Our site went down and we followed all of Webstarts' own documentation to fix the DNS/SSL setup — everything was correct on our end, but the site stayed broken (redirect loop, SSL still blocked). Support never replied to our email, and their chat assistant just kept saying "send an email" in a loop. No way to reach an actual human. Very disappointing for a paid hosting service.
JC
Joe C.
Rip Off and Totally Confusing
Paid $40.00 to begin a website / store. Supposed to be a one month ( month to month ) subscription, but I can not go foward with my ecommerce store unless I upgrade....I HAVE ALREADY PAID the first month. Also, Webstarts pricing is "all over the map" ...One screen pops up...and it is $40.00 per month....then another window says it is $50.00 per month...Im taking my business to GO DADDY.
MS
Mountain Shot P.
Dishonest Company – Lost Our Domains and Thousands of Dollars
Our experience with WebStarts has been devastating for our business. After investing years of work and thousands of dollars, we could no longer afford their increasing prices and decided to move our website elsewhere. WebStarts refused to release our domains and instead sold them to foreign gaming companies.
We lost our web presence, business materials, and credibility overnight — everything we built was destroyed. I’m shocked that an American company would operate this unethically. We’ve had to start completely over.
Do not trust WebStarts with your website or your business. They are dishonest and have no regard for their customers.
Response from WebStartsOct 7, 2025
Like a lot of businesses we've had to raise our prices over the last several years. You're able to transfer domains away from WebStarts without requesting we release them. We obviously didn't sell your domain names. If they expired from non-payment it's possible someone else registered them.
TF
Tyson F.
Someone hacked my two Webstarts sites…
Someone hacked my two Webstarts sites "very recently" and put up nudes on both. BTW, I had been using Webstarts since 1998 I saw the nudes on the second site and tried to delete them ASAP from the Webstarts editor and I was successful in deleting them but the pictures continued to show up for some reason on the first page day after day after day even though as I said I deleted them and then someone put up nudes on my first website as well with the same situation happening. So I was TOS'd and banned. I am now using a more reputable website maker but I don't want to say which one as I could be hacked again. The URL's are gone so I can't enter them and if I enter my real name or real e-mail address I will MOST LIKELY BE HARASSED by Webstarts I know this as that is what happened to me! The incentive I have to post this is the God awful truth of the situation and the God awful customer service I got from Webstarts. Adam Barger are you related to Sonny Barger the leader of the Hells Angels who recently passed away? You must be a relative of his the way I was treated! I am already freaking out that Webstarts will find out who I really am and start harassing me AGAIN! THOSE PEOPLE ONCE THEY GET ON YOUR CASE NEVER GIVE UP AND ARE LIKE PIT BULLS. I had a paper route when I was 15 to 16 years old, The Hayward Daily Review in San Leandro, CA and I was bitten more than once so that's why I stated the pit bull thing. I hope this review makes it thru the censors at Truthpilot as it is legitimate but my wife is already telling me to cool it and to not say any more as frankly way before this whole situation occurred I had a nervous breakdown over my former lover girl Sally Ann Nichols who came back into my life... *Mix - Teena Marie - Lovergirl* ...and I am under the care of a very famous psychologist who wishes to remain anonymous. The second song "You Dropped A Bomb On Me" is perfect for what Sally did to me. I don't have a scanner anymore as my old scanner was not compatible with Windows 10 and I tossed it. I am as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof if you get my drift. Even my son Marcus is telling me to "Relax Dad!" My son just took an early retirement as a Sergeant in the L.A. Police Department.Marcus is like a white George Foreman with his hands! I met Big George Foreman before his recent untimely death a long time ago and he said I was "Looking good!" I also have uncontrollable seizures and I have to have my meds nearby to calm me down. I do have a drivers license but with all my broken bones especially my broken left femur I can't drive. My father who committed suicide in 1995 and I are both former boxers. I once got into it with my Dad and almost knocked him out after he suckered punched me after he accused of not seeing my grandparents earlier in the day in a rest home. Of course I had seen them about two hours earlier than when my father went to see them. They insisted I hadn't dropped by! Of course I had been there but they were both senile by then and my father didn't like me telling him the truth so he sucker punched me dislocating my jaw. My jaw is so jacked that if I yawn my jaw gets stuck in the open position and i have to hit my jaw hard with a fist to unlock it. He also knocked out one of my teeth. I did a Roberto Duran on him but that is water under the bridge. I was always a big fan of "Hands of Stone" Roberto Duran more than Leonard, Hearns or even Hagler! Right now I have to relax so I am going to watch Chris Eubank vs Conor Benn and then UFC Fight Night both by streaming and a load more boxing, bare knuckle boxing and MMA all by streaming. Jesus, even Dana White's SlapFight Championship Powder Keg was on! I never watch it except for comedy!
FR
Francis
No autosave. Lost my work and I had to satrt afresh.
You need to include autosave. If you load your page or the network fails, you will just lose your work. That is the worst thing about this website builder.
SB
Sylvia B.
Money Hungry Site
You're better off creating a site somewhere else that doesn't want to take your money every chance it gets. If you want to open an online store DO NOT use WebStarts. You have to upgrade your account in order to view all the information someone has submitted through a contact form. Not to mention if you need to view details of an order form that someone has submitted, you again need to have an upgraded account. Being able to view orders or look at contact submissions are the most important features, and usually come free on other sites. Dedicated most of my day finally getting my site together and ready, only for it to be a TOTAL waste of time.
Edit: My complaint isn't that the site isn't free. It's understandable that using a platform to make money would ask for an investment of some sort. My complaint is that the website isn't upfront about the fees to begin with. The only reason I found about certain features is because I tried to send test messages to myself and could not viee them. Even if the purpose of the site created is to make a blog, I don't see why simply being able to see a message that someone sent you through a form is hidden behind a paywall. As someone who's tried out Wix before and didn't like it too much, I would prefer it simply because compared to what WebStarts offer users for free, it's much more flexible and customizable, AND getting messages via contact form from readers/viewers is free.
Edit 2: To clarify, when I said customization I was referring to the overall customization of the site, not the forms. The only thing you really need a contact form to do is get the person's name, contact, and message sent (which you can view without upgrading). In regards to price, I feel wix's features that users the needs (and more) to run a site vs more luxury features that a user would want (like opening shop, domain names, etc) are balanced enough to not make at users (at least me personally) feel like they were backed into a corner. Also, I don't feel it's too necessary to contact directly since I already know WebStart's stance in the matter.
Response from WebStartsJul 13, 2019
It's true WebStarts is not for everyone. We provide more features with our free plan than any other website builder. In addition we offer live customer support with our phone number on the home page.
It's also true that we like to make money. After all, allowing us to clear a small profit from the upgraded sites ensures your website (free or not) will be around in the future. If you're only criteria for your website is for it to be free please absolutely choose another website builder.
Response to amended comment:
We'd love the opportunity to communicate directly as opposed to through this review. Wix doesn't allow you to customize your form to match your website. They have one style. Their paid plans are double the price and they don't put their phone number on their website or take calls. Here's what other people on Trustpilot have to say about their application. https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.wix.com
DO
Don
Dont expect customer service here
Dont expect customer service here. Totally rude from a guy named "Steve".
Also are not secure. I paid for my subscription using two different credit cards and both were hacked the same day. I do not recommend at all.
Response from WebStartsJan 29, 2019
We always do our best to help customers. We're real people based in the US. We don't store credit card numbers. We use Stripe Elements which creates a customer ID. We literally never have a customer's card number. If your card was compromised it wasn't because you gave it to us.
ST
Stealthyone
Webstarts total RIP-OFF!!!
Webstarts recently made two unauthorized charges- EARLY and without my permission! I did NOT 'officially renew' as I'd been EXTREMELEY dissatisfied- especially after talking to some 'moron' by phone who didn't know his a** from his elbow, was very 'wiseguy' attitude etc! So, they totally deleted our site ( which the basic site is supposed to be FREE!! Their audio sucks and I don't like the fact the supposed 'OWNER' is VERY personable leading up to signing up for a 'payed account' ( NOT worth it!!) but after one joins... does NOT answer e-mails.... MONEY-HUNGRY NASTY SITE!!! STAY AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Had to CANCEL my debit card after my banks FRAUD/DETECTION team caught 'suspicious activity' on my account which resulted in a MULTITUDE of headaches and having to wait for a NEW debit-card for 9 days!
Response from WebStartsNov 25, 2017
Wow, I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience. I've tried to find the conversations to which you refer but the email address used with this review doesn't turn up any results. I'm the owner of the company and I don't recall having any conversations in the context of your case. I can say an automated email is sent from my account asking if you're completely satisfied a day after you support case is closed. If you would like to try and resolve any outstanding issue or vent even further I can be reached at [email protected]. I'm sure we can get to the bottom of this as 94% of our customers leave positive reviews.