A popular platform with various useful capabilities, Weebly is a great choice for building personal websites or online stores.
For
Intuitive interface
Design flexibility
Useful e-commerce tools
Against
No phone support for non-paying customers
Limited payment gateways
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In this Weebly review we dive into the popular website builder and take it apart with a simple question in mind: will it be any good for our creative professional readers. Hopefully you'll find our Weebly review in-depth enough to make your own mind up.
The best website builders should make the process of creating a website a breeze. If you're a student in a creative discipline, a creative professional, or a business owner, you've probably heard of Weebly, a popular website-building platform.
In this Weebly review, you'll find essential information about the platform’s pricing plans, features, interface, and support so that you can decide if Weebly is right for your site-building needs.
01. Wix: The best website builder for just $3.54/ £3 per month Wix makes it easy to get your site up and running. Choose from 500+ templates, customise with your own content, and you'll soon have your own site online, at a bargain monthly price.
02. HostGator: Simple to use and great value Need to get a basic site online, fast? Hostgator is a great and affordable choice. Offering a drag-and-drop editor and 150 templates to choose from, it's easy to set up – no coding required.
03. Squarespace: The best option for professionals Squarespace puts the emphasis on beautifully designed templates that make your portfolio work look great, making it ideal for creatives. Plus it's easy to use, and you can add an online store too.
01. Weebly review: Plans and pricing
Like WordPress, Weebly is free to use with limited access. But unlike WordPress's pay-as-you-go model, Weebly offers upfront plans that help users track exactly how much they're paying.
Weebly’s pricing options are comparable to Wix's ($4.50 to $35/month). Its cheapest plan—the Connect plan—costs $5/month and gets you a free domain name with access to advanced site statistics.
Professionals seeking greater functionality should look at Weebly's Pro plan ($12/month) with features like password protection and HD video and audio.
For business owners looking to run an online store, the Business and Business Plus plans at $25/month and $38/month, respectively, are ideal. Both plans allow you to sell an unlimited number of products, receive product reviews, and access an automatic tax calculator. The priciest plan, the Business Plus plan, accords you even more advanced features like abandoned cart recovery, email marketing tools, and real-time shipping rates.
Overall, Weebly’s multiple pricing options allow you to upgrade and unlock advanced features as your needs grow.
02. Weebly review: Features
Weebly offers responsive themes for your site (Image credit: Weebly)
From premium themes to e-commerce tools, Weebly offers many useful features to help you create your site.
Free and premium themes are available for all Weebly customers. But compared to platforms like Wix and WordPress, Weebly underperforms in terms of variety. Fortunately, though, if none of the 50 designs that Weebly offers catch your eye, you can upload your own themes or purchase third-party templates.
With Weebly, you also have the freedom to be fickle-minded, and can change your theme without having to start from scratch. This is a breath of fresh air for Wix users, who have to reupload content each time they switch to a new template.
Flexibility is taken to another level for advanced users with coding experience. By customizing raw HTML and CSS files, you're able to fully control your site's layout.
Weebly's integrated e-commerce makes the process of managing your store simple. If you already have an existing online store, you can easily port it onto Weebly.
Weebly also provides a dashboard with e-commerce tools like an inventory tracker and conversion rates to help you grow your business. Particularly useful for business owners is Weebly's Storefront Page, where you can highlight selected products to potential customers.
One of Weebly's drawbacks is its lack of offline payment options—only Stripe, PayPal, and Square are available. The platform’s limited choice of payment gateways is one of the reasons why some turn to other platforms like WordPress and Shopify.
Both Weebly's free and Connect Plan allow you to list and sell up to 10 products. But for advanced e-commerce features and tools, the higher tier plans are recommended.
Free or paid, all Weebly plans come with SSL-encryption—your customers never have to worry about data-security issues.
Like the WordPress plugin store, Weebly's App Centre is a marketplace that offers extensions.
Even though Weebly's App Centre pales in comparison to WordPress' massive plugin repository, you should be able to find what you need, whether it be SEO tools or social media buttons.
You also never have to worry about compatibility or quality issues because all apps have been approved by the Weebly team. With just a few clicks and in some cases, a little money, you can easily install an app onto your site to enhance its functionalities and capabilities.
03. Weebly Review: Interface
Weebly’s App Centre offers free and paid apps to install onto your site (Image credit: Weebly)
With Weebly's easy-to-use editor, you can simply drag and drop page elements anywhere on the page and rearrange them as you wish. While editing, you’ll be able to see, in real-time, how your page will look.
With its ease of use and simple layout, Weebly is worth considering especially if you are a beginner site builder. That said, users looking for more advanced capabilities shouldn’t rule it out. If you can code, you are granted greater control over how your site looks and functions.
Weebly even has a mobile app that lets you view your site statistics and other data on the go. You can edit your site on your device using an intuitive touchscreen drag-and-drop editor. If you often experience connectivity issues on your phone, you can even choose to work offline—changes made to your site will automatically sync when you’re online again.
04. Weebly review: Support
Weebly’s intuitive drag-and-drop interface makes site-building easy (Image credit: Weebly)
Most of Weebly's features come with helpful pop-up guides and explanations. Weebly also offers resources such as comprehensive help articles and tutorials.
If you still can't find an answer, there is also a community forum and FAQ section that have proven useful for many.
For those who prefer direct communication, Weebly's customer support team is contactable via phone, email, or live chat. However, live phone support is only available for customers who are subscribed to at least a Pro plan.
05. Weebly: Is it worth a buy?
Weebly’s customer support and help center can help you to solve problems you’re facing with your site (Image credit: Weebly)
With competitive pricing plans, attractive themes, e-commerce capabilities, a curated App Centre, an intuitive user interface, and excellent customer support, Weebly is one of the best website builders for creatives and business owners.
Weebly's limited inventory of themes and app extensions, however, may disappoint you, especially if you’re used to WordPress's significant offering. But equipped with some technical know-how, you can significantly customize your site design.
All in all, whether you're a beginner site builder or a professional in need of complex features, Weebly is a great platform for you to build your site with.
Joanna is a freelance writer based in Singapore, with a background in Sociology and a keen interest in technology. A seasoned and passionate writer, Joanne has worked with such global publications as TechRadar, Tom's Guide and more. When she's not writing, she's usually binge-watching trashy reality shows on Netflix.
