Weebly Review
Weebly, now a subsidiary of Square, is a long-standing DIY website builder. The platform promises that building professional websites has never been easier, with simple themes and a mobile-friendly editor.
It is fundamentally basic and, as such, requires no technical skills. But do Weebly websites actually help small businesses grow? Reports of limited flexibility and problematic customer service have recently plagued this platform, so we wanted to take a closer look at Weebly's prices, features, and overall quality.
As a professional service provider, you'll want to read this review first before launching your Weebly website.
What is Weebly?
Weebly is a drag-and-drop, template-based builder for businesses and ecommerce stores. Hosting, domain names, and security are all rolled into the platform.
Weebly began in 2007 by David Rusenko, then in 2018, was acquired by Square. This means Square Online now powers its ecommerce solutions, and slowly, Weebly seems to be transitioning toward total absorption into its parent company.
Since launching more than 15 years ago, Weebly has powered over 50 million websites. Weebly's head office is located in San Francisco, with offices in New York, Scottsdale, and Toronto.
What features does Weebly include?
Weebly offers a single product: a website builder. Unlike other platforms, they don't provide any related services like SEO, digital marketing, web design, or copywriting.
Since Square acquired Weebly, product improvements and new launches on the Weebly side seem to have slowed down, if not stalled altogether. But with that said, Weebly's service is still efficient and functional. Their website builder is broken into several tiers of features, starting with a free website plan.
All plans include partial or full access to the following three features:
Website builder
Weebly promises to give everyone the ability to build their own website through easy drag-and-drop elements and other simple tools. In addition, websites come with built-in SSL certificates, hosting, and domain names (if required).
Additional features available through the Weebly Editor include video backgrounds, custom headers, and full-width image or color backgrounds. The Weebly Editor has mobile-website editing baked into the platform.
Depending on price point, their website packages may include a blog page, email marketing, forms, and SEO tools.
Ecommerce
Weebly also services online stores, with payment processing from Square, a fully integrated shopping cart, and secure checkout. All ecommerce plans, including the free website plan, come with unlimited product listings and inventory management.
Mobile dashboard
The Weebly site builder is available from any mobile device, with apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android. This makes it possible to edit and manage the backend of your website wherever you are.
How much does Weebly cost?
Because Weebly is hyper-focused on a single simple product, it remains one of the cheapest site builders available today. Both the Free and Personal plans have Square ads appear on the templates, and these are only removed under the Professional and Performance plans.
What are the pros and cons of using Weebly?
How good are Weebly's pre-built website templates?
For a basic site creator, Weebly's templates and themes follow today's design best practices. That means simple and sleek with big visual features like backgrounds and video. They have templates for online stores, blogs, portfolios, and other small businesses.
Yet, frustratingly, it's not possible to explore the themes beyond the tiny thumbnail posted in the Themes section. Weebly also doesn't promote any case studies or client examples. How do these websites function? We don't know if the execution is as stunning as the design.
Reviews posted on Trustpilot and other third-party websites suggest that, while the Weebly web editor makes it easy to work with templates, the design lacks flexibility. Unfortunately, that means the features and layout you see on the theme are pretty much what you'll be stuck with going forward. Yes, you can change the images, fonts, and copy, but everything else remains stagnant.
The last thing you want is a stagnant web design if you’re a business owner. With Square Online slowly pushing Weebly into the background, you could assume there will be few future updates to Weebly's features.
Your website needs to support your business as it grows, no matter what size it starts at. You need a builder with designs and features that evolve throughout your journey.
B12 supports professional service providers with all the tools they need to attract, win, and serve clients online, including payment processing, scheduling, eSignatures, and other conversion tools.
Does Weebly offer copywriting, design, or technical support?
Weebly does not offer ad-hoc copywriting or design support, even if you pay for the Performance plan. That means you'll have to find the time and know-how to complete all the editing, design, and writing before the site launch.
Weebly is now one of the only site builder platforms that doesn't offer some sort of service for small business owners who need help crafting quality content and creating an attractive design. This might be because Weebly is slowly getting phased out by Square.
Weebly doesn't seem to understand that many small businesses need a hand during the website-building process. Lawyers, accountants, and architects may excel at their profession, but that doesn't mean they are equally inclined to design a website, create content, and keep up with SEO.
That's where B12 steps up to the plate. We are an AI-powered site builder that combines the efficiency of technology with the expertise of real-life professionals. Once our AI creates an industry-specific draft of your website, our SEO, copy, and design specialists get to work making sure your business shines and performs at its best.
What are some Weebly alternatives for small businesses?
With Weebly slowly fading into the background, several other DIY website builders provide similar, if not better, services. Running an online store? Check out Shopify. Need to host a personal blog? Try WordPress.
But what if you are a consultant, mortgage broker, or financial advisor? B12 is a fantastic fit for professional services.
Our platform is curated for the professional who wants an easy-to-use website builder that doesn't skimp on features. We offer tools specially designed to support clients online, including eSignatures, intake forms, credit card processing, and email marketing, just to name a few.
With a team to manage the design and launch process, we make sure your DIY website looks and feels professional and then goes live within 30 days.
Weebly review summary
While Weebly was once considered one of the best website builders, its acquisition by Square has meant it's no longer at the forefront. This isn't to say its platform isn't still functional as a basic option, but it's unlikely to evolve with the features businesses need and consumers demand.
What's more, customers report that Weebly's technical support isn't living up to expectations. Compared with before the Square takeover, long-time customers detail frustrating experiences with the new support team. The reviews are clear: Customer service is no longer as good as it once was, even for essential issues like payments.
With these limitations in mind, small business owners may want to check out alternatives, especially if they want a professional website that grows with them.
B12 offers professional service providers an all-in-one website builder with everything needed to scale. From intake to invoicing, our carefully curated tools ensure you not only meet client expectations for an online experience — you exceed them.
Our AI-powered platform creates stand-out drafts, and we don't stop there. Our in-house experts are available to help you every step along the way, from copywriting to design to launch.
Are you ready to see your new website? Get started with your free draft today.
