Hotsnow
Building and designing your company website can be a daunting and time-consuming task. In this Hotsnow review, we’ll take a look at one alternative approach from this forward-thinking Finnish company.
Hotsnow offers a monthly subscription that grants users direct access to a team of web developers, designers, and marketers. Depending on the level of subscription, this team will provide hands-on, expert help to do everything from tweaking your existing website to creating a brand-new one that meets your needs and goals.
- Want to try Hotsnow? Check out the website here
A continued subscription can even see the team manage your site permanently, allowing you to devote your time to other areas of the business. Essentially, Hotsnow aims to offer the benefit of an in-house development team at a fraction of the cost.
For an idea of some of the other website building options out there, the majority of which require the user to build the sites themselves, check out our best website builders guide.
- Also check out our roundup of the best web hosting
Plans and pricing
It’s worth noting that all subscription options for Hotsnow require a minimum six-month subscription, with the idea that prolonged access to Hotsnow’s array of experts will ensure that customers end up with the most effective website that aligns with their online marketing goals.
The Basic package comes in at $200 per month. Tailored to entrepreneurs and small businesses with a single branded website, the Basic package includes ten monthly design tasks, ten technical tasks, three revisions, and an average turnaround time of one to three days.
For $400 per month, the Growth plan is geared towards businesses with up to five websites. For this, the turnaround time is the same as the Basic plan, but you get unlimited design and technical tasks, with no caps on revisions or number of brands. The Premium plan, at $800 per month, is the highest level, and it incorporates unlimited websites, custom UX development, and a monthly consultation call.
Features
Before beginning any design work, the Hotsnow team will arrange a discovery session to ensure they know what you want to get from your new or existing website. This is especially useful for those who are clear on their business goals and target market, but aren't necessarily adept at translating that into effective UX and web design.
The Hotsnow team will therefore go through exhaustive initial research to learn more about your business, your target customer, and the leading industry trends. The Hotsnow team then aims to have a design idea for approval within one to two weeks.
If you have an existing website in need of some TLC, the Hotsnow team will be happy to work with what you already have, with WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, and Tilda among the platforms they are compatible with.
Design services include updating themes, correcting errors, adding forms, editing templates, and creating landing pages. From a technical perspective, Hotsnow offers to resolve hosting issues or slow loading problems, optimize images, and even integrate third-party tools like Google Analytics and payment gateway options like PayPal or Stripe. The Growth and Premium packages even include automation tasks like A/B testing and conversion funnels.
For $300 per month, customers can access Hotsnow's SEO services package. This includes regular monitoring and analysis of your website to discover where improvements can be made, including backlink analysis and keyword recommendations.
Just as comprehensively, the SEO add-on also includes an in-depth analysis of up to three of your competitors’ websites, to see areas where your company can take advantage of rivals’ weaknesses.
Support
Whatever plan you sign up for, all customers will be allocated a dedicated project manager who will be on hand to answer any questions you have or collect feedback during a user-centered design process. Included in this is a copywriting service to help you find the right words for your site.
What’s more, If the idea of logging on to a website content management system (CMS) sends you into a cold sweat, the Hotsnow team can also be on hand to manage and maintain your site without you needing to touch it ever again.
Their website management service is available every business day, organized via a useful task management app. This app allows customers to easily log design or technical requests for the Hotsnow team to tackle within one to three business days.
Security
If you’re requesting Hotsnow to make upgrades to an existing site, expect this to include areas in which you can improve site speed and also security. If the company deems the issues to be related to low-quality hosting choices, their team will gladly recommend alternatives. For sites built entirely by Hotsnow, it promises that only premium hosting will be used, ensuring better loading speeds and reduced downtime.
The competition
In terms of high-profile website builders like Wix, Weebly, or Squarespace, Hotsnow is offering something entirely different with a hands-on, personal service that does not require the customer to lift a finger unless they wish to. In this regard, Hotsnow shares more similarities with Network Solutions—a website builder with a design team on hand— or a managed web hosting service, but with additional creative zeal.
Final verdict
For those who’d like to have a more direct influence on their site design and content, and who enjoy the thought of building something themselves, traditional drag-and-drop website builders like GoDaddy or Squarespace might be a better—and cheaper—option than Hotsnow.fi.
But for those who are perfectly happy trusting the pros on this and letting them continually adapt and improve your website to align with the goals of your business, then the additional expense of an experienced Hotsnow offering can quickly feel like great value compared to the time, and stress of doing it on your own.
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