How to Use Weebly and Create a Website from Scratch

Weebly is a fantastic platform for creating a website from scratch, and with its drag-and-drop editor, you can have a professional-looking site up and running in no time.

To get started, you'll need to sign up for a Weebly account, which is free, and then choose a template that suits your needs. As explained in the "Choosing a Weebly Template" section, there are over 50 templates to choose from, so take your time and pick one that resonates with your brand.

The next step is to customize your template by adding your own content, such as text, images, and videos. This is where the drag-and-drop editor really shines, making it easy to add and arrange elements on your page.

Sign up for Weebly with just an email address and a new password, no strings attached. You can click the Sign Up button at the top of the main Weebly homepage to get started.

Signing up for Weebly is a breeze.

Weebly is a free website builder, so you can get started with just an email address and a new password.

To begin, click the Sign Up button at the top of the main Weebly homepage.

I'm excited to share with you what it's all about. Our mission is to provide you with the knowledge and tools you need to get started on your journey.

We're a team of experts who have been in your shoes before, and we know how overwhelming it can be to start something new. That's why we've put together a comprehensive guide to help you navigate the process.

You can expect to learn about the key principles that will set you up for success, including identifying your goals and creating a plan to achieve them.

Weebly offers a wide range of free themes to choose from, including business, portfolio, personal, blog, coming soon, and more. Each theme is mobile responsive, so you don't have to worry about how it will look on different devices.

You can browse through the various categories and click on a theme to preview it. If you change your mind, you can switch templates at any time. To choose a theme, click the blue Start Editing button in the top right corner of the screen.

Things to consider when choosing a theme include whether you need a header photo/video, a strong call-to-action (CTA), an industry-specific theme, or specific features.

Weebly offers a wide range of free themes to choose from, each with its own unique design and features. These themes are categorized by type, including business, portfolio, personal, and more.

You can browse through the themes and preview them to see how they'll look on different devices. Each theme is mobile responsive, so you don't have to worry about how it will display on various screens.

To choose a theme, click the "Start Editing" button in the top right corner of the screen. You can also switch templates at any time if you change your mind.

Before choosing a theme, consider what features you need. Do you need a header photo or video? A strong call-to-action (CTA)? An industry-specific theme? Make sure the theme you choose has the features you require.

Weebly's themes are packages of color schemes, fonts, and other design elements that provide visual continuity across your site. They include templates, which are website "shells" with fields for elements like headers, images, buttons, etc.

Here are some things to consider when customizing your site:

You can also customize your site with Weebly apps, which provide tools and page elements not available in the basic site editor. There are over 350 Weebly apps available, including marketing plugins, social media integrations, and sales tools.

To integrate an app, go to the App Center and click "Add". Then, follow the prompts to select the app and connect it to your site. You can access installed apps from the site editor, where they're listed at the bottom of the left-hand element menu.

Embedding online forms is a great way to interact with your audience, and it's surprisingly easy to do with Weebly and Jotform. You can collect payments, register attendees for events, or create an email list, and more.

Jotform is a fantastic tool for building forms in Weebly, with a code-free, drag-and-drop editing interface that's super familiar to Weebly fans. You can even add Jotform to your Weebly website through the Weebly App Center or directly through Jotform.

To embed completed forms into your Weebly website, simply download the Jotform Weebly app, drag the app element to the desired location, and select the form from your Jotform account or paste the form URL. Easy peasy!

Mobile responsiveness is built right in, so your forms will seamlessly adapt to desktop or mobile devices. This is especially important for a smooth user experience.

Jotform provides access to over 10,000 free form templates, so you can tweak and customize them to fit your needs. Why build from scratch when you can use a pre-made template?

Here are some additional benefits of using Jotform with Weebly:

When you sign up for Weebly, you'll need to select a domain name. Weebly will ask for your domain name to proceed, and if you already have one, you can connect or transfer it now.

If you need a domain name, you can enter your desired name into the search box, and Weebly will display some options for you. If your domain name is available, you'll see it in the list below under the 'Professional Domain' heading.

Domain names with Weebly are included for free when you sign up for their 1-year plan.

You can choose a Weebly subdomain that will look something like www.mysitename.weebly.com if you don't want to commit to anything yet.

Weebly offers several paid plans that give you a custom domain name. Here are the options:

If you'd rather stick with the free plan, you'll be limited to a Weebly subdomain and your site will contain Weebly branding.

To get started with building your Weebly site, click on the "Create Your Website" option in the middle of the screen. This will bring you to the Sign Up page where you'll need to enter your first name, last name, email address, and country, and create a password and complete captcha verification.

You'll then be asked if you want a website or a website with an online store. For this example, we'll choose the former, but if you want to sell products, feel free to choose the latter.

Once you've made your selection, you'll be presented with a variety of themes and templates to choose from. Weebly offers themes related to different needs and purposes, such as Business, Portfolio, Personal, Event, and others.

You can choose any of these themes according to your website's purpose and aesthetic needs. After selecting a theme, you'll see a preview of what your site will look like. If you like the layout and placement of the elements, you can start editing your website by clicking on the "Start Editing" option in the upper right corner of the screen.

To select a domain, you'll need to choose a new one or transfer an existing one. If your preferred domain isn't available, Weebly will suggest similar ones that are available.

Here are the available plans: Connect, Pro, Business, and Business Plus. If you scroll down, you'll see a side-by-side comparison of the four plans. Choose the one that suits you, and if you want to use the free version, just jump back one step and select a free plan under the subdomain option.

Once you've selected a plan, you'll get a confirmation that the subdomain setup is complete. Just click on Done, and start editing your website!

Adding media to your Weebly website is a breeze. You can choose from four options: HD Video, Audio, Scribd Document, and YouTube. HD Video is a premium element, so you'll need an upgraded plan to use it.

To add an HD video, you can use the HD Video element, but keep in mind it's a premium feature. Alternatively, you can use the YouTube element to add videos directly to your site.

If you want to add audio files, such as music or podcasts, you can use the Audio element. Scribd Document is another option, which allows you to add publicly hosted files from scribd.com. For YouTube videos, simply select the YouTube element, drop it where you want the video to appear, and type in the video URL.

You can also add images, galleries, and slideshows to your website using Weebly's image upload feature. Simply upload the files from your computer, and Weebly will take care of the rest.

Here are some key media features to keep in mind:

Creating a blog page with Weebly is a straightforward process. To start, navigate to the Weebly website builder and select Pages in the main navigation.

You'll see a plus (+) icon; click on it to create a new Standard Page. Choose a name for the blog page, like I did with "Blog." This name will also be used for the page slug.

Weebly blogs are easy to set up, and you can have a live blog in no time. To connect your blog page to your DropInBlog account, select SEO Settings and locate the Footer Code field.

Here are the essential steps to create a blog page with Weebly:

With these steps, you'll be able to create a blog page that's ready to go.

Adding images to your website is a great way to make it more visually appealing. With Weebly, you can easily upload images from your computer.

You can also create galleries and slideshows to showcase your images. Weebly makes it simple to add these features to your website.

Just upload the files you want, and let Weebly do the rest.

Adding media to your Weebly website is a breeze. With the media tab, you can easily add a variety of media to your site. There are four options to choose from: HD Video, Audio, Scribd Document, and YouTube.

The HD Video option is great for adding high-definition video files, but it's only available with an upgraded plan. Audio, on the other hand, allows you to add music, audio notes, podcasts, and recordings, but it's also not part of the free plan.

If you want to add a Scribd Document, you can do so easily by selecting the Scribd Document option, choosing a file from your system, and uploading it. These files are hosted publicly on scribd.com.

YouTube videos are also a great option for adding media to your site. Simply select the YouTube option, drop it where you want to display the video, and type in the URL of the video.

It's worth noting that the Flash option is no longer supported, so it's best to use YouTube or the HD Video Elements instead.

To set up an online store on Weebly, you'll need to add some basic information first. This includes your company name, address, layout, social media, and analytics.

You can easily add items to your store, including variations like color or custom text. Weebly's store editor makes this process straightforward.

To start selling, you'll need to complete a few more steps. These include adding inventory, choosing a payment gateway, connecting your shipping accounts, and providing tax information. You can access individual tutorials for each of these tasks through your Weebly dashboard.

Weebly offers a range of payment gateways to choose from, including Square, Stripe, and PayPal. The free, Personal, and Professional plans are limited to Square and Stripe, but a Performance account also gives you access to PayPal.

To connect your shipping accounts, head to the Weebly shipping page under the Settings menu. Here, you can link up with UPS, USPS, or other shippers, set prices, and provide details on shipping locations.

To add tax information, enter tax rates for all the countries and states you ship to. Weebly provides state tax rates according to the latest available data. You can also add optional calculations, like incorporating tax into item prices or charging tax for shipping costs.

Finally, don't forget to add your products to the website itself. Simply drag Product and/or Category elements from the menu on the left to build your store on the page.

Weebly's e-commerce and blogging features are quite impressive. You can build an e-store into any Weebly website by adding a product through the Items menu on the left side of the Weebly dashboard.

Weebly provides three options for collecting payments: Square, Stripe, and PayPal. Fees for all three are 2.9 percent of the sale plus 30 cents per transaction, but only users with a Performance Plan ($26 per month) can accept payments through PayPal.

If you're not particular about the appearance of your site, you can sign up for an account, write a post, and take your blog live in moments. Weebly blogs are easy to set up and come with attractive, easy-to-read blog templates, as well as simple multimedia integration and built-in social sharing capabilities.

Here are the payment options available on Weebly:

Weebly offers a range of e-commerce features that make it a great choice for online stores. You can build an e-store into any Weebly website by adding a product through the Items menu on the left side of the Weebly dashboard.

To collect payments, you'll need to connect a payment gateway. Weebly provides three options: Square, Stripe, and PayPal. Square fees are 2.9 percent of the sale plus 30 cents per transaction, while Stripe and PayPal fees are identical.

Weebly's e-commerce tools include shipping calculators and a coupon builder, making it a strong competitor to top-ranking e-store platforms like Shopify. In fact, Weebly's most expensive plan is less than a Basic Shopify account.

You can also embed Jotform payment forms into your Weebly site if you prefer not to connect a payment gateway directly through Weebly.

Here are the payment gateway options available on Weebly:

Weebly's themes are all free and mobile responsive, so you don't have to worry about how they'll look on different devices.

Blogging is a great way to share your thoughts, ideas, and experiences with the world. Weebly makes it easy to set up a blog, and you can have it live in moments if you're not particular about the appearance of your site.

With Weebly, you get attractive and easy-to-read blog templates, free of charge. These templates are built specifically for blogs, so you can focus on writing your content without worrying about design elements.

Weebly's multimedia integration is also a breeze. You can drag-and-drop image fields to illustrate your story, and even turn your blog into a vlog with video integrations via the Weebly App Center.

Built-in social sharing capabilities make it easy to share your posts with your social media accounts. You can also schedule posts to move through your social networks ahead of time.

If you need more features, Jotform is a great tool to fill the gap. You can host thousands of types of online forms on your site through Jotform's Weebly app.

To create a blog page on Weebly, start by navigating to the website builder, selecting Pages in the main navigation, and hitting the plus (+) icon to create a new Standard Page. Choose a name for the blog page, like "Blog", and note that this name will be used for the page slug too.

To connect your blog page to a DropInBlog account, select SEO Settings and locate the Footer Code field. Add the DropInBlog script here to insert the blog posts into your page.

You can have your blog up and running in no time with Weebly's easy-to-use features and tools.

Weebly's features and tools are incredibly robust, making it a powerful platform for building a custom website. The Weebly App Center is packed with options for expanding your site-building toolbox.

You can find tools for marketing, social media, e-commerce reporting, and communications in the App Center. This is especially useful for new online business owners who need to stay organized.

The App Center's SEO category is a game-changer for boosting rankings for all of your important keywords. Tools like Positionly ($19 to $99 per month) and on-page analyzers like RabbitSEO (free to $45 per month) can help you pursue visibility in search engine results.

One of the most exciting aspects of the Weebly App Center is its ability to make your site unique. The Site Tools & Features collection is full of apps that will actively change the look and feel of your custom website.

Some examples of these apps include Simple Table, a free Weebly app that adds tables to your pages, and the Tabs app, which helps you organize site content by nesting topics within tabbed fields. The Video category lists a variety of players that let you add videos to your site.

If you're looking for ways to set your site apart from the crowd visually, browse the App Center's Structure category. There, you'll find dozens of specialty features that change the look of your pages, from call-out boxes to custom borders to automatic popup windows.

Here are some specialty features you can find in the Structure category: