People who use Jimdo to create and publish their own basic website know how versatile yet easy-to-use the tool really is – I know because I used the service myself to set up and manage a site for my wedding last year. And if these users now want to start selling something online through their websites, it wouldn’t involve as much hassle as it would have a week ago. This is because the German startup behind Jimdo has added a ‘Store’ feature to their website building service, enabling users to add a full-fledged ecommerce element to their sites. Jimdo users who want to set up an online business can use Store to start organizing and publishing a catalog of products, which can be presented in various ways: multiple pictures with detailed-view zoom functionality, videos, text, PDFs and more. Products can have multiple variations (e.g. shirt colors, sizes, etc.) and can be featured as ‘bestsellers’ or within a given specific product category. A shopping cart feature is built right into the new product extension, complete with PayPal integration and the ability to include a custom check-out process (i.e. by invoice). The startup has also considered the challenges of conducting online business on a global level, making it possible for sellers to switch between U.S. Sales Tax and VAT (Europe) and customize shipping costs accordingly. Here’s a reference site , fully powered

by Jimdo (more can be found here ). For pricing and current promotions, check this page . In other, rather unexpected news, Jimdo investor United Internet has withdrawn from the company’s board. In May 2009, the international ISP had acquired 30% of the startup and also inked a license deal with the young company that allowed it to have its hosting provider subsidiary 1&1 enable their customers to build Jimdo sites as a white-labeled service. Jimdo co-founder Matthias Henze had this to say about the whole ordeal: “United Internet has left the board of shareholders. As you know, they mainly invested because of the partnership we had with 1&1. Since 1&1 had different views concerning the roadmap we changed the agreement with 1&1 which now has a license to develop the white-labeled version on its own. I’m really sorry, but due to signed NDAs I can’t share any more details on the deal.” It’s a bit of a strange development, but Jimdo doesn’t seem to be all too worried about the ties getting cut – the company also tells me they’ve reached profitability with team of 30 full-time employees. We’ll see how they fare now that they’re on their own again. CrunchBase Information Jimdo Information provided by CrunchBase

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Jimdo Makes Running Your Own Online Store A Breeze, Loses Investor