Ucraft Review

Launched in 2015, Ucraft is slowly gaining popularity among website builders. It has all the features you need to start a website, including ecommerce, blogging and form collection. It lacks the deep customization of Wix or Weebly, but with work it can make it onto our list of the best website builders.

That said, Ucraft stands out from the crowd thanks to its Logo Maker. The tool lets you create your own logo, which makes this builder a good choice for the business owner or entrepreneur who wants everything taken care of in one place.

In this Ucraft review, we’re going to delve into whether the platform is right for you.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Alternatives for Ucraft

Features

Ucraft’s doesn’t offer deep customization options, but there’s enough to help you get a website published. Some tools fall behind when compared to other builders, so let’s see if Ucraft has what you need.

Ucraft eCommerce

Though only available with a paid plan, Ucraft’s ecommerce engine is well-rounded. You can’t batch process orders, but the platform can do interesting things.

The main ecommerce dashboard works like a wizard that guides you through the process of setting up an online store. That’s good because it makes things easier for beginners.

A cool thing about Ucraft’s ecommerce engine is that you can add discounts or coupons to your store. That’s possible with other builders, but Ucraft makes it easy to do. That’s a big plus for emerging businesses that want to make a name for themselves.

It can also integrate with online selling platforms, such as eBay or Amazon, which helps you reach a wider audience.

While Ucraft rivals the big players in online commerce, it doesn’t offer the same control that Shopify does. If selling online is your bread and butter, we recommend trying Shopify, but not without reading our beginner’s guide to Shopify. It’s a complicated platform that’s hard master.

Ucraft Logo Maker

Ucraft’s logo maker is a cool feature that most website builders don’t offer.

You can upload your own logo, but Ucraft Logo Maker is easy to use and can provide high-quality results in no time. There’s no learning curve, so anyone can jump in and learn how to make their own logo as they go along.

You can edit fonts, font sizes, colors, titles and shapes among other visual elements. The process is similar to using Canva, so if you have experience with that, you’ll be able to hit the ground running.

If you’re not familiar with Canva, don’t stress it. Ucraft gives you step-by-step instructions on how to use its logo maker, so beginners can get into it.

Ucraft Blogging

The content management in Ucraft isn’t complex, but it does the job.

You can add blog posts under the “articles” section. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of options for optimizing individual posts and we have to say that the result isn’t aesthetically pleasing.

If blogging is something you want to focus on, you should try WordPress. That platform is a full-time content management system. It’s hard to master, though, so make sure to read our beginner’s guide to WordPress first.

All in all, Ucraft’s system isn’t as good as that of Voog or WordPress, but it’ll work well enough if your blog is a secondary concern to you.

People can comment on your updates using Disqus but not Facebook (or any other social media platform). If you’re looking for social media interaction, you may want to look elsewhere than Ucraft.

Ucraft Search Engine Optimization

Your ranking on Google will be negatively affected by the website’s code. Because the code is similar to other websites created with Ucraft, you won’t be as authoritative in Google’s eyes.

That can be avoided with a good search engine optimization tool, which Ucraft doesn’t have. It has a small SEO tool, but it’s far from what it should be.

If you have an online-first business and rely on organic search to get traffic, you’ll be better of with a different builder. Check out our Wix review for an alternative.

If you want to do it old school, WordPress could be a good choice, as well. Getting ranked with WordPress is efficient, but hard, so make sure to read our intermediate guide to using WordPress and our advanced guide to using WordPress.

Features Overview

Pricing

Free Ucraft Branding,Connect your domain,SSL security,Basic elements,Customize content,SEO app,Google Analytics,Add/change colors Details	FREE
Pro Website Everything in Free plus:50 Products,No Ucraft Branding,1 Multilingual website,All elements,Articles app,Invite team members,24/7 Support,Favicon,Google fonts,Embed HTML/CSS/JS,Password protected pages,On-site searcheffects,No transaction fee,Multi-currency sales,Real-time tracking,Manage orders & payments,Over 70 payment & shipping methods Details	1-year plan $ 10.00/ month $120.00 billed every year
Pro Shop Everything in Pro Website plus:1,000 Products,Enable discount coupons,Edit invoices,Store management app,Favorites/wishlist,Tax exemption,Reverse-charge VAT Details	1-year plan $ 21.00/ month $252.00 billed every year
BigCommerce Everything in Pro Shop plus:Unlimited products,Sell on eBay,Sell on Facebook,Sell on Yandex Details	1-year plan $ 39.00/ month $468.00 billed every year

Ucraft’s Free plan could be a long-term option for some users because it lets you connect your own domain. That’s rare among website builders, as most will make you use a subdomain if you don’t pay.

Free also features SSL security and allows you to add basic content to your website. A local enterprise, such as a restaurant or repair shop, would do just fine with it.

If you’re ready to spend money on Ucraft, you can upgrade to its Pro Website plan. It includes limited ecommerce options, the possibility to collaborate with partners on your website and an app market.

If you love Ucraft, we recommend upgrading to Pro Website. It allows you to use the platform to its full extent. The Pro Shop and BigCommerce plans aren’t complex. They offer increased bandwidth and ecommerce support, so we recommend them for people who are already using Ucraft and want to upgrade their online store.

What we love about Ucraft’s pricing is that you can try any plan for 14 days, free of charge. Overall, it has one of the best formulated offers out there.

Design & Tools

Ucraft’s editor is seamless and easy to learn. Its drag-and-drop system is self-explanatory and there are powerful features hidden behind the tabs.

To help you understand how the system works, we’ll talk about each section individually.

The “preview” button is quite intuitive and gives you a visitor’s view of your website. Compared to other website builders, it’s bland because you can’t prevent elements from showing on certain platforms, but it’s not terrible.

The “dashboard” tab is like your command center. It’ll be the tab you use the most, so let’s see what it can do.

Click it and you’ll be sent to a screen with subsections of options. From there, you can manage pages, blogging, ecommerce, SEO and other features. Because it takes you to a different screen, it breaks the workflow. Though annoying, that’s not a huge deal and you’ll get accustomed to the system after a while.

Plus, the dashboard is organized well. It allows you to quickly solve issues by accessing the respective section.

The “blocks” tab features preformatted page parts that you can insert anywhere, such as headers or an “about us” sections.

Like most website builders, Ucraft has a lot of tools that help beginners get a website published quickly. The “blocks” section is no exception, so Ucraft could be a good choice for you.

The “elements” tab is filled with widgets, such as forms, images, text boxes and buttons.

Though it’s not as extensive as that of Wix, Ucraft’s elements collection is decent. Besides adding regular elements, such as forms, you can integrate your website with PayPal, Typeform, Instagram and other apps from the “elements” tab.

That allows you to quickly set up a blog page because you can integrate platforms that allow your users to stay up to date with what you’re doing.

The “colors” tab is straightforward. You can change the style of your page, mainly by modifying the background color.

It’s easy to make changes in the “colors” tab, but the changes you can make depend on which template you’re using. Our problem with the “colors” section is that the options you have are limited, so it doesn’t warrant an editor subsection.

The “effects” tab contains animations that you can apply to elements on your page.

It’s a nice add-on, seeing as not many website builders feature such a tool. You can make elements fade in or out like you would with a PowerPoint presentation, and everything is self-explanatory.

The “progress” tab is another innovative feature that helps you hit the ground running when going online.

In the “progress” section, you can follow up on tasks that help you get a decent website published. It features milestones for your online presence and instructions on how to reach them. All in all, the feature helps newcomers optimize their workflow, which we have to praise Ucraft for.

Besides the dashboard, Ucraft boasts 63 templates that you can use to kickstart your website design.

Ucraft’s templates are called themes. They’re stunning and optimized for mobile, but we advise taking care when choosing one. Once you start editing the website, you can’t change the theme.

That’s a bummer because templates can be edited. You can modify a page’s width, button styles, fonts and even the distance between elements, but you’ll never know if a theme is right for your website after edits until it’s too late.

If you want similar aesthetic results, you could try Weebly or Squarespace. Both offer stunning results and more control, so make sure to read our Weebly review and Squarespace review.

Ease of Use

To get started with Ucraft, all you have to do is choose a template and fill in a few fields. The platform is easy to use. You can sign up with social media or Google accounts, you don’t start with a blank canvas and the platform has a cool start-up checklist.

Milestones on the checklist are things like adding a logo, setting up metadata or using blocks. For checklist enthusiasts, the gamified version of a tutorial will work well. You can access those milestones from the “progress” tab in the editor, which is helpful because most people won’t be able to publish something in one sitting.

Once you’re done with that, you’ll be taken to the editor. Ucraft’s tools don’t require learning, and you can overcome any hurdle as long as you have five minutes to spare. Ucraft’s ease of use is one of its biggest perks.

The interface is responsive and looks modern. One problem we have with it is that certain customization options are accessible from the editor, while others can only be found under the “designer tools.” That’s not a big problem, but it works against editing quickly.

If you want something simpler, read our Site123 review. It’s not drag-and-drop, you just make binary changes to certain parameters, which makes everything easier to use.

Support

Ucraft’s support is not award-winning, but it’s not bad, either. If you run into problems while using the software, you can check its knowledgebase.

It features 10 categories, which contain articles detailing processes and tools for each section. Though it’s not deep enough, you’re covered on most fronts. The articles that do exist are well-written and support the points made with informative images and .gifs.

If the knowledgebase doesn’t work for you, you can contact Ucraft. Over chat, you’re bound to receive a reply within minutes and request submissions get answered in a matter of a few hours to a few days.

The responses Ucraft agents give are swift and helpful, so there’s not much to complain about. Some people won’t like not being able to call for help, but most people can get by with the channels available.

If live support is important for you, Voog offers similar results to Ucraft, but also features live chatting and calling. If that sounds great to you, read our Voog review.

The Verdict

Ucraft is a functional tool. You can get a decent website published quickly and there is room for retouches and polishing afterward.

That said, SEO, ecommerce and design limitations make the software a secondary choice for people that run an online business. You don’t get the same control as you would with Wix or Squarespace.

If you want something different, read our best web hosting providers article. We recommend WordPress, but read our guide and see if something else works for you.

Do you agree with our review of Ucraft? If not, let us know why in the comments below. Thanks for reading.