The idea of drag-and-drop web design is not a new one. Microsoft FrontPage used to take up a major part of this niche, but that was years ago (Microsoft stopped bundling it with Office in 2003). With the growing transition to Web-based applications, it would only make sense that this sort of work would also be done in a browser, and that where you'll find Weebly.
Weebly's ribbon-esque interface lets you visually change the look of website elements and add new elements without writing any code.Weebly is similar to visual website creator Moonfruit. Like Moonfruit, it is Web-based; and much like some desktop applications, Weebly uses a tall, ribbon-like toolbar at the top of the window, divided into five tabs. The first tab, called Elements, lets you populate your page with paragraphs, titles, and pictures, as well as more advanced elements like a two-column layout, a custom HTML block (in which you can use any markup you like), or a Google AdSense ad display unit for monetizing your website.
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These elements are all in a category Weebly calls Basic. There are additional elements filed under Multimedia (slideshow, Flash elements, YouTube videos), Revenue, and a catch-all category called More, with miscellanea such as an online poll widget, a built-in feed reader, and so on. Though most elements are available in the free version of Weebly, a few are Pro-only (the video element, for example). A Pro license costs $3 to $5 per month, and is good for ten websites on the same account.
The next tab, Design, lets you pick an overall theme for your website. You can switch between dozens of color and background schemes with a single click, and specify the fonts used on the site (including Web fonts such as the free Yanone Kaffeesatz). If you know a bit of HTML and CSS, you can create your own custom theme and code it using the built-in code editor, which supports syntax highlighting.
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The next tab, Pages, lets you expand the site by creating additional pages. You can hide a page from the menu, and even password-protect it. You're not limited to static pages, either: A single click of the Blog button adds a blog to your site. Users can subscribe to your blog using an RSS feed, as with any other blog on the Web.
Creating a website is often a collaborative endeavor, which is where Weebly’s next tab comes into play: The Editors tab lets you invite others to work with you on the website. The free version allows you to make them into Administrators only (users of equal rights to your own, able to change anything and everything). The Pro version adds the option to specify "Author" access (for editing selected pages), and "Dashboard Only" access (for viewing stats or managing comments).
Since there are so many different elements and themes, websites built with Weebly can achieve truly unique looks. While other platforms (such as WordPress) allow for customization, a WordPress website still often ends up feeling like WordPress. By contrast, websites made with Weebly can end up looking unique enough so they don't feel like they were created using the same tool. You can see some examples in the Weebly Site Showcase.
Comments
Merav Horovitz said: I have concerns with weebly My main concerns are these and perhaps you can answer them Once you build your site with them is it owned by them Can you take the files elsewhere I built a site with wix and had this issue I was told that they own them My other concern is SEO I want the ease and flexibility of building a good looking site but a great concern of mine is being found on search engines by potential customers How good and easy is it to optimize a site built with weebly Also I purchased hosting thru bluehostcom thinking I would build with wordpress but am feeling somewhat overwhelmed Would I no longer need bluehost how does it work do they host for you I have a few domains with email I need to put up 2 sites They are currently up now but I want to re-do them so what would i do in the interim while I am working on the new ones Is there a package for multiple sites Or is it per site Thanks so much for your time
Faiza Naseem said: thanks for your advice people I was just about to go for weebly fully paid site now i wont and I know ive had a very BAD EXPERIENCE with Vista Print I bought my Domain name from them and now im unable to transfer it to another registrar due to the fact that some essential bits of info are missing
Liam Harper said: Can I ask what kind of content your sites had Any idea what might have breached the ToS
Cornelius Ryan said: Helloi have the same experience Two weeks of hard work with building a site and adding all functions plus all written content was suddenly spoildedThey said i had violated their tos and my account was shut down No explanation given they are like dictators judge and excetution patrol at the sama timeWARNING FOR WEEBLYSYou can loose all your stes in no timeHIGH RISK PROJECTBEWARE
Ben Gill said: A word of caution if you are planning to use Weebly I have had a very bad experience with Weebly After more than 6 months as their paid customer they just all of a sudden shut down my website The reason they gave was that I was in breach of their terms of service This happen without warning and I was not allowed to save even a backup copy of my website I wrote a long e-mail back and got no response What I did next was transferred my domain name ownership from Weebly to me via Godaddy Next I used Google cache to retrieve backup copies of my site and used that to build a new one better than Weebly After two weeks Weebly sent me a reminder asking me to renew my domain name with them To my shocked I even discovered my Weebly account was fully restored all websites included They gave no reason except of course wanting my money So if you still want to take the risk with Weebly go ahead but never buy a domain name through them and make sure you keep a local backup copy of your site