Looking at content management systems targeted at non-coders, Weebly is one of the least used. Each of these do better in popularity:
WordPress- Wix
- Squarespace
WordPressSure, you have others, like Joomla and Drupal.
But the average individual or small business won't use those alternatives.
Also, WordPress isn’t the simplest of CMS’s.
So, you are really looking at two main contenders for the best simple site builder. Wix & Squarespace.
Weebly is still the least used of these. You might wonder, why choose it at all?
Our Verdict ⚖️
Great Free Plan, Pretty Annoying Ads 📢
Weebly, arguably, offers the simplest free drag-and-drop solution.
Expect lots of free features, with a surprising number of tools. While you do have to deal with massive video ads, you get access to:
- Lead-Gen Forms
- Unlimited Pages
- eCommerce
Lead-Gen FormsYou are also provided with a free subdomain on free plan: yourwebsite.weebly.com
There are over 100 professionally-crafted Weebly templates, for you to customize - each with its own look, from loud to classy to minimalist.
Manipulate everything: Colour schemes, images, and so on.
Every theme is mobile-responsive. The Mobile Web Editor lets you alter your website’s appearance on Apple & iOS devices.
Average SEO & No Migration
There may be long-term consequences to connecting a domain name with Weebly.
Only text & images can be “migrated” at a future date, for example.
If you want to migrate your website at some point in the future - to a different host - your images and text are the only things you can take with you.
This is because you do not own the code. All of this is in-house.
If you build a site design that you like, keep in mind that you have a similar relationship to a renter in an apartment.
You can take the furniture, but the house and infrastructure always remain behind.
PROS
CONS
Weebly Review (UK )
)Gets the Job Done Quickly
Weebly is very simple to use, with regular updates to the user interface and an extensive theme library.
Everything is sorted for you, including the domain/hosting, leaving you with nothing to do but to create stunning websites that can rival Squarespace’s.
Sure, there are limitations. Even the best free website builder plans have this.
Overall, you get a very easy-to-use tool. Despite a drop-off in popularity over the years, this good-value company has great strengths:
- Weebly Promote email-marketing solutions
- Intuitive editing layouts
- Guided tours - for the initial uses
Weebly Pros and Cons
Quick Run-Down
Slideshows & Royalty-Free Images & Videos
Create slideshows that transition at different speeds, to advertise your site and/or products.
Arrange your show in a variety of ways, while integrating video seamlessly. Or, search for royalty-free images on the Weebly database.
There are free and paid options, all of high-quality - to grab viewer attention.
Mobile Website Builder & Editor
Creating mobile-optimized sites is becoming easier and easier.
One of Weebly’s strengths is that you can specifically edit pages for the mobile experience, for Android &iOS devices.
Select the preview by choosing the typical phone, tablet, or desktop experience. Drag-and-drop to suit your liking.
Go ahead and approve the template as it is.
All come already mobile-optimized. Adjust based on the size of the screen - with a few edits, you´re up in only a few minutes of signing up.
Weebly Promote Email Marketing
If you've heard of MailChimp, this is Weebly version of it: Email marketing.
It has great Weebly CMS integrations, functioning as a newsletter service that lets you send marketing emails to your subscribers simply.
This is a paid service, but the pricings are good value for money. At the lowest level, you can:
- Add an unlimited number of contacts
- Make 5 campaigns monthly
- Send 2500 emails monthly
Limited Template Customizations
A web developers job usually consists of editing CSS/HTML/Java codes.
You probably are not looking for that if you're reading this Weebly UK review. However, we are sure you wouldn't mind being able to make clever tweaks without needing to code.
Weebly has hard limits on customizing its themes, damaging your ability to personalize the look of the page - even if you can code.
Squarespace & Wix have decent template customization options - right in the editor. Weebly, on the other hand, only really lets you customize the colors and fonts and other basic things.
For more, you will need to use the code editor.
How to Use Weebly?
From 0 to 100 in No Time 🚆
Weebly is one of the best website builders out there.
We’re going to run you through all of the steps needed to get your site designed, and live, in only a few minutes
You’ll also see powerful features available for optimizing your SEO and audience retention. If you’re ready, let's proceed.
Start the timer.
How to use Weebly in 7 Easy Steps
- Create an account
- Choose a theme
- Add domain
- Arrange & fill out your Weebly site
- Set up marketing, SEO, & eCommerce
- Select a plan
- Go live -- publish!
1. Create an Account
Step 1 of 7 is to head over to the Weebly.com homepage.
Begin building and making your site completely free. Just sign up, first. To do that, press “Sign Up” on the top-right of the main homepage.
Simply enter your name, email, password, & country of residence. This will set up your account with Weebly.
After that, you'll be asked to choose what kind of website you want.
- “I just need a website”
- “I need my website to have an online store”
(Edited this choice later on, if you change your mind.)
2. Choose a Theme
Now, you’re getting to interesting bits. Time to select one of 50 + themes available - for free.
Be transported away to a glacier... 
Or a serene meadow, doing yoga. 
Your choice... Choose from categories of themes related to different branding niches, from:
- Personal training
- Cleaning services
- Restaurant services
- Photography
- And much more.
The selection choices are professional-looking.
You’ll find plenty with sleek, modern, classy looks. Or choose a template with lots of exuberance, depending on the impression you want to make on your audience.
Before opting for a choice, you can preview each, to see how the full-screen looks.
With Wix, once you have chosen a template you cannot change it. Fortunately, Weebly - like Squarespace - gives you the freedom to change your base template at any point.
Once decided on a template that catches your eye, you’re onto Weebly UK review guide Step 3.
3. Add Domain
This is another area where Weebly outperforms Wix. If you want to opt for a free URL, then Squarespace offers a free subdomain.
This will give you an address that looks like: yoursitename.squarespace.com
Grab a custom Weebly domain service if you want to look more professional, e.g. hostingdata.co.uk
If you already own a domain, and want to connect it, press the blue link at the bottom of the domain selection screen.
You should expect to pay 15 - 20 GBP for an annual domain registration.
Generally, you want to keep your domain name short, on-brand, and named something that is memorable.
Even better, include a very popular SEO keyword related to your niche. This will naturally give it a ranking boost.
4. Arrange & Fill Out Your Website
You're going to be led to the website builder screen. Take out your paint brush and get crazy.
The user interface is idyllic, with a drag-and-drop system. Meaning, you do not have to keep clicking around in order to make individual edits. Big time-saver.
Just hover over to where you want to edit. You will immediately be presented with an adjustable text box. There's no coding involved. Just edit intuitively.
Even the background can be edited. Just click on the image; you'll be presented with options. The left-hand menu has an Element's component. Here, you can add new components, such as videos, more text, & buttons.
You will notice that some features are not available on the Free Plan.
Only those with a lightning bolt symbol can be accessed. At this stage, you are yet to upgrade to a later plan, which also includes custom domain Weebly hosting. That comes in step 6...
But for the elements that are accessible, just drag the icon onto the screen and you will be given another editable selection.
Also from the left-hand screen:
- Add new pages
- Change the layouts
- Adjust color schemes
Also available from the navigation pane is the option to add loads of different apps:
- Site booster
- Weebly Promote - for marketing
- SEO optimization tools
Once you connect an app to your account, it will be available in the “Elements” section - just like any other element is.
5. Set Up Marketing & eCommerce
If you initially selected a website that can function as a store, you will have that option on the top-left corner of the menu.
(Go to the accounts dashboard, if you want to add the “function as a store” ability to your site)
A guide will ask you about your store and what it does, to set up products, a payment system, shipping, taxes, and then publish.
6. Choose a Plan
Weebly does not allow advanced features - such as advanced eCommerce, with shopping carts and so on - on the free plan
Once again, you will be given the option of choosing an online store-based website or a regular website.
This amounts to 7 plans in total:
For Websites -
- Free
- Connect (2 GBP /month)
- Pro (4.80 GBP /month)
- Business (10 GBP /month)
For Online Stores -
- Pro (4.80 GBP /month)
- Business (10 GBP /month)
- Business Plus (15.40 GBP /month)
Weebly Review Top Tips
- The Connect Plan allows you to create a custom domain with Weebly hosting
- The Pro Plan is the cheapest option for selling without adverts
- The Business plan gives you a full set of eCommerce features
7. Go Live - Publish!
This is as simple as hitting in the “Publish” button
To unpublish, head to the “Settings” menu in your dashboard and scroll down until you find the “Unpublish Your Site” option.
Weebly Pricing 💰
A Closer Look
When it comes to pricing, you have to consider what you were paying for
Websites that take too long to load, lose customers. As a result, the speed of the web host must be taken into consideration.
The Edge on Wix
Our Weebly review team were surprised here, in that it outperforms Wix in its ability to allow users to host with a third-party provider.
In this way, you could use a different hosting company for server resources, and Weebly simply for the web design.
Grab a powerful free web host or use a paid plan with even more capabilities.
If you are running events - or need to knock up a website quickly for some other reason - and expect high traffic, you could grab a great VPS plan, and then create a site with Weebly.
Speed and simplicity with power.
Available Plans
Like Wix, Weebly has loads of different plans to choose from.
These can take a little bit of time to get your head around. But they are roughly divided into two categories:
- For websites
- For online stores
You will notice a huge array of features, particularly regarding eCom & marketing.
And, unlike Squarespace, there is an option for a Free Plan. The Free Plan gives you good value:
- SEO optimization tools
- Lead capture & contact forms
- But no phone support
The second category is the business category, and you only get eCommerce features on the non-business category if you go for one of the later tiers: Business or Pro.
Let's break it all down:
Weebly Regular Websites
Each plan gives you what the one before has, with additional features:
Free 🆓
- Free SSL Setup
- 500 MB Storage
- Weebly Domain
- Basic SEO
- Contact Forms
- Community Forum
- Chat & Email Support
- Connect Domain (£2)
Free
Pro 💹
- Free Weebly domain
- Unlimited Storage
- Google Ads 75 GBP
- Phone Support
- Advanced Site Stats
- Shopping Cart
- Accept Payments
- Remove Weebly Ads
For £4.80/month
Business 👔
- Item Badges
- Tax Calculator
- Coupon Codes
- Square Gift Cards
- Item Reviews
- Shipping Calculator
- Shipping Discounts
- Advanced eCom
For £10/month
For Online Stores 📲
Each plan gives you what the one before has, with additional features:
Pro 📊
- Free Custom Domain
- Google Ads 75 GBP
- Free SSL Security
- Unlimited Storage
- Shopping Cart
- Basic SEO
- Advanced Site Stats
- 24/7 Support
£4.80/month
Business 💼
- Item Badges
- Tax Calculator
- Coupon Codes
- Square Gift Cards
- Item Reviews
- Shipping Calculator
- Shipping Discounts
- eCommerce Statistics
£10/month
Business Plus 🏦
- Everything You Get With Pro/Business
- Google Ads
(75 GBP Value) - Email Marketing
(72 GBP Value) - Abandoned cart emails
- Real-Time Shipping
£15.40/month
Weebly Review Top Tip #1 🌟
The Pro Plan gives you access to phone support and a shopping cart feature.
It’s also the first plan level where you can remove annoying Weebly ads, level-up from 500 MB storage to unlimited - plus, connect a custom domain.
All plans come with a free SSL certificate.
Weebly Review Top Tip #2 🌟
Boost the speed of your Weebly sites by grabbing a solid host.
Or, quickly create a live website with Weebly that can handle massive amounts of traffic - by grabbing dedicated hosting with a third-party provider.
Does Weebly Have Good SEO?
How Optimized?
It doesn't matter how beautiful your website is, if no one is able to find it.
Search engine optimization - or SEO - is a measure of how visible your website is when particular keywords, related to your site, are entered into Google or other search engines.
WordPress has many options that result in a mobile-optimized experience, even static site designs - due to the wide variety of plugins that can be used to adjust themes for mobile.
Simply choose a mobile-responsive theme and you will boost your SEO success.
Not only that, but Google now focuses on mobile versions of content when it comes to indexing & ranking.
Mobile traffic has increased its market share of total worldwide browsing by 222% between 2013 & 2018.
It already dominates over desktop-based browsing, and once 5G networking comes in, there will likely be an exponential increase.
Ensure that your website is mobile-optimized, to get a massive advantage - particularly if it is amongst the top-tier of mobile experiences.
Mobile-First, Desktop Second...
Back in 2017, Google did not factor in mobile-optimized websites for its ranking lists, due to not having the measures in place to calculate page-speed for mobile.
That's changed. No longer can they only calculate desktop browser-based site speeds.
They have to make a more realistic analysis of the most typical user experiences. Mobile search trends drive more keywords than it used to, as well.
Can You Do Enough With Weebly in SEO?
It is very tempting to spend thousands of pounds on website development, and things like SEO.
Even though we know how important SEO is for rankings and conversions, high initial costs may not be ideal for a newer or smaller business, or even a personal brand.
If you want something starting out - that can get attention, or just somewhere that visitors can go when they see your online “business card” - then you don't need to worry much about SEO.
If you want organic traffic, however, that's when SEO comes into play.
Meta Tags & Descriptions
Weebly allows you to add these SEO elements to each page or post, using its built-in editor. Check it out:
There are few glitches such as duplications - this can happen if you enter these descriptions in both the settings tab AND page editor.
Make sure to avoid this.
Heavy JavaScript & Header Sections
Clean code is vital for a quick website.
Weebly uses a lot of javascript codes in the header sections, and this is honestly not beneficial for SEO.
If you look at how it appears in the Inspect Elements tab, you will find a lot of garbled source codes worthy of The Matrix the movie.
Lack of Flexibility in Advanced SEO Features
The bottom line: You can get basic SEO solutions with Weebly, but it is not very good with customisations, functionality, and flexibility.
Squarespace is the best option, if you want to have room for competitive growth in the future, with the simplicity of a drag-and-drop builder.
Weebly Review Top Tip
Keep in mind that almost half of websites on the internet are built on the WordPress backbone. This is your competition.
Always have in mind how you can compete with the level necessary to accomplish your site’s goals. Understand what your content management system needs to do, before opting for one.
Bonus Features
Arranged by Plan, Starting From Free
We’ve organized Weebly’s most standout features, according to the plan level. Look out for these perks 
Load Capture & Contact Forms (Free Plan)
Form Builders can be used to grow your audience.
Like everything else here, this is drag-and-drop. Place them wherever you want on the website, and gather data from your viewership.
Viewers sign-up with their name and email address - using the forms.
Marketing
This feeds into your email marketing campaign.
You can put them onto specific lists and customize your form to gather specific types of data. Offer free perks, in return.
Stylize the color, phone, text, and other layout features of your contact forms. Create automatic email-responders.
You can even allow your visitors to submit documents, pictures, and other file uploads.
There are different types of forms, from Lead Gen forms to Newsletter Sign-up forms, to Review and Collect Data forms.
This gives you a lot of flexibility and control in how you collect info from your site's visitors.
Shopping Cart (Pro Plan)
There's a reason why Amazon uses so many variations of its shopping cart.
A well-designed cart will motivate a potential buyer to buy. Weebly’s shopping cart is fully-integrated into your eCommerce website.
It is automatically matched to your website's unique theme template.
There's no coding required. And you can customize every aspect of the shopping cart - from its payment options to advanced features.
All of these providers are accepted with Weebly’s shopping cart:
- Square
- Stripe
- PayPal
- Apple pay
- iOS pay
We’re still waiting on cryptocurrency… 
Because all of these sites come with a free SSL certificate, this gives your website an SEO boost and avoids any warnings that the visitor might experience in the browser.
You'll be offering a secure payment solution that can function on mobiles responsively. Taxes are also automatically calculated.
Square Gift Cards (Business Plan)
Okay, so our Weebly UK review team think this is a very, very cool feature.
For the creative mind it amongst you, you can create gift cards for friends, family, and visitors. When there is a special event, like a birthday, this can bring good business to your website
Weebly’s custom gift cards can be used as a marketing tool. The average online shopper spends over 100 GBP on gift cards, over the holidays.
This is a great way to spread the word-of-mouth. It's almost like handing out your business card.
Get talk about your online store on the streets. To create a custom gift card, simply go to the editor, search for “Store & Products,” and find “Gift Cards,” then select “Enable.”
You will find options for custom gift cards, with custom cash amounts - in multiples of 5. This will then become displayed in your shopping cart layout.
Real-Time Shipping (Business Plus Plan)
Real-time shipping lets you - very accurately - calculate shipping rates.
The good news: This is an awesome feature… The bad news: It’s only available in the US, Canada, & Mexico.
The feature removes the likelihood of you overcharging/undercharging on a product delivery.
For sellers with physical based products, this is potentially a must-have tool. You can accurately get your customer to cover the delivery costs, ensuring that you keep more of your profit.
Connect your own delivery accounts with:
- UPS
- USPS
- FedEx
- DHL Express
We really hope that they get this service integrated into European delivery networks sometime soon!
Weebly Website Examples
There are a bunch of good Weebly website examples out there, and we managed to scoop up a couple of them to showcase. Without further ado:
Example #1 - Japhletba (Artistic Personal Branding Site)
The first of our Weebly examples is a simple website with an animated intro screen.
(You can’t see it on the screenshot. The scroll button underneath the musician’s name has a very cool animated line.)
This is an example of how easy it is to create a professional-looking website, with an online store to sell your products.
In this case, it was just an image of the musician. You can also use video...
The other components are handled by Weebly’s design infrastructure.
The video page also has a very cool layout of clips. These draw from YouTube, not requiring files to be hosted on the Weebly CMS.
This is great for media producers. There are plenty of cool things possible with a setup like this. Entertain your viewers, and capture attention through a very important form of media: Video.
Example #2 - Storytelling Strands (Small Online Shop)
Another example of where Weebly really shines.
This website sells crystals and natural stones. For small businesses - not afraid to be small - Weebly can create a homely page, with all the advanced functionalities of a high-tier eCom store.
Use high-quality images of your product, or a stock image that falls in the same vein.
This jewelry crafter connected their Weebly page with their Etsy account.
It seamlessly links into the Etsy marketplace, where visitors can purchase anything that catches their eye.
In this way, you do not need to use Weebly for every page.
You can link to other pages and imagistically keep branding the same. There's also a gallery function, with a range of layouts that can be implemented to advertise your products.
Example #3 - Leadapreneur (Personal Branding with Products)
I think you are getting the hang of this now.
Like the first two Weebly examples, you can see how easy it is to create something very personal to you very quickly.
It might not look like a high-class website, but you can manipulate it by inserting things like personalized videos of yourself and case studies.
In this… case, entrepreneurs are quite fond of being able to see who they are buying from.
Use video, to have a stronger connection, which explains how popular YouTube is. People get to see, hear, look into your eyes - as you speak.
Good for entrepreneurial-type business-people who have the need to advertise themselves. Sell personalized subscription-based products.
Connecting video with Weebly could be a very good combination. This is also an excellent idea for “Time-Limited-Window” products that go up quickly.
Weebly FAQ
The Commonly Asked
Here, you can find answers to your most burning questions, answered the Weebly UK review team.
These tend to come up over and over again when customers are making a decision on whether to go with Weebly.
Let's fire off the questions in the Commonly Asked section 
Is Weebly Easy to Use?
Many people think Weebly is the easiest drag-and-drop website on the market.
Overall, drag-and-websites allow you to point-and-click - and directly manipulate blocks of information on the page.
You can drag information wherever you want on the preview screen, while other builders have things laid out in a very specific alignment.
If you want to manipulate the background image, simply click it and press “Edit.”
The only limitation with a software like Weebly is tweaking things to the point where they look and function at the highest levels of professionalism.
Weebly is not for larger businesses. This is a software you use if you are a smaller business or personalized, individual brand.
Particularly if you are just putting yourself out there as you are, you can create a very unique and authentic image in little to no time.
It really does not get easier than Weebly. (Maybe Wix).
Does Weebly Own Your Content?
Weebly has a strict terms & conditions requirement for what they allow and do not allow.
You cannot have adult content that involves nudity. You also cannot have copyrighted content that you do not own.
Things like “hate speech,” spam SEO, as well as anything deemed to be a scam, will get your website taken down.
With all of that said, Weebly does not state any claim of ownership of your content. You have all the rights to reformat and distribute your content - wherever you want.
On the other hand, Weebly does not offer any migrating services for your content.
If you build and design a website on that platform, there is no way for you to migrate it to another great host at a later date.
Overally, you own your content and will also be liable for your content - so you must make sure it does not breach their terms and conditions, if you want to keep it up and live!
Is Weebly Owned by Square?
Square bought Weebly back in 2018, for a couple of hundred million dollars.
During the acquisition, there were a few months of lack of development as the company figured out the branding and direction for the company.
Since, Square has made a lot of updates to the Weebly online store.
eCommerce functionality has since increased, by using Squares pre-existing sales infrastructure.
Square is a very sales-oriented company, so you can expect Weebly to make many new developments in the eCommerce area.
Because Square has access to very large merchants, this may also mean that Weebly gains better pricing deals with third-party eCommerce integrations.
Wix vs. WordPress
WordPress is incredibly flexible.
Even beginners can find it user-friendly - particularly if they use online guides, available for setting up themes.
On that note, its theme directory is immense, expanding by the day. WP’s open marketplaces also offer SEO-optimized themes that can also give you an advantage when it comes to Google rankings.
That said, Weebly is still in the standings - despite only being around since 2006.
Quite simply, it’s very simple to use - while still attaining the type of beauty possible in Squarespace or WordPress.
In all truth, they've been experiencing a downward trend in popularity over the years. And Weebly might not have massive customisation abilities compared to WordPress. But it can deliver these things:
- A very good-looking website that is simple to set up, for a good price
- Cutting-edge features, without needing to code
This company should not be underestimated.
Conclusion 📉
The Bottom-Line
Compared to Squarespace or WordPress, the Weebly sitebuilder does not lead to quite as visually-stunning results.
However, unlike those two examples, it is completely drag-and-drop.
You can knock something up very quickly that looks professional enough for a personal brand or small business.
The Weebly templates available can begin to look a little bit lifeless if you are trying to market yourself as a higher-end provider.
From a first glance, it is clear that the designer has lots of limitations.
We would recommend this builder as an extension of a business card. 
It can also suit well in terms of branding for a homely business.
But for something that is more commercial, Weebly may end up costing your business.
You might want to use WordPress instead - in that case - with a top WordPress host. This would give you more room for code customizations.
Should you decide to make your websites more unique to you, or more capable in some way or manner, WP would be the safe, most competitive bet.
-- We hope this Weebly review helped you come to a decision. If you’re still undecided, just have a play around on their free plan.
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