2013 – You can now create voucher discount codes for customers of your online store.
