350 PAGES
Not my idea of a good product
350 Pages is the brand name of a product by ZyNet Ltd, an Exeter (Devon), UK based company offering web design, content management, domain names, hosting and search engine help services.
350 PAGES was launched in 2007. Its a drag & drop tool which allows for very precise positioning of all the elements on your page, which is one of the great benefits of this kind of system - you can control your lay-out to a very high degree.
This website builder comes equiped with all the things you need to make a good website : a graphics library comprising more than 3000 items (pictures, graphics, buttons, animation etc), an e-commerce module, social media integration, and 3rd party gadgets. Especially useful is the standard integration of Google Analytics, in my opinion the best tool by far to keep track of your visitors.
350 PAGES offers no fewer than 5 different user levels (price is per year) :
- Free : as expensive per year as it is per month : zero (in any currency).
- Lite : $39.99 - £25.99 - €29.99
- Standard : $79.99 - £46.99 - €64.99
- Premium : $169.99 - £99.99 - €129.99
- Platinum : $339.99 - £199.99 - €259.99
Let me tell you right away : you don't want the free version. The website is yours but its flanks are not; free sites tend to be drowned in publicity left, right and center. It's displayed in an ugly way and very clearly meant to entice you to upgrade to a paid-for package to get rid of it. With a Free package, you're limited to just 1 website, with any of the other plans you can have as many as you want.
If you're serious about getting a decent site, then you should at least go for the Standard version. This one comes with the possibility to copy elements to other pages, it's ad-free, you get more tools to enhance your site with pictures, effects and HTML editing. E-commerce functionality also starts at this level, just as do forms, RSS feed, integrated Google Analytics (which you have to pay extra for when you use "Free" or "Lite",) and a few more things.
"Premium" and "Platinum" offer identical web development tools, but allow you more space, more bandwidth, better assistance and support, design advice and a few free domain names. I don't know if it's worth the extra money.
MY OPINION ABOUT 350 PAGES :
Looking at their gallery of existing sites made with 350 Pages, they must be doing something right. Quite a few nice-looking sites out there, so probably a good choice for some people. Personally I did not like the interface.
If you want a free website then don't do it, there's better options available, like Weebly. And if you're ready to spend a little money on some functionalities and an ad-free environment.... I'd still spend it somewhere else.
