Appy Pie is a relative newcomer to the website builder market and unfortunately, it shows in its limited feature set and lack of performance. The interface is relatively easy to navigate but can, at times, be painfully slow. For this level of performance and a £48 per month price tag, I find it hard to understand why users would choose Appy Pie over and above the more capable Wix and Squarespace.
For
Simple interface
AI functionality
Responsive templates
Against
Slow & clunky workflow
Dated template design
Expensive
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Appy Pie has been around for a decade but has thus far not managed to dislodge the likes of Wix and Squarespace from the top spots of our best website builders guide. The Indian-based company provides a range of services including tools to create apps, chatbots, and automation tools. I wonder if Appy Pie has spread itself too thin with their website builder suffering for it.
One of the selling points of Appy Pie is its ability to generate a website from text prompts. Having loved this feature when reviewing Wix, I was excited to try it out in Appy Pie but was left rather disappointed by the results. More work is definitely required on this feature.
During my testing, I set up a travel photography portfolio. I found the process rather laborious overall and having to part with my bank details before starting the free trial was far from ideal. It wasn’t all bad though. Scroll down to read all the highs and lows of building a website with Appy Pie.
Appy Pie lacks the depth of features that you might see in other more comprehensive website builders. What you do get is a basic builder that allows novice users to create websites. Some of the key features are as follows:
Responsive layouts
Websites created with Appy Pie adjust to whatever device or platform they are being viewed on. I appreciate this is a non-negotiable for web design nowadays but with other features lacking I knew it would be helpful to be explicit about it. I love the ability to quickly switch between a desktop and a phone display even when editing.
Drag-and-drop tools
Appy Pie’s drag-and-drop functionality makes it fairly straightforward to add and rearrange elements. It lacks the ability to place elements based on a grid but there’s enough flexibility to design most types of common websites.
Ecommerce tools
Appy Pie makes it relatively easy to add ecommerce tools including connections to third-party stores such as Shopify, Etsy, and Magento. List products, take payments, and track sales with Appy Pie’s built-in tools.
Blog integration
Continuing the theme of integration, with Appy Pie it is possible to connect to a range of blogging tools including Blogger and Wordpress. Simply add the specific one and enter the blog URL. Appy Pie takes it from there.
Security
Every Appy website offers HTTPS and DDoS protection to keep users from cyber threats and breaches.
(Image credit: Future)
Performance
Appy Pie is rather lacking when it comes to performance and feels like it needs a rewrite from the ground up. General page edits can be carried out without too much fuss but anything more complicated begins to drag. With users now expecting their tools to work seamlessly and without delay, Appy Pie is going to struggle to attract and keep users unless it addresses these issues.
(Image credit: Future)
Templates
Website builders are well known for their extensive set of templates. Both Wix and Squarespace have hundreds of different options and it's easy to switch between them during the design phase or even once the website is live.
Unfortunately, Appy Pie is seriously lacking in this area, with the only functionality for changing the look of the website being to adjust individual settings related to fonts and colours. I was gobsmacked at how limited Appy Pie is in this area. If you’re happy adjusting each element then you’ll be fine but if you’re looking for any sort of template functionality then you won’t find it here.
(Image credit: Future)
AI tools
Despite being labelled as one of the best AI-powered website builders I didn’t actually witness many AI features. One example that’s worth noting is the AI Text Creator tool that is built into the text blocks. It’s as simple as telling the AI tool what you want to say and letting it generate ‘better’ alternatives. I think users would be much better writing their own unique copy that has their style built into it but the option's there if you want it.
(Image credit: Future)
Interface
The Appy Pie interface is a story of two halves. Let’s begin with the negative and end with the positive.
Let’s get straight to it. It’s painfully slow and clunky especially when moving between different pages and implementing features. This is compounded by the lack of an intuitive interface that guides you through how to extend the functionality of your site.
Unfortunately, the lack of speed and responsiveness tainted my enjoyment of using what is actually, at its core, quite a simple-looking tool. Making edits to a page is as easy as clicking on an element and then making adjustments inside the context menu. Blocks can be moved up and down the page by either dragging them into a new location or using the up and down arrows. It was all good in this regard.
Related to the interface and workflow, I don’t know who got there first but the interface design is uncannily like Squarespace. The icon and button design are almost identical and if you didn’t know you were using Appy Pie then you’d think you were editing using Squarespace tools.
Who is it for?
Appy Pie is for any individual or small business who wants to create a website. It’s ideally suited towards creatives who have no coding experience and would benefit from a graphical user interface to help them with the design.
(Image credit: Future)
Buy it if...
You have no prior experience of website design
You want a simple interface
Don't buy it if...
You need up-to-date stylish templates
You want a fast and problem-free workflow
The Verdict
6
out of 10
Appy Pie review: website builder has limited features and not particularly affordable
Appy Pie is a relative newcomer to the website builder market and unfortunately, it shows in its limited feature set and lack of performance. The interface is relatively easy to navigate but can, at times, be painfully slow. For this level of performance and a £48 per month price tag, I find it hard to understand why users would choose Appy Pie over and above the more capable Wix and Squarespace.
Paul is a digital expert. In the 20 years since he graduated with a first-class honours degree in Computer Science, Paul has been actively involved in a variety of different tech and creative industries that make him the go-to guy for reviews, opinion pieces, and featured articles. With a particular love of all things visual, including photography, videography, and 3D visualisation Paul is never far from a camera or other piece of tech that gets his creative juices going. You'll also find his writing in other places, including Creative Bloq, Digital Camera World, and 3D World Magazine.
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