Weebly Review

If you’re currently looking for a platform to set up your own website either for personal or business (eCommerce) use, Weebly may prove to be a nice option for you. I’m here to tell you more about this software and its features.

Weebly stands out in the world of DIY website builders as a user-friendly system. Originally designed with a focus on blogging, it has evolved into a versatile eCommerce system. This happened after merging with Square, one of the world’s largest payment processing companies.

Along with eCommerce, Weebly lets you create and manage various projects like blogs, business websites, landing pages, portfolios etc. The best part? You can achieve all of this without writing a single line of code – the system is that intuitive and functional.

With Weebly, you’ll gain access to a range of responsive designs, customization tools, integrations and special features to make your project stand out from the crowd.

However, I should mention that Weebly might require a bit of a learning curve from beginners. It might take some time to explore and master its integrated functionality.

Currently, the platform lacks a project backup feature, so it’s essential to set up and save your website carefully. Additionally, there’s no redo/undo option, which may require a more professional web design approach.

If you’re still unsure whether Weebly is the right fit for you or if it makes sense to explore simpler web design alternatives, don’t worry. I’ve prepared a detailed review to help you make an unbiased decision.

Read also: Wix vs. Weebly.

What Is Weebly

The system pros prevail over the cons, providing users with extensive opportunities. Thus, it is crucial to be aware of Weebly highlights to know what the system has to offer:

• Blogging options;
• Advanced eCommerce tools;
• Customizable templates;
• Code embedding;
• Integrated marketing tools;
• Extensive integrations.

Blogging Options

As mentioned above, Weebly was initially introduced to the market as a solely blogging platform. No wonder, it abounds in niche-related features that let you set up and customize full-featured blogs.

The system lets you add and update posts, schedule new publications, select and integrate media sharing options, connect and enable popular commenting systems, specify meta tags for separate posts, pick and customize blog templates etc.

The platform also offers a collection of templates meant for blog creation. You can pick and customize any theme that suits your current requirements. Just follow the guidelines to make your blog creation a success.

Advanced eCommerce Tools

Having gained an eCommerce focus, Weebly has made it possible to build and customize all types of web stores – from small up to large-scale. It is currently chock-full of niche-specific features, letting users integrate a shopping cart to start selling digital/physical products, create product galleries, adjust their characteristics, set up payment/shipping parameters, select and edit eCommerce templates etc.

The platform’s integration with Square has facilitated seamless payment processing, inventory management and order tracking. Users can now showcase products with customizable galleries, set up shipping options, offer discounts and coupons. Additionally, Weebly supports secure transactions with SSL encryption and makes it possible to set up mobile-responsive storefronts. There is also access to analytic tools to be able to track sales performance.

With intuitive drag-and-drop functionality and a range of templates, Weebly simplifies eCommerce setup for beginners, offering advanced customization options.

Customizable Templates

The Weebly template collection is quite extensive and versatile. You will find lots of customizable designs to meet your niche specialization here. They are responsive by default, offering numerous design customization tools.

Each template is fully customizable through Weebly’s user-friendly interface, letting users personalize layouts, fonts, colors etc. With responsive designs optimized for mobile devices, these templates empower users to craft professional-looking websites without coding expertise. Weebly’s extensive template library ensures that users can find a visually appealing and functional starting point that aligns perfectly with their project goals and branding aspirations.

Code Embedding

Opportunity of code embedding allows for deeper and more flexible design customization. The feature allows integrating pieces of code into widgets and applications to add elements and options that go far beyond the default list. Actually, you can select and add an unlimited number of elements to every page of your website. This is definitely an advantage for a custom website builder.

The software subscribers can effortlessly incorporate HTML, CSS or JavaScript snippets within their Weebly sites to add specialized functionalities or embed third-party tools like analytics, forms, chat widgets, and more.

The feature grants greater flexibility and customizability without requiring intricate coding knowledge. Weebly’s code embedding capability enhances the overall functionality and extends the possibilities for users to tailor their websites with regard to their specific needs.

Integrated Marketing Tools

As an eCommerce-focused website builder, Weebly pays much attention to project marketing. It offers advanced email marketing features, including Weebly Promote tool. It automatically generates messages with regard to the activity of registered subscribers. The service includes pre-designed email templates, drag-and-drop email constructor, tech support options, contact segmentation feature and more.

Additionally, Weebly offers social media integration features enabling seamless content sharing across various platforms. Availability of these integrated marketing tools provides users with quality resources needed to effectively promote their websites and grow their online businesses.

Extensive Integrations

With Weebly, you can get access to handy integrations available in its App Center. This platform offers diverse add-ons and extensions catering to different needs, empowering users to expand their site’s functionalities without complex coding. From tools for enhanced eCommerce features, customer service, analytics, marketing, to social media integration, the App Center provides a versatile selection.

There are dozens of dynamic apps available there, which are selected and integrated with one click only. Whether you wish to connect Live Chat, PinPoll, Call-Out-Box or any other widget, just browse the catalog to find a suitable solution. Additionally, the software comes with a built-in drag-and-drop Form Builder to let users integrate and configure different types of online forms.

Read also: Weebly vs. Squarespace.

Weebly Pros and Cons

Weebly has gained popularity due to its business and eCommerce-related functionality. Users, however, are frequently interested in the pros and cons of the system. Let’s review them now.

Pros:	Cons:
Ease of use for all subscribers Intuitive interface No coding required Rich template collection Several editing options Powerful eCommerce platform App Center with free and premium extensions Blogging features Free plan and several premium subscriptions	Limited list of website editing tools Limited SEO options, bandwidth and storage space Limited customer support No phone support Only email assistance for free plan subscribers

Editing a Website with Weebly

Weebly comes with the integrated and easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor that streamlines the process of website editing. As a result, everyone (including beginners) has an opportunity to set up and customize projects with the website builder.

Users can easily update text, swap images or add new elements by dragging and dropping them onto the page. This seamless editing process allows for quick and hassle-free content updates. This is how your website remains dynamic and up-to-date.

Weebly’s design customization capabilities are impressive as well. Users have access to a variety of pre-designed templates that serve as starting points for their websites. These templates are fully customizable, letting users tweak layouts, colors, fonts and styles to match their brand or personal preferences. The drag-and-drop editor makes it simple to rearrange elements, add sections or modify the overall look of the site when required.

Design Customization with Weebly

Weebly design customization options are versatile. To be precise, the website builder has three ways of setting up a web project.

You can select and use a ready-made template from the software catalog, customize any other theme (fortunately, the platform has a typical WYSIWYG and a high end HTML/CSS editor) or buy a third-party design from web developers.

If you possess coding knowledge, it will be easier for you to create unique website design. Weebly allows for deep template customization and there are also widgets/applications you can integrate in your website, using programming skills.

Thus, Weebly subscribers have an opportunity to add maps, image collections, medi files and other elements with regard to their website specialization.

To give your extensions a personalized look, you need to access the “Embed Code” option in the editor settings. The system allows integrating any number of elements to each web page.

Likewise, you can add as many pages to your project as you need. It is possible to use one of the pre-designed Page Layouts (there are currently over 30 diverse layout designs here) as well as a blank page.

You can add and customize homepages, contact and about us pages, restaurant menus and other service pages, if required.

Every new layout automatically comes with new website elements added to your web page. To create the desired layout, the system allows editing, removing and adding new elements.

Whatever template you go for, the ready-made website will automatically synchronize between mobile and desktop versions each time you make certain edits.

eCommerce Capabilities

Weebly has recently made it possible to create and customize online stores – from small shops up to large-scale hypermarkets. This has become possible after integration of the website builder with Square – one of the most powerful payment processing platforms.

This integration streamlines payment acceptance, providing secure transactions and supporting various payment methods. Users can easily manage their inventory, track orders, and set up shipping options, ensuring a smooth and efficient shopping experience for customers.

eCommerce Tools

Weebly’s eCommerce tools are designed to effectively showcase and customize products offered for sale. Users have an opportunity to create visually appealing product galleries, add detailed descriptions, specify the parameters of separate items and include high-quality images to present their merchandise to the advantage.

What’s important, Weebly offers flexible pricing policy and promotional strategies. Users can implement discounts, coupons and special offers to entice customers. These promo tools are easily manageable within the platform’s intuitive interface.

Template Collection

The website builder simplifies the process of template selection, offering a separate category of eCommerce themes. There are various designs here that cater to versatile requirements and niches. If needed, you can also access the App Center to find and integrate eCommerce extensions like email marketing tools, analytics, customer service solutions etc.

Analytics and Reporting

Weebly also comes with insightful analytics and reporting features. Merchants can track sales performance, monitor visitor behavior and gain valuable insights into their customers’ preferences. This lets you analyze your web store performance, detecting the aspects that may potentially affect your sales efficacy.

Blogging with Weebly

As mentioned above, Weebly was initially created as a solely blogging platform. Its interface simplifies the process of creating and publishing blog posts. Users can easily draft, edit, and schedule posts with a straightforward editor that allows for text formatting, image embedding, and multimedia integration.

Blog Templates

Weebly’s blogging functionality goes far beyond content creation. The platform offers customizable templates specifically designed for all kinds of blogs – both personal and business. Availability of customization tools allows for quality personalization of blogs to make them align with your corporate or personal style. Weebly templates are responsive, which makes them display well on various devices.

Commenting System

Special attention should be given to the commenting system. It plays an important role in the readers’ engagement, letting them interact well with others and leave feedback on separate blog posts. Users can moderate comments and initiate discussions with co-thinkers.

Social Media Integration

Finally, Weebly integrates social media sharing platforms, letting bloggers easily share their content across their accounts. This encourages the amplification of blog posts, extending their reach and driving traffic to the blog.

Read also: Weebly vs. WordPress.

SEO Capabilities

Weebly allows creating SEO-friendly websites. However, it comes with a standard set of SEO tools you can use, when setting up your project promotion/optimization parameters.

SEO-Friendly Features

Among the settings that make the platform SEO-friendly you can adjust here, it makes sense to mention an opportunity to add website/web page title, descriptions, keywords as well as to give a unique URL to every page.

These are the baseline parameters that contribute to higher website positions in the search engine results. However, it takes some time for Google search bots to index the updated pages. Keep that in mind, when setting up your website.

Additionally, the website builder makes it possible to set up and edit permalinks for all web pages. This is done in the corresponding part of SEO settings.

Speaking about end-to-end blocks like footer/header, Weebly allows integrating their codes into each page. This is needed, if you have an intention to make these sections unique. Otherwise, you can add a similar footer/header to all website pages at once.

With Weebly, website owners have a chance to hide some pages from indexing by the search bots. This is mainly needed to preserve current positions of your website/web page, while it is under construction or when you make the edits, for example. Just click the checkmark button to complete the task.

Finally, the website builder lets you set up 301 redirects, when you decide to transfer a website from another platform to Weebly servers. In this case, all the submitted data/traffic will be preserved along with current SEO positions of your project.

Image Optimization and Sitemap Generation

Weebly also provides tools for optimizing images, letting users add alt text and descriptions to images. This practice does not only improve website accessibility but also helps search engines understand the content of images, potentially driving traffic through image search results.

Furthermore, Weebly offers a sitemap generation feature that simplifies the process of submitting a website’s structure to search engines. This enables search engine crawlers to index pages more efficiently, improving overall website visibility.

Analytics Tracking

Weebly integrates with Google Analytics, which allows tracking website performance, monitoring traffic and gaining valuable insights into visitor behavior. This data-driven approach helps users research and explore their audience needs to further make informed decisions regarding their SEO strategies.

SSL Certification

Weebly automatically provides SSL certification to all websites hosted on its servers. This ensures maximum protection of data transferred between a browser and the Weebly server. The certificate reliably encrypts confidential information like personal details and payment transactions, preventing unauthorized third-party access or other safety-related threats.

Migration and Export Options

The fact that Weebly is a full-featured DIY website builder with powerful eCommerce and blogging tools makes it a frequent pick for web experts. Whether you decide to switch to Weebly or migrate from it, the system offers a sufficient toolset to comply with these needs.

Migrating to Weebly

If you have chosen Weebly as a web design platform to switch to, make use of its Import feature that lets you transfer content from other platforms. It is possible to import almost any content, including text, images and other media/design elements. Just follow the steps the software generates to complete the task as required.

Migrating from Weebly

Sometimes migration from Weebly to Wix (read my review) or other systems may also be required, if you are not satisfied with the available features/tools or just need another platform for some reason. If this happens, the software supports the export option in the XML format. However, if you need to move the entire website or more complex elements, manual migration may be required. You may have to copy and paste content or separately download images to transfer them to a new platform.

Data Export Options

When moving your website between the platforms, you can export the content in the XML format. This concerns almost all data types, including blog posts, dates, categories, tags, media files etc. you can further import the data to other web design platforms or blogging systems supporting XML files.

Mind, however, that Weebly does not provide comprehensive export options for various types of websites. Some data types will have to be exported and imported manually. This is applied to elements like web pages, images or extra content that does not have direct export options.

How Much Does Weebly Cost?

Weebly has several types of subscriptions to offer to its subscribers. They differ in terms of built-in tools, features, project type, availability of eCommerce options and other aspects.

If this is the first time you use the software, Weebly provides a great opportunity to explore its functionality and to practice your web design skills on its free plan. It is never-expiring, so you can work with it for an unlimited period of time.

A free plan, however, does not work for professional website creation at all. Instead, the platform has three premium packages to choose from.

As the all-in-one website builder, Weebly provides hosting by default, while the price of connecting a domain name is $19. Additionally, the system subscribers can get access to extra services and tools like email support, Google Ads with a $100 initial bonus, live chat feature etc.

Thus, if you are going to set up a website for personal (non-commercial) use, you may upgrade to the Personal Plan. The cost of starting and maintaining a website with it constitutes around $91 per year, including the cost of domain name and excluding extra paid services.

Need a full-featured business or eCommerce project? Then upgrading to Professional or Performance pans will be a smart solution. In this case, you will have to invest around $163 or $331 per year.

Is Weebly a Good Website Builder?

Weebly is a worthy website development solution for all user categories. Whether you are a non-coder looking for a platform to set up your first website or an experienced web designer building complex custom business/eCommerce projects, the system will let you complete these and other tasks.

One of the undeniable highlights of the website builder is its all-in-one web design approach. You don’t have to bother about hosting choice and domain name connection – Weebly provides these services by default.

Additionally, users have access to blogging and eCommerce tools, dozens of responsive templates, video hosting solutions, built-in form builder, image editor, high end Weebly Promote tool and other features that contribute to your project design and performance.

Pricing policy is another advantage of the website builder. Weebly has several types of plans that target diverse user categories yet differ in terms and integrated toolset. They all, however, require moderate budget investment.

Regardless of its multiple benefits, Weebly is not the simplest solution you can find and use. Inexperienced users require time to get used to the software. The thing is that there is no automated back up feature as well as the opportunity to undo the edits.

Thus, you have to be twice attentive when working on your Weebly website. If you feel that you need a simpler web design solution, though, you can switch to another platform any time.