Welcome to our Solo Build It Review!
If you have been doing some research on this platform, you will see a huge list of people with different opinions on Solo Build It. Some people love it, some people hate it and then there are those who are just trying to promote it to earn a buck or two.
First off, it’s great to see that you’re doing your research before buying into any “seemingly good” product.
That’s how you avoid scams and find only legitimate ways to make money online!
To be completely transparent with you, we’re not associated with Solo Build It in any form. We’re not here to pitch or sell you anything.
Instead, we want to reveal to you what this platform has to offer, the pros and cons, and everything else you need to know to make an informed decision as to whether this is right for you…
Let’s get started with a quick product overview…
Solo Build It Review Summary
Product Name: Solo Build It
Founder: Ken Evoy, in 1997
Product Type: All-in-One Business Builder
Price: $29.99/month or $299/year
Best For: Aspiring Business Owners
Summary: Solo Build It is a membership program, that provides you with training, tools, and support to build your own online business.
The problem is, there is a very mixed view on this program/ It is quite restrictive and whilst it is a good option, it’s not the best option…
Rating: 78/100
Recommended? Yes & No
Table of Contents
What is Solo Build It?
Solo Build It is a membership program. It provides you with training, tools and support to build your own online business from nothing. It is advertised as an All-in-One platform as it includes everything you would need without any third-party tools – website builder, website hosting and a keyword research tool.
As part of any product, we do our research and you might find it interesting to know that Solo Build It used to be called Site Build It. No why would a company go through the pain of changing its branding…?
This is where you realise, that Site Build It had quite a negative feeling online. Quite frankly, it wasn’t living up to expectations. The reputation of the company was being affected, and people were being put off the program.
So, it went through a revamp and has come back out as Solo Build It. Seems like a logical decision. You want people to trust your business, so if it is the right thing to do, I can understand it.
Inside Solo Build It
SBI teaches people a process called C-T-P-M.
- Content – Your website, blog, posts, etc.
- Traffic – The different methods to getting visitors to your website
- Pre–Sell – Developing trust and a relationship between you and your potential customers
- Monetise – Converting visitors into buyers
Whilst an experience marketer will understand the importance of these steps, a beginner would probably look at that and think ‘what does all that mean?’
If I explain it another way, borrowing some knowledge from Wealthy Affiliate (Our No.1 Recommended Product). This process is much easier to understand.
- Choose an interest of yours that you could target a niche market from
- Build a website all about that niche
- Create Content, get them ranked on Google and then drive traffic to that website
- Recommended relevant affiliate products to your visitors and turn them into buyers
So, both WA & SBI have very similar concepts. They both teach people how to get started online by building websites, creating content and driving traffic. Which will result in you making money.
That is how SBI works, which will hopefully end up with you earning money. I personally recommend WA more, and I’ll explain that later in the review.
How Does Solo Build It Work?
The main training is called the ‘Action Guide’. This is a 10-day course guiding you through building and monetising your website.
Whilst it states that, please keep in mind you will learn how to monetise your website. You will not start earning in 10 days. We would all love to earn within 10-days, but that is not feasible.
They will provide you with the information and knowledge to earn money – you need to do all the hard work to go and get it.
Let’s have a look at what is covered in the 10-day Action Guide:
- Day 1: Master the All-Important Basics
- Day 2: Develop Your Best Site Concept
- Day 3: Brainstorm More Profitable Page Topics
- Day 4: Investigate & Plan Monetisation Topics
- Day 5: Refine Your Site Concept & Register Your Domain Name
- Day 6: Build a Website That Gets a Click
- Day 7: Build Free Traffic from a Variety of Sources
- Day 8: Develop Relationships
- Day 9: Know Your Visitors
- Day 10: Monetise
The training covers a number of topics you will need to know, especially the bits around using their unique site builder.
The Solo Build It Tools…
SBI does offer a WordPress version, but as their main program is a different platform to WordPress all of their tools are built for that. WordPress has tons of plugins that you can utilise for your website. (Plugins give you functionality on your website). So SBI have built their own:
- Brainstorm it – keyword/niche research tool
- SiteDesigner – Website Templates
- SiteBuilder – Drag and drop page builder
- Business Centre
- Traffic Centre
- PageManager
- InfoCentre
- DownloadCentre
Within each category, they also include some other tools for specific purposes. Including social media tools, autoresponders, auto blogging functions, etc.
This makes the tools on offer really good for the price of $29.99 a month. The only downside is they are quite technical and more geared to a more experience marketer.
Haven't Made Your First $1 Yet?
How Much Does Solo Build It Cost?
Having one SBI style domain will set you back $29.99 a month or $299 a year. With all of the training available to you. Which is great if you only want one domain. But Gem and I run 2 websites, that would cost us double. But we are thinking of opening a couple more, for more opportunities, this wouldn’t be worth it for any more than one site.
It does cost you less if you choose the WordPress option, which is $17 a month or $149 a year. But you need to find your own hosting with this option.
They also used to offer a 30-day free trial, but this has changed and now if you are unhappy you need to provide proof as to why you are not happy to get a refund.
What We Liked About Solo Build It
Here’s what we liked about Solo Build It:
#1 90-day Money Back Guarantee
They give you a solid 3 months to test out their platform, and if you are not happy you can get your money back. Which is a great think. But you also need to fork out the money upfront. I would be interested to see whether many do actually get their money back.
Whereas you can try out Wealthy Affiliate for free, no credit card required.
#2 Great Training
SBI’s action guide does offer a lot of great and detailed training complete with step-by-step guide. Offering a selection of videos and written training it can fit in with you.
#3 Established Brand
It actually started out as a series of books, before creating a Site Builder with Site Build It in 2001. Renaming itself in 2017 to Solo Build It. But regardless of the change, it shows an established brand with a lot of experience in online business.
#4 Affordable Price
It is a great price considering the training they offer in their program. You get everything you need to get stated online for $29.99/month or $299/year. The 90-day money back guarantee is a nice touch too. There are many products out there that are charging hundreds of dollars for information that is not as good as this.
What We Didn't Like About Solo Build It
Here’s what we didn’t like about Solo Build It:
#1 Hard to Navigate
SBI does have a poor navigation system for its platform. For example, it isn’t that easy to find where to actually log in. Finding you need to use the email you receive to log in to the platform. I would also say that a beginner will find it hard to get their head around the platform. it can be overwhelming to find what you are looking for
#2 Inactive Community
When you are starting out you want to be able to ask as many questions as you can and get quick responses. But the SBI private forum is not that active. Some members have complained about the lack of responses when they do ask a question. You can also find that if it is filled with only newbies, you will not get the answers you need.
Forums are hard to keep active, but Wealthy Affiliate have found great ways of keeping their platform active. With a Pay-it-Forward mentality, you will always get a response. The forum is always active 24/7 and you will always get a response. Check it out here.
#3 Old School Websites
One of the things you find when you start researching the sites that are active from SBI, they are quite dated and do not stand up to sites that are utilising WordPress for example.
I found this one site and looking at it would put me off straightaway. See it for yourself – Kids Partycabin.
My point is that if you cannot grab the attention of the reader within a couple of seconds, you are onto a losing strategy. You are going to want to build a website that looks the part for your online business – some of the themes and designs will not lead to this.
#4 You are Locked into Their Site Platform
Creating a website using their SiteDesigner and BlockBuilder software gives you a website that is nothing like WordPress, ( you can buy SBI for WP). But you will find that many web hosting places will not accept them on their hosting. So, you are stuck on their hosting for your site. This means you are tied to them for life.
Haven't Made Your First $1 Yet?
Is Solo Build It a Scam?
Solo Build It is not a scam, let’s clear that up straightaway. It is a comprehensive training platform which will help beginners get started online. I do find the fact they are still pushing their own Site Builders a bit of a problem.
WordPress is used by over 50% of websites for a reason. It is so versatile and gives people freedom to achieve what they are particularly after. But by focusing on their own platform, they do lock you in. If you ever decide you want to grow and try something else, you cannot take your site with you easily.
Part of being a business owner is making your own decisions about what you use, and this is taken away from you in certain incidents with this program.
A Better Option...
Training is essential if you want to get the best start online, and whilst Solo Build It is a good option, it definitely isn’t the best option in our opinion.
Having an active community of people to bounce ideas off, with relevant training, tools, and support are key to success.
We personally prefer Wealthy Affiliate, it is the same training platform that helped us create a 4-Figure Monthly Passive Income Stream. Here’s our full review, if you want to check it out some more…
Thanks for checking out our Solo Build It Review. If you have any questions, comments or any experience with SBI that you would like to share, then please write them in the comments section below. 😉
Hello there. Thank you for sharing your Solo Build It review. This membership program seems quite interesting. I have read a review about it before now and I’m to read this one too. The stuff I don’t like about it is the lack of quality support and more importantly, the program, tools and tutorials are outdated (and they don’t update stuffs regularly).
Wealthy Affiliate is the best thing that happened to me.
Hi Barry,
the support could do with some work on, but that means reinvigorating the community and forums. I wouldn’t say that their training is out of date?? It is very useful if you are using their sitebuilder program and such. But as most are after a WordPress site, there may be better options.
thanks
John
Sounds like a good program to start an online business to me, too bad their support is lousy. That’s the one important thing you need when you start online as a newbie, SUPPORT. When you are left alone with your questions, the training might be excellent, you are drowning anyway. For advanced internet marketers, who do not have to rely on the support it might be an great opportunity. I read that your no #1 recommendation does have it all. Training, security AND support. And the pricing is in the same category. I would know what I would choose!
Loes
Hey Loes,
thanks for checking out my review and leaving some thoughts. Support is a key ingredient of this, no one will succeed without it. Yes, we do most of the work alone but without support it will feel very hard.
Being able to ask questions and get the right answers quickly also allows you to feel empowered, rather than useless. Wealthy Affiliate is my recommendation because of this support, and a number of other reasons too.
thanks again
John
Great post and good info.
I heard about Solo Build a few times already, since I am in an affiliate group at facebook.
I never knew if it was good or not so I decided to look for more info.
Now for what I see, this isn’t a scam and pretty cheap for what it covers, but it can’t compete to my favorite.
And that is and will remain Wealthy Affiliate.
But anyway, thanks for sharing!
Thanks Emmanuel,
It is an established brand and they do get a lot right – but the reason that I think Wealthy Affiliate reflects so highly against them is because of the passion of the owners Kyle and Carson. The updates are always thought out and useful, and they know what works and aren’t afraid of sharing it.
it shows from the way the community works. it is a great place to work at.
thanks
John
That has to be the best review I have seen for SBI, I know because I looked closely at SBI before I started with Wealthy Affiliate.
Your preference for WA over SBI is clearly explained in a no nonsense style, your reasons are validated and without rubbishing SBI you point to the benefits of WA.
My primary reason for not going with SBI is due to the proprietary nature of their website builder and the fact that there were limited options to easily transfer this across to another platform if desired.
The SBI pricing I found to be quite sharp, less than WA, but when push came to shove the training and member activity just did not cut it.
If WA was not in operation SBI would give you a fantastic starting place and an opportunity to grow your business, however, WA does exist and it offers all that and a whole lot more.
Hey Steve,
thanks for checking out my review and leaving your thoughts.
You’re right, if WA wasn’t around we would be very limited with options really. Their website builder is really the thing that gets in the way mostly. But their community and support needs more interaction if someone is going to succeed.
thanks
John
I have been checking out the Solo build it platform and ended up on your review. I really like how you enumerate everything in an easy to understand fashion, it has saved me a lot of searching and time. I see from your article that it is both well made, has good training and is affordable.
There is one thing I am not so sure about, and it’s their own Site Builder. I prefer the way that WordPress let’s you go from theme to theme without loosing your original content. If this is one thing that would get me to turn away from them it would be this exact reason.
You also mention the lack of response on their private forum. I have not been on their forum so I don’t really have anything to compare it to. You do recommend Wealthy Affiliate as an alternative, especially for beginners. What about the interactions between the members at Wealthy Affiliate, is it better than the Solo build it forums?
Hey Denis,
thanks for checking out my review and leaving some comments. I do worry about people getting locked in with their sitebuilder. you can only really use apps that they are happy with. You do only get limited choices with them, even though they are good for their sitebuilder. They do offer a WordPress option, but hosting isn’t included.
I have to say, the community, live chat and support that we get at Wealthy Affiliate is awesome. Everyone needs help and support at times, but with the number of ambassadors and experts in the WA community, you get an instant response to any question you can have. We all have a Pay-it-forward mentality, so we are always trying to help anyone who needs it.
My research showed that the community at Solo Build It is not as active, and people do struggle to get their questions answered. But as a newbie, I was asking loads of questions everyday and needed the support from WA to be where I am today.
thanks
John
This is a very good review! I wish there were more reviews like this since so many people fall into a trap with all these scams that lure people into fake online programs where there promise you that you will be making money with little to no effort. Solo Build It looks legit but the fact that it has an inactive community is a big minus point if you ask me, because people who are new to something are always looking for support and need help with all their questions. Wealthy Affilitate is an excellent example of how a community has to be.
Hey Ruya,
thanks for checking out my review and leaving some comments. Genuine reviews are really important to help people online.
The inactive community does worry me too, it shows that newbies will not get the kind of support you would get at Wealthy Affiliate.
thanks
John
There are a couple of things I don’t like here.The silent community. This is a definite no for me. Because I would feel very much on my own.Having to convince them to close my account with a refund and no 30 trial. Nopoe, not happening.Just looking at your example web site puts me off. This is not a site that I would take serious. Their platform isn’t worth it at all I wouldn’t pay that kind of money for what I would get
Hey Stew,
thanks for checking out my review and leaving some comments. There are signs that this is not the best platform for people, I am not saying it wouldn’t work for some. But most of us haven’t got a clue when we start online and the support networks are the important thing to help us learn and get answers.
thanks
John
Thank you for a detailed review of Solo Build It. I have known about this platform a few months ago while searching for a reliable online training program to teach and guide me on how to start my very own online business. To be quite honest, I have considered SBI after reading several good reviews about it. However, there was another platform I had an eye on, your number 1 recommended training platform.
I do believe SBI is not a scam and $299/year is reasonable, considering that it offers all these 10 action guides you mentioned. And did you say they have a 90-day money back guarantee? But then I have to pay an entire year to be able to join, right? And how easy do you think would it be to get my $299 back in case I decide SBI is not for me?
Hey Alice,
thanks for checking out my review. You don’t have to go yearly with SBI, you could sign up with the monthly fee. that way you are more likely to get your money back. I think you would have to prove the reasons why you want to get your money back.
I think a lot of these sites, would prefer not to as it is digital training and you have already had access to it. I can’t really say for sure whether you would struggle.
thanks
John