This is a new DIY WordPress theme. Tbwhs.com tries it out first! Find out if it’s worth your time.
A lot of people are actually quite intimidated the first time they create a website. Let’s face it if your new to creating a website it’s going to cost you several thousand dollars to create one, if you pay a designer. Then it’s going to cost you $40 to $75 (per hour) for the designer to update it for you. If you want a professional logo design it’s going to cost you another $299 (from 99designs).
Clearly, the bill can get quite high, quickly. However, there is a DIY option that is completely free; if you’re using InMotion for your web hosting. I got an inside look at BoldGrid, and I will show you some of the features this WordPress theme has. In this full BoldGrid review you’re going to see what this free WordPress theme can do for you.
BoldGrid is a special WordPress theme developed by InMotion Hosting and WebHostingHub (which I have been supporting for over seven years now). Makes it possible for a newbie to make a professional looking WordPress websites easily. There are many paid options like Headway and Divi that you can use, but this is going to cost you a yearly expense. BoldGrid is not a premium WordPress framework, though. A lot of businesses are tight on money, and this is an option that you could take.
Advantages of BoldGrid
There are quite a few advantages to using BoldGrid to build a website. I will list the pros down below.
Free Framework. You don’t have to pay a one-time licensing fee or yearly licensing fee. The number one advantage is it’s completely free if you are using InMotion Hosting or WebHostingHub (aside from images and a premium form builder which I will discuss down below).
Lots of Images. You can use something called “Copywrite Coins” which are images provided by BoldGrd. Saves you time from looking at the various high-resolution stock photography websites. These pictures will be watermarked. However, if you want to use the images with no watermark you can do so by paying a small fee. There is no need for an editing tool, all they have to do is pick out how big that they desire for their picture to be and the system will download the picture right away and crop the image for them. For the users that do not want to use the images that BoldGrid offers, they can use any of their choices, whether it be free or premium.
Mobile Responsive. The BoldGrid framework is mobile responsive. You can preview exactly how your website will look on these devices. I have also written an article which shows you how to check your site on mobile devices here.
Drag and Drop. BoldGrid makes the process of creating a website an easy drag and drop process with its drag and drop design interface, which allows people who have never made a website before to build their WordPress website quickly. A lot of WordPress themes are not user-friendly at all (even though they state they are). The drag-and-drop function permits users to place the boxes where they want. Therefore the options for layouts are nearly limitless.
Staging Sections. For people that have experience developing and using WordPress sites, BoldGrid allows for more website customization. Plus, a website creator can set up a separate staging site for development and testing changes before implementing them into their live website.
Create Forms Easily. The form-builder feature is built by Ninja Forms. The BoldGrid connect search is an API that lets website builders put premium or free stock images right from their WordPress dashboard in a very timely manner.
Lots of Options. BoldGrid also provides a way to quickly customize a lot of areas of a website similar to the existing “WordPress Theme Customizer” but with a lot more options. It is also very easy to edit a BoldGrid Website. They have a button that is new for their users to use when creating their websites instead of using the standard WYSIWYG editor. This button gives the user the authority to put custom grids into on webpages or in posts. Also permits the user to create multiple columns layouts with buttons, text blocks, boxes, and images. BoldGrid is integrated with Paypal, has visitor analytics, sliders and galleries, social media integration, mapping tools, live chat features, digital download management, forum integration, and caching support (see caching plugins article).
Works With Plugins. Also, if a person wants to extend the functionality of their website with other third party plugins, they do not have even to bother thinking about issues with compatibility. BoldGrid will work with almost every WordPress plugin.
Smooth Migration. BoldGrid also allows their users to make a staging site that they can use for migrating a current website, or for testing out changes before moving to the customers live site. The website builder that uses BoldGrid to build their website maintains control and ownership of their BoldGrid website. Their website is theirs even if they no longer use InMotion or WebHostingHub to host their website. Therefore, if you decide to move to NameCheap, SiteGround, etc. your BoldGrid framework is still yours to keep.
Grids & Templates. Grids and layouts are typical in all website builders; BoldGrid is no different because they do offer lots of templates and grids. Like other builders, this has the functions to build a website design in grids and layouts. This site builder also has grids that are made in advance to save people that are a building a website time. This site builder also has prebuilt templates that may provide stunning ideas, and a person can create their design on those templates. Gives a site builder a jumpstart to creating their designs and ideas. The templates also have a demo mode which shows people what their website will look like with that design.
Disadvantage of BoldGrid
There is one drawback to using BoldGrid that I have found, but I don’t feel like it’s a big deal.
Couple Extra Steps. The downfall to using BoldGrid is there are a couple of extra steps you need to take to get started. However, I have provided the extra steps you’re going to need to take down below:
1. The first thing that a new user to BoldGrid has to do is to get a hosting account at InMotion Hosting or WebHostingHub. They will then be able to download BoldGrid using their hosting account technical number. This will be a seven digit number. It will look something like this:
https://secure1.inmotionhosting.com/amp/boldgrid/download/cid/######
2. Login to your WordPress dashboard.
3. Upload and activate it.
4. After it is installed to your WordPress site, then you will have to validate it using the BoldGrid Connect Key that they are given in their hosting account.
Example Sites/Demos
Getting Help with BoldGrid
It’s not a premium theme, so the personal support is a tad bit slower. BoldGrid does have a section on their website which is dedicated to helping you do different things with their framework. They have lots of documentation on their site at https://www.boldgrid.com/docs/ This shows you how to do anything you might be wanting to do. Also, you can check out their support section on their site at https://www.boldgrid.com/support/
Verdict
I have seen these types of services offered over the years, and they usually seem too good to be true. However, I found the process of creating a website with BoldGrid to be very easy and extremely dynamic. For the money, which is free you certainly can’t beat BoldGrid. The websites you can create with BoldGrid look very professional and come packed with lots of different features.
So, I do recommend BoldGrid to anyone that is looking for a free alternative to using a good DIY WordPress theme. This framework might be kind of new to the market, but it certainly will be getting better and better as the years go on. I found BoldGrid easy to work with and very powerful. You can sign up with InMotion and get a free domain name and start using BoldGrid today.
Great summery of what Boldgrid has to offer, thanks for the review!
Glad to see you’re liking BoldGrid 🙂
How do think BoldGrid stacks up to Headway? I’m a little unsure on if I should go ahead and spend the money for Headway or try BoldGrid.
To answer your question Headway is a “true” drag and draw framework. You simply drag and draw the way you want everything to be structured. There is more of learning curve that you will have to go through with Headway, as opposed to BoldGrid. Headway is going to cost you a yearly expense too. The support with Headway is better, because it’s a premium WordPress framework though. It’s kind of hard to compare the two because one is paid and the other is free.
Hope this helps in making your decision.