Weebly is a popular website creation platform that allows users to build and customize their own websites without needing extensive coding knowledge. It's a user-friendly drag-and-drop editor that makes it easy to create a professional-looking website.
Weebly was founded in 2006 by David Rusenko, Dan Veltri, and Chris Fanini. The platform has since grown to become one of the most widely used website builders, with over 40 million registered users worldwide.
Weebly offers a range of customizable templates and design themes to choose from, allowing users to create a website that reflects their brand or personal style.
What Weebly Is
Weebly is a website builder that's been around since 2006, and it's one of the largest on the market with over 50 million websites built on its platform.
It was founded in 2006 and acquired by Square in 2018, which has helped it focus on offering affordable commerce solutions for selling online or in-store.
You can get started with your online store for free with Weebly's lowest plan, which is a huge perk compared to other eCommerce platforms like Shopify or BigCommerce.
Weebly's features are decent enough to make it the best free website builder out there.
You can create and publish various types of websites using Weebly Builder, including:
- Small business sites
- Small eCommerce stores
- Personal websites
- Portfolio sites
- DIY blogs
With Weebly, you can set up a website that suits your needs, whether you're a small business owner or just starting out as an online seller.
Features and Customization
Weebly's features and customization options make it a top choice for building a website. With hundreds of professionally designed themes to pick from, you can easily find one that meets your needs and gives your site a unique look and feel.
You can add ecommerce features like shopping carts, product pages, and payment gateways with ease. Weebly's branding tools let you modify your ecommerce logo, color scheme, font, and more.
Weebly's drag-and-drop editor is highly intuitive and easy to navigate, making it simple to add and duplicate pages, add sections, forms, newsletters, media files, and other new elements. You can also change styles and layouts, switch themes, add integrations, set up SEO, and more.
Here are some of the advanced features Weebly offers:
- Inventory management
- In-store pickup for retail shops
- Seamless integration with Square Online and POS systems
- Automatic tax calculations
- Shipping calculator
- Quick shop options
- Coupons & gift cards
- Sell physical and digital goods
- Shipping labels
Weebly also allows you to add custom code, including JavaScript, and access the advanced code editor by clicking Theme and Edit HTML/CSS in the lower-left corner of the Weebly interface.
Customization
Weebly offers a range of customization options to help you make your site stand out. With numerous customization possibilities, you can edit any part of your site's pages to give it a personal touch.
The Weebly editor comes equipped with numerous customization possibilities. To customize any part of your site's pages, click on it to see all the available editing options. A further click on the shown options leads you to a new batch of customization possibilities.
You can change the existing HTML and CSS code and add your custom code, including JavaScript. This can be accessed by clicking Theme and Edit HTML/CSS in the lower-left corner of the Weebly interface.
Weebly allows you to add custom code through the Embed code element, found among the options Individual Elements in the Weebly drag-and-drop editor.
For advanced customization, you can use the Weebly developer platform to create custom apps and themes. This extends the capacities of Weebly even further.
Here are some of the customizations you can do:
- Add and duplicate pages
- Add sections, forms, newsletters, media files, and other new elements
- Change styles and layouts
- Switch themes
- Add integrations
- Set up SEO
- Create a membership community revolving around your website
- Start a blog
- Connect your website with AdSense
- Embed code
Weebly's drag-and-drop editor is highly intuitive and easy to navigate. You can create virtually any type of website, from a classical website to an e-commerce storefront or a personal site.
E-Commerce Features
Weebly's e-commerce features are incredibly robust, making it easy to set up an online store. With an SSL encrypted shopping cart available on all plans, including the free one, you can start selling online right away.
You can add product images and videos, as well as unlimited products, to your store. There are even features like inventory management and in-store pickup for retail shops.
Weebly seamlessly integrates with Square Online and POS systems, making it a breeze to manage your online store. Automatic tax calculations and shipping calculators are also included, making it easy to stay organized.
Some other impressive e-commerce features Weebly offers include:
- Inventory management
- In-store pickup for retail shops
- Seamless integration with Square Online and POS systems
- Automatic tax calculations
- Shipping calculator
- Quick shop options
- Coupons & gift cards
- Sell physical and digital goods
- Shipping labels
For a more professional store, consider upgrading to a paid plan, which allows you to have a branded domain name and no ads from Weebly or Square. However, if you're a serious seller looking to scale your online store's growth, you may want to consider dedicated e-commerce platforms like Shopify or BigCommerce.
Performance and Options
Weebly offers various plans to suit different needs, and understanding the Performance and options can help you choose the right one. The Performance plan is a lower-tier option that still offers some advanced features.
If you're looking to operate in the e-commerce space, you'll want to consider the Business or Business Plus plans, which are available in Europe. These plans allow you to do so, with the Business Plus plan offering additional features like abandoned cart email and real-time shipping.
Here's a comparison of some of the features offered in Weebly's plans:
The Business Plus plan seems to be the most comprehensive option for e-commerce, but it's worth noting that some of its features are also available in lower-tier plans.
Performance vs. Business Options
If you're considering Weebly for your small business, you'll want to weigh the costs and benefits of the Performance and Business options.
The Performance plan offers a good balance of features and cost, but it's essential to know that some features are available in lower-tier U.S.-based plans.
If you're in the EU, the Business plan provides the necessary features to operate in the e-commerce space.
However, the Business Plus plan takes it a step further with advanced features like real-time shipping and abandoned cart email.
Here's a quick comparison of the additional features offered in each plan:
By choosing the right plan, you can save thousands of dollars and get your business online quickly.
Hosting Needed?
You need a server to host your website, providing storage space and access to the world wide web.
Website builders are all-in-one platforms that provide hosting with their service, making it easy to get started.
This arrangement is convenient because your website will be optimized for the servers being used, ensuring it runs smoothly.
If you're not using a website builder, there are dozens of hosting services available to choose from.
The great thing about website builders is that they take care of hosting for you, so you don't have to worry about finding a separate hosting service.
Ease of Use and Security
Weebly's ease of use is a major selling point for many users. With a straightforward signup process, you can get started in no time.
The Weebly dashboard is organized in a way that makes it easy to customize different aspects of your site, such as fonts, colors, templates, and more. This intuitive site builder is designed to make it simple for anyone to build a website without coding knowledge or experience.
Weebly's drag-and-drop tool makes creating a beautiful website a breeze, with a library full of professionally designed template tools to choose from. You can also customize your website's style and brand with unique fonts from across the web using the custom fonts tool.
Weebly's image editor tool is incredibly useful, allowing you to make your images look professional without any graphic design experience or knowledge. You can adjust colors, add text, apply filters, crop, and rotate images with just a few clicks of the mouse.
Weebly's security features are also top-notch, with one-click SSL certificates for free with all plans. This provides an encrypted connection between the server and the browser, keeping your private data secure from potential hackers or malicious actors.
Weebly also provides DDoS mitigation services to protect against malicious attacks and keep your site available to visitors no matter what kind of traffic is coming in. This means you can rest assured that your site is secure and reliable.
Ease of Use
Weebly's ease of use is a major advantage, especially for beginners. The signup process is straightforward, requiring only an email address to get started.
You can create a website in no time, thanks to Weebly's drag-and-drop tool, which makes it simple to build a website without any coding knowledge or experience.
The dashboard is organized in a way that makes it easy to customize different aspects of your site, such as fonts, colors, and templates. This intuitive site builder is designed to make it simple to create a beautiful website quickly.
With Weebly's parallax and reveal tool, you can make your website professional-looking with advanced animation effects, giving it an extra layer of interactivity and engagement.
Weebly's image editor tool is incredibly useful, allowing you to make your images look professional without any graphic design experience or knowledge. You can adjust colors, add text, apply filters, crop, and rotate images with amazing results.
Changing elements on the page is easy, as all you have to do is click on it to see the option. You can customize further within each template with buttons, videos, images, slideshows, sections, dividers, and more.
If you changed nothing on the template except for the photos and text, you could have a one-page website up and running in thirty minutes.
Security
Weebly takes security seriously, offering one-click SSL certificates for free with all of its plans. This encryption helps protect your private data from potential hackers or other malicious actors.
SSL certificates provide an encrypted connection between the server and the browser, keeping any information sent from the user's computer secure.
Weebly also provides DDoS mitigation services to protect against malicious attacks that try to overwhelm the server with requests.
Having DDoS protection in place helps keep any site available to its visitors, no matter what kind of traffic is coming in.
Pricing and Plans
Weebly offers a range of pricing plans to suit different needs. The free plan is a great starting point, offering a decent amount of features, including SSL security, a shopping cart, and inventory management.
You can try out the basic functionality of Weebly absolutely free, with no hidden fees or strings attached. The free plan has some limitations, such as 500MB storage and Weebly and Square ads on your site.
The free plan also has some e-commerce features, including a shopping cart and inventory management, which is a nice bonus. However, you can't connect a custom domain name to your website.
Weebly's paid plans start at $6 per month for the Personal plan, which is a good option for those just starting out. However, you'll still see Weebly and Square ads on your site.
If you're looking for more advanced features, the Professional and Performance plans offer unlimited storage, advanced site stats, and no ads. The Performance plan is the best value for money, with features like product reviews, abandoned cart emails, and priority support.
Here's a breakdown of Weebly's pricing plans:
Overall, Weebly's pricing plans offer a great value for money, especially for those just starting out.
SEO and Blogging
Weebly's blogging features are quite impressive, and one of the standout benefits is that it's search engine friendly. This means that your blog posts will be easily discoverable by search engines like Google.
Blogging on Weebly is straightforward, but it's not exactly user-friendly, especially when it comes to design. You'll have to manually drag-and-drop elements like titles, text blocks, and images to create a post.
One of the best things about Weebly's blogging feature is that you can schedule posts to go live at a later time, which is super convenient if you want to plan ahead. This way, you can write and schedule multiple posts in advance.
You can also customize the way comments work on a per-post basis, which is a nice touch. This means you can choose to turn comments on or off for specific posts, or require approval for each comment.
Weebly's SEO potential is also quite high, thanks to its ability to edit various SEO-related elements like URLs, alt text, and meta descriptions. This is a big plus for bloggers who want to optimize their content for search engines.
Unfortunately, one major drawback of Weebly's blogging feature is that you can't run a blog with multiple authors. This might be a deal-breaker for some bloggers who collaborate with others.
Support and Integrations
Weebly's support team is available through email, a help center, and live chat, but be prepared for a wait on the latter. Email support is usually quick and competent in responding to questions.
You can opt for phone support on the Professional and Performance plans, but keep in mind that priority support requires the Performance plan.
Weebly's app center is a bit limited, but it does offer a select number of free elements to get you started.
Support
Support is a crucial aspect of any website builder, and Weebly's support system is no exception. Email support is available, and it usually responds quickly and competently to questions.
You can also reach out to Weebly through their help center and live chat, but be aware that live chat can be tricky to access. Phone support is available on the Professional and Performance plans.
To skip the line and get priority support, you'll need the Performance plan.
Integrations and Apps
Shopify has the best easy-to-use website builder app store, with thousands of useful apps at your disposal.
This makes it a great option for those who want to create an eCommerce website.
Weebly, on the other hand, prioritizes simplicity and has a limited number of elements available at the start.
However, their app center allows you to add new elements for use, and most of them are free.
This approach can be a good strategy for beginners who don't want to be overwhelmed.
Weebly's app center offers a range of add-ons, including a countdown chart, pop-ups, news headlines, call to actions, and calendars.
These add-ons can help you add some extra functionality to your website.
Other apps on Weebly can help with marketing, communication, and eCommerce purposes, such as Google Ads and SEO.
You can also use services like Printful to sell t-shirts directly from your website.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Weebly best for?
Weebly is ideal for individuals and small businesses who want to create a website quickly and easily without technical expertise. Its user-friendly interface makes it perfect for those new to website creation.
What is the Weebly app used for?
The Weebly app is a mobile website builder that allows users to create and edit websites on-the-go. With its intuitive canvas and range of design elements, you can bring your website vision to life, even when offline.
What type of website is Weebly?
Weebly is a website and eCommerce service that helps anyone create and grow their online business. It's a platform for turning ideas into fully functional websites.
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