1&1 launches "website for your business in minutes"

 

Gallery

By Tim Danton

Posted on 12 May 2009 at 11:10

1&1 Internet has launched a new service for small businesses that it promises will take the fear out of creating a new website.

Costing £9.99 exc VAT per month, and with no setup fee, 1&1 MyBusiness Site uses a wizard-based approach that it claims will allow businesses to create a fully fledged website "in minutes".

"We took the top 100 industries in the UK and designed a website for them," 1&1 chief executive Oliver Mauss tells PC Pro. "For example, a restaurant has a specific page structure - how to find us, our menu."

1&1 MyBusiness Site takes these predefined structures to build a website, which it then pre-fills with relevant text and images. The user can then edit it directly on-screen.

1&1 assumes minimal technical knowledge, and so builds in search engine optimisation and "tools that deliver a managed ad service - simple services that help customers create a successful internet presence but don't require specific skills", adds Mauss.

However, certain features will be held back for the next release - things such as blogs, collaboration features for employees and the ability to sell from the website.

A website in two minutes

In a live demonstration at the central London launch, a 1&1 employee created a new hotel website in less than two minutes - including the time it took to enter the company details.

The most impressive feature was the How to find us page, which included an embedded map from Google Maps.

The price includes 24/7 telephone support (at local rates), but perhaps the most appealing feature for small businesses is the try-before-you-buy deal.

This allows you to create multiple sites and try them out for up to five days, for no charge - you won't be prompted for payment details at this point either.

"We tried to take all the fear elements out of the product," says Mauss. "All the elements are standard: unlimited web space, unlimited web pages, unlimited traffic, one domain name." The only obvious limitation is email accounts, which are restricted to 50.

The service is officially launched later this week.

[Update - we provided a link to a working version of 1&1Business in an earlier version of this story but have been told this was for a test version and not the release version.]