Weebly – Powerful Sites in Half the Time

When you need a professional website fast, Weebly is the application to check out. The free website building tool can help anyone create a website or blog that looks professional, feels secure, and is completely custom – all in just a matter of a few short minutes.

At the center of Weebly is the web-apps drag-and-drop website builder. You don’t need any technical skills or experience whatsoever to be able to drag various website elements into place on your screen. Create an account and choose a template from one of the hundreds of options available on the Weebly site. Once your template has been selected, you can add content by dragging and dropping various elements into place. Add a title, video, maps, slideshows, photos, contact forms, or paragraphs of text. These elements can be moved around and re-arranged at any time, and you can crop or rotate photos within Weebly, as well. When your site is designed in a way that you like, it’s time move forward by registering your own domain. Or, if you’d rather not spend the money, then you can choose a free Weebly subdomain address or use a domain you already own. Weebly websites go live almost immediately.

Websites and blogs that are created with Weebly are hosted for free on its cloud-based hosting infrastructure. An online support center has been set up to answer questions and offer guidance at any time, day or night. Although Weebly may not be right for every busy professional, it is a great option for people who want a quick way to design a website for personal or business reasons.

Practical Uses:

• Design a website to promote your new hair salon
• Create an informational website for your wedding guests
• Build a website with maps and directions to an upcoming charity event
• Spread the word about your new restaurant by building a website with menus, photos, and videos

Insider Tips:

• Users can purchase domains through Weebly
• Weebly offers Google AdSense integration for users who want advertising on their sites
• Photos can be editing in Weebly by using the ImagePerfect Image Editor
• Users with upgraded accounts get additional features, like password protection and audio players

What we liked:

• The drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to design a website
• Weebly offers hundreds of stylish templates
• Users can always upgrade to a paid plan if they want additional storage
• People with limited funds or technical knowledge can make their own websites

What we didn’t like:

• Users can only drag and drop elements into places that Weebly allows, which limits how much a site can truly be customized

Alternatives:

• Doodlekit – http://doodlekit.com
• Jimdo – http://www.jimdo.com
• SiteKreator – http://sitekreator.com

Company Info:

• Launched: June 2006
• Privately Held
• Headquarters: San Francisco, California
• Founded by: Dan Veltri, David Rusenko, and Chris Fanini
• Web site: http://www.weebly.com

Costs:

• Free accounts
• Pro accounts are $4.99/month