Weebly could very well be the fastest
growing website builder available at the moment. In a little over six years,
its user base has grown to a very impressive 12 million thanks to the intuitive
platform and user interface that Weebly boasts - and it does rather well, I
might add.
Weebly
could very well be the fastest growing website builder available at the moment
The balance of ease of use and flexibility
is often a difficult one to gauge, but Weebly has managed to combine both into
a very nice UI that allows the more basic user the ability to drag and drop,
but it also allows a more knowledgeable user the ability to manipulate sections
of the code behind the front end editor.
The signing up process is a simple enough
affair: enter your name, email and a password, then follow on to enter a name
of your website and select from a drop-down menu of pre-defined types:
Personal, Business, Group/Organization, Education, Wedding, Portfolio or Other.
After that, you can then opt for a reserved domain name, if you already have
one, or you can see if one of the subdomains of Weebly is available.
The signing up process is a simple enough affair: enter your name, email and a
password, then follow on to enter a name of your website and select from a
drop-down menu of pre-defined types
“Second to none when it comes to flexibility
and functionality”
The editor interface is jam packed with
options, which lead to many sub options, but it doesn’t feel too overbearing,
and with a few minutes of just clicking around the options available you soon
get the measure of the UI without having to resort to the help functions. The
various elements, such as text boxes, pictures, and contact forms and so on can
be dragged and dropped onto the page where they then become editable
themselves. Once you have a selection of elements in place, you can then opt to
change the overall layout, core template and the site colors by simply browsing
and clicking through the selection of templates available - and there are lots.
Weebly review
The standard website integrations are all
present: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and email are all catered for, along with
YouTube, Google Maps and the ability to embed documents via Scribd. Moreover,
once you create your Weebly site it’s automatically enhanced for mobile, with
an extra addition of a Weebly iPhone app in order to manage your site when on
the go.
As well as the basic user, Weebly manages
to cater for both the advanced amateur and the semi-professional website
builder with the addition of a HTML/CSS editor, which when clicked will bring
up a dual code and web page view, along with a sidebar filled with the site’s
CSS, HTML layouts and any files you’ve added. By clicking on the elements in
the sidebar you can alter the code and assume more control over a particular
element or further enhance its abilities. The inclusion of the HTML/CSS editor
is a nice addition, and it’s one that’s tucked nicely into the corner of the
screen, out of the way of the casual user who will more than likely never
require its use, but present for those who want a bit more than the usual
drag-and-drop routine.
The
standard website integrations are all present: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and
email are all catered for, along with YouTube, Google Maps and the ability to
embed documents via Scribd.
Going pro will set you back around $6.04
per month, but will remove the rather large Weebly footer bar at the bottom of
the screen. The footer is probably the only real issue with Weebly, although
it’s a small gripe. Weebly is second to none when it comes to flexibility and
functionality with ease of use. It may not be ideal for a complex e-commerce
site or a more advanced blog, for example, but generally Weebly offers an
amazing free website builder package, with a no pressure sales to upgrade and
plenty of options for those who just want to create without the need to delve
too deeply into web design.
Weebly
is a one-stop shop for all your web building needs
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Details:
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Price: Free
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Manufacturer: Weebly
·
Website: www.weebly.com
Scores:
·
Quality: 8/10
·
Value: 9/10
·
Overall: 9/10
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