Never has there been a better time to get a website up. With the website building market now bigger than ever, you can find multiple website builders that help in making the website you are looking for. Moreover, among the many different website builders, Weebly is one of the biggest and oldest tools you can use to create a good website.
Since their inception in 2006, Weebly has continuously updated their software and upgraded their service to better cope with the competition of the current day. However, how does Weebly fair with other website builders that came after it. Well in this guide we will go over what is Weebly, its pros and cons, how beginner friendly it is, and finally its prices and packages.
Table of Contents
What is Weebly?
Weebly is one of the biggest website builders available to use. Its sheer accessibility and features provide you with everything that you need to get your website up and running. This is a great launching pad for people new to website building, where they can learn the ropes and eventually develop their website into something better.
While other website builders let you install and control pieces of your website, Weebly gives you control of the personality of your website and take care of everything else. The best way to put it is that Weebly is like leasing a house, whereas other services are more like buying a house. When leasing, you still have creative control over the style and décor of your house but issues like maintenance, plumbing, and security to your landlord. On the other hand, when buying, you will have to care for everything on your own.
Weebly takes some control away from you, in return for unmatched convenience. They control the security and other major components of the website, whereas you are more in control of the overall personality of your website.
Pros and Cons
Weebly is one of the oldest website creators out there, and it has come a long way in improving its service. However, it is not without its faults and problems. So let us look at some of the pros and cons of the Using Weebly over other website builders.
Pros
- The Site Building Process – One of the main advantages to using Weebly is the intuitive ease of use in the website. This means that you will be able to make your amazing website, even if you have no prior experience in making a web development. You do not even have to know HTML or CSS code to make the website, you can just drag and drop parts that you want onto the webpage.
The site building process is so easy in fact; it is almost like playing bowling with gutter guards on. - Speed and Security – Weebly, unlike most website builders, hosts all of the websites made on its platform. Now this is a very tricky thing to get down, and can be a great advantage or a disadvantage depending on the service. However, lucky for you, in the case of Weebly it is a major pro.
The platform features incredibly well-optimized websites that are great to use. They are also very fast to load, and can work on computers as well as smartphones. Since Weebly takes care of the speed and security of your website, you can just relax and focus on more important things. - Multiple Features and Extensions – What would a website builder be without its many features? A website builder’s unique swelling point lies in its features or its price. In addition, with their collection of features, they provide everything that an individual or business would want. They have the basic features that you come to expect from website builders like content forms and blog functionality.
You also have available some advanced features like custom code placement and even URL redirects. However, apart from these basic and advanced options, Weebly also comes with great features like the membership options, forums, file uploads, and integrated advertising options. Weebly also has a great store where you can go find the best extensions and various other features.
Cons
- Advanced Marketing Tools – Now it goes without saying that the Weebly provides quite the bargain, which also includes uses of proper marketing systems. Moreover, while you can still add marketing tools to your website, you cannot add advanced marketing tools like custom analytics packages or A/B testing software. You cannot add any advanced marketing tools because of the control that Weebly takes away from you. Since you do not have more expert control over your website, you cannot add them.
- Content Marketing System – The content marketing system present in Weebly is quite lackluster and is honestly a little disappointing. For a website creator that is supposed to give its customers complete creative control over the website, they will have a rough time going through all of the menus.
Is Weebly Easy To Use?
Weebly is a great website to use thanks to the many benefits that come with using their features. The simple drag and drop feature allows you to make a new webpage instantly and allows you to add various features and extensions o your webpage even if you have no experience in web development. This makes it very easy and simple to use, especially for people new to website development.
The Sign-up Process
Signing up is very simple and takes less than ten minutes for you to setup your account and the website your want. All they ask for is your email address and other key information, and with that out of the way you can now focus on building your website.
Pricing and Packages
Weebly is very diverse in its pricing and is truly a website builder aimed at everyone. They have a free version where someone can test the waters and see if the site is or them, as well as four paid models that are great for businesses of varying sizes.
One of the biggest changes in the free plan and the paid plans is that the paid ones have a personal domain, have unlimited bandwidth, and are free of ads. There are four pricing plans:
- Connect ($8)
- Pro ($18)
- Business ($35)
- Business Plus ($46)
Each business plan offers something unique to the website building and maintaining experience. Moreover, these business plans are also great for smaller businesses, as they can choose exactly what they want and pay the price for it.