Build a Jimdo Website: Step-by-Step Tutorial

Having a professional website is essential for any business or personal project today. If you want to get online without hiring a developer or learning to code, Jimdo is a capable and beginner-friendly option. This guide walks through the full process demonstrated in the tutorial video above—from account creation to publishing your site under your own domain—using a café website as the working example.

If you are weighing your options, it is also worth reading the step-by-step Wix website tutorial to compare how the two builders handle design and setup.

Start by clicking the Jimdo link to create a free account. Registration takes only a few seconds—you can sign up with Google, Facebook, or Apple ID. After signing up, Jimdo sends a confirmation email; clicking the link in that email brings you directly to the dashboard.

At the dashboard you will see two options:

• Website Builder – a guided, drag-and-drop editor with no coding required, and the focus of this tutorial.
• Editor for Experts – for users comfortable writing HTML or CSS who want full manual control.

For most beginners, the Website Builder is the right choice. Click Start Now to proceed.

Jimdo asks a short series of questions to shape your site before you even open the editor. In the tutorial, the example site is built for Julian's Café. Here is what the setup flow looks like:

1. Purpose – personal project, hobby, or business.
2. Business name – for example, Julian's Cafe.
3. Business category – type cafe and select it from the list.
4. Website goals – options include promoting a physical location, accepting online bookings, or encouraging visitors to get in touch. Multiple goals can be selected.
5. Facebook import – if you have a Facebook page, you can import photos from it at this stage. Skipping this step is fine if you do not.
6. Topic – choose the closest match (e.g., Cafe & Bakery) to help Jimdo generate relevant layouts.
7. Style – choose from options such as modern, minimal, or fresh.
8. Colors – pick a starting palette. This can be changed later in the global design settings.
9. Pages – select the pages you want, such as Contact and Menu. Additional pages can be added later.

Jimdo then generates several design options. Browse them, and if you are not satisfied you can go back and regenerate. Once you select a design, Jimdo opens the editor and your site structure is ready to customize.

Before editing any text or images, go to the Design menu. Setting design choices globally means you only have to make decisions about colors, fonts, and button shapes once—they apply everywhere on the site automatically.

Colors

Jimdo provides several preset color templates. Selecting one instantly updates all buttons, backgrounds, and accents across the site. You can also:

• Extract colors from a photo – upload an image (such as a coffee photo) and Jimdo generates a matching palette automatically.
• Enter custom brand colors manually.
• Use AI-generated palettes for inspiration.

Fonts

Choose from a range of font pairings. The tutorial favors a clean, readable font over decorative newspaper-style options. You can also adjust the global font size—useful if your audience includes older visitors.

Button Shape

Options include sharp-cornered, rounded, or circular. Rounded is the default recommendation shown in the tutorial.

Once you are happy with these global settings, click Done. You will not need to touch individual button or headline colors again unless you want exceptions.

Hero Section

Click on the headline in the hero section to select and edit the text. In the tutorial, the placeholder is replaced with Welcome to Julian's Cafe. You can change the text style (for example, switching to a medium heading so it fits on one line) and apply formatting such as bold or italic.

The hero section also contains a paragraph and a button:

• Paragraph – replace the placeholder copy with your own description. The transcript mentions using a tool like ChatGPT to draft copy if needed.
• Button – click the button to edit its label (e.g., Contact Us) and link it to a destination. Jimdo supports linking buttons to internal pages, booking services, downloadable files, phone numbers, URLs, or email addresses. For a contact button, select the Contact page from the page list.

Background Image

Click the background image to replace it. You have three sources:

• Jimdo stock photos – search by keyword (e.g., cafe) and select from the results.
• Import from Facebook or Google – pulls photos linked to your accounts.
• Upload from device – upload directly from your computer.

After inserting a new image, use the eye icon on the left panel to show or hide elements within the section (such as a secondary button). Use the design icon to switch between layout variants for the hero section and to apply a different color from your palette to that specific section.

Additional Sections

Scrolling below the hero reveals more content blocks. Each works the same way: click to edit text, click images to replace them. The three-dot menu on any section lets you move it up or down the page, duplicate it, or delete it.

To add a new section anywhere on the page, click Add Block. Jimdo's AI companion suggests contextually relevant blocks. The available block categories include:

In the tutorial, a Menu block and a Gallery block are added to the homepage. For the menu, items, descriptions, and prices can be typed directly into the block. For the gallery, you can upload your own photos or use stock images.

To rearrange blocks, use the three-dot menu on each section and select Move Up or Move Down. To remove a block you no longer need, select Delete Block.

Access all pages from the Pages menu in the editor sidebar. The café template comes with a Contact page and a Menu page pre-built.

Contact Page

The contact page already contains a form with fields for name, email, phone number, and message. To make it more useful:

• Add a Map block and type in your address—Jimdo's embedded map will jump to the correct location.
• Replace or delete the default image section and use that space for opening hours by adding a text block.

Menu Page

Upload your own food and drink images and fill in details for appetizers, mains, and desserts. Block order can be rearranged using the same three-dot menu system used on the homepage.

Adding a New Page

Click Add Page in the Pages menu, choose a template (such as a Team page), and Jimdo populates it with relevant placeholder content. Add team member names, photos, and descriptions. New pages are automatically added to the navigation bar.

The navigation bar updates automatically as you add pages. Click into the navigation area to edit the site name or logo that appears there. You can also reorder navigation items to control the sequence in which pages appear.

The footer works similarly—click to edit contact details, social links, or any additional information you want displayed at the bottom of every page.

When you are satisfied with your site, it is time to publish. During setup, Jimdo prompts you to purchase a domain directly through the platform, so you do not need a separate domain registrar.

To connect your own domain (e.g., juliancafe.com), you will need to upgrade to a paid plan—this is standard across website builders, as custom domains require a premium subscription. The tutorial notes that new customers may see a limited-time discount offer when they go through the upgrade flow, particularly via the affiliate link. Paid plans include options such as the Startup plan (domain included) and the Grow plan (which adds SEO tools and personal support).

If you are not ready to commit, you can build and preview your entire site for free and only upgrade when you are ready to go live under your own domain.

For a comparable look at how the upgrade and publishing flow works on another major platform, see the Wix premium plan purchase guide.

Exact pricing is displayed during the upgrade flow and may vary by region or promotion.

Jimdo suits people who want a clean, professional site online quickly without touching code. The AI-assisted setup is particularly useful for small business owners—cafés, local services, freelancers—who have a clear business category and defined goals. The global design system keeps sites visually consistent even for first-time builders.

Users who need advanced e-commerce, highly custom layouts, or a large content library may find the platform limiting compared to more feature-rich builders. For a sense of what a more expansive builder offers, the Wix Review 2026 provides an honest comparison point.

Jimdo is a solid choice for beginners who want a professional-looking website online without a steep learning curve. The AI-guided setup removes the blank-page problem, global design settings prevent inconsistency, and the all-in-one domain registration keeps things simple. Build your site for free to explore the editor, then upgrade when you are ready to publish under your own domain.

Start building your website with Jimdo →