Weebly founders, David Rusenko, Chris Fanini and Dan Veltri, started working on the site while they were still students at Penn State. In 2007, the editing interface went public and by 2008, Weebly had over one million users. The company's rapid growth has yet to lose steam. As of 2016, Weebly supports over 30 million websites. Read our Weebly eCommerce review below.
OverviewFor over eight years, Weebly has been working to perfect an eCommerce and shopping cart platform that is simple to use. It is created so that anyone can open an account and get started without any prior experience. Looking at the number of users alone, it is safe to assume that Weebly has met many of its goals. A quick tour through the program confirms that the platform provides an excellent tool for novices.
While some platforms offer a particular focus or cater to certain types of businesses, Weebly has a more general audience. Entrepreneurs and small business owners can quickly launch a store and start building an online presence.
Here are a few standard features you will enjoy:
Limitations
Paid Weebly plans are surprisingly devoid of technical limitations. Even the starter plan come with unlimited storage. While there isn’t an email feature, you can quickly link your website to your personal Gmail accounts. The big difference between pricing packages is the number of products you are allowed to add. Otherwise, Weebly allows for an impressive amount of freedom.
Scalability
Weebly is meant for start-ups, but it does offer plenty of room for growth. Although the company is looking to pair with entrepreneurs, you can build a large online store with Weebly. The business package allows for unlimited products. It also helps that Weebly is available in 15 different languages and ready for international sales. You can accept payment from around the world and ship anywhere.
Canceling Your Policy
You can try out Weebly using their free plan. All you need is an email address to get started. The free version includes a drag-and-drop editor, hosting and unlimited pages. It should give you a good idea of what to expect from upgraded plans.
If you decide to cancel your paid subscription, you can easily make this change to your account. Once you cancel, your site will no longer be operating, but your plan will be active until your subscription expires. Weebly doesn’t offer refunds for unused time on your account.
Reputation
Weebly is one of the most recognizable names in eCommerce. And for good reason. They were one of the first to create a website builder that can be used by anyone. It is easy to forget that just ten years ago, there were virtually no design tools outside of coding. Since their early days, Weebly has expanded to provide a full-service builder. The company is now regarded as a pioneer that has also managed to stay relevant. They continue to grow at an impressive pace.
Awards
Why Choose Weebly eCommerce Business Website Builder?
If you want to start a professional eCommerce site without having to learn code or hire a designer, Weebly is a great option. The editor is impressively easy to use yet can still create sophisticated and attractive websites. There aren’t any obvious flaws with the program, and it continues to be an industry leader.
Key Features
Design & CustomizationThe Weebly template section helps you narrow down your choice. There are three main categories: site, blog or store. Once you select the type of site you want to build, you can choose from 24 different free templates. You can preview themes as you browse and switch themes at any time.
In the past, customers have not been that impressed with the available themes. They weren’t necessarily bad. They just lacked a certain “wow” factor. Fortunately, this is an area where Weebly has clearly been doing some work. The current selection of themes is vastly improved and help lay the foundation for a great looking site.
Overall, the templates are modern and professional. And don’t forget that you can customize at will. Anything you don’t like about a template can be easily changed using the drag and drop editor or HTML and CSS.
Mobile Friendly
All of the themes are mobile friendly. However, only more recent themes are responsive. Unless you are really in love with a particular theme, it is a good idea to choose a responsive option. This avoids having to deal with a separate mobile theme.
User Interface
The design dashboard is sleek and uncluttered. The onboarding features provide just enough guidance to help point you in the right direction without becoming distracting. You always have access to help, but the chances are that you won’t need much to get started.
Photos and Galleries
One design drawback is that Weebly doesn’t offer online storage for your images. If you want to reuse a picture, you will have to upload it each time. Editing images within Weebly also come with limited options. You can complete basic functions like cropping and rotate. There are even a few special effect editing tools, but nothing too impressive. If you want to play with an image, you may want to edit it before you upload it to Weebly.
Social Sharing
Social media is a vital part of any online business. Weebly makes exceptionally easy to link your accounts. You can create RSS feeds and insert “like” and “share” buttons on any and every page. It is also easy to view and manage comments so that you can interact with customers.
Design Services
At the moment, Weebly doesn’t offer design services. However, it looks like they are beta testing a portal where you can connect with freelance designers. You can sign up for beta testing or hunt down a freelancer on your own.
Features & Tools | Feature | Overview |
| Online Store Setup | True design novices can use the site planner to get started. This feature will virtually hold your hand through the entire setup process. All you have to do is follow along. It doesn’t get much easier, and you will learn a lot. |
| Bandwidth and Storage | Only the free plan comes with a 500MB storage limit. Otherwise, paying customers can enjoy unlimited storage and bandwidth. There is no need to worry about overages. This can be a big plus for any business on a budget. |
| Shopping Cart Plugins and Add-ons | The app store offers plenty of add-ons to expand your site. However, most users will find that the shopping cart feature comes standard with all the tools they need. |
| Order Management | The Weebly order management system does it all. You can offer personalized responses, send shipment notifications and view reports any time an order is placed. All the data you could want is right at your fingertips. |
| Inventory Management | Adding products couldn’t be easier. You can add as many options as you like. The interface makes it simple and straightforward to manage your inventory. You can also track and display inventory numbers to customers and know the moment items are out of a stick. |
| Shipment Tracking | You can choose any combination of shipping options you would like. There are no limits. Offer free shipping, accept a particular post carrier and offer different shipping speeds. You can generate tracking numbers and ensure prompt delivery. Weebly truly offers one of the most robust shipping management tools. |
| CRM Features | Customize email receipts, cancel orders and manage customer interactions with ease. The admin dashboard is intuitive and easy to navigate. You won’t have trouble finding your way around and completing tasks. |
| Templates and Themes | While some website builders offer hundreds of themes, that isn’t always a good thing. There is something to be said for quality over quantity. Weebly offers around 75 different themes that are modern and totally customizable. They may not blow you away, but they will get the job done and you can always make improvements on your own. |
| Integrations and Add-ons | Only Google Maps and YouTube are the only standard integrations offered. That being said, the Weebly app store allows you to add just about any program to your site. |
| Mobile eCommerce | Not only can you choose from responsive themes; you can also use an app to run your website from the field. Even the app comes with a drag-and-drop editor. Manage your store and edit your site from anywhere. You won’t have to worry about being tied to your desk. |
| Web Hosting | With Weebly, you can enjoy fast and reliable hosting. Load times are great, and they will take care of all the technical aspects of hosting a site. Business plan participants will also enjoy an SSL. |
| App Store | The app store offers hundreds of apps organized by category. It is also nice that the prices are clearly displayed. Choose from plenty of free and reasonably priced options. You can add any functionality to your site. |
| Blogging | The blog feature is just as easy to use as the rest of the site. Simply drag and drop elements and content. Plus, all the social sharing buttons and tools are built right in. Produce RSS feeds, feature post and easily manage comments. |
| SEO and Marketing | Enjoy all the SEO and marketing features you will need to build your business. You can insert meta tags and descriptions and optimize keywords. Reporting tools also allow you to track performance and develop marketing strategies. All the tools are there; it is up to you to use them and improve search engine rankings. |
| Newsletters | The ability to send newsletters is not a standard feature. While you can visit the app center and choose a program to integrate, you will probably have to pay a subscription fee. Look for options that don’t charge until your mailing list exceeds a certain number of contacts. Otherwise, sending a newsletter to your monthly expenses. |
| Security Features | Weebly comes with a comprehensive security plan. You will be protected against hackers and enjoy an SSL certificate. Customers can browse your site over a 128-bit encrypted connection. |
| PCI Certification | Weebly is PCI compliant. Your customer’s credit card information will be securely protected. |
| Content Creation | It doesn’t get better than drag and drop content management. The design dashboard allows you to add elements to any page and quickly resize blocks. It takes just minutes to add pages, products and other new content. |
| Gift Certificates | Selling gift certificates and offered discounts and coupon codes are super simple. The management dashboard allows you to make these available in just a few clicks. |
| Payment Options | While Weebly doesn’t partner with dozens of payment gateways, it has the big ones covered. Choose from PayPay, Stripe, Authorize.net and others. You will have all the tools you need to handle domestic and international payments. |
| Tax and Shipping Calculators | Weebly offers more shipping options than most. Automatically calculate tax according to location and set shipping rates any way you want. You have plenty of freedom without having to do the math yourself. |
| Reports | Real-time reporting allows you to track just about anything. View product performance, check inventory and keep up-to-date with your business. |
| Site Statistics | Even users with a free plan can see particular site statistics. Track page views, unique visitors, top performing pages and much more. If you want to add Google Analytics, you will have to embed the code yourself. This is a relatively easy process, but Weebly does not offer integration setup to help. |
Plans & Pricing To say that Weebly eCommerce website builder is competitively price is an understatement. Not only do their plans run below the industry average, they include a broad range of features that are hard to find all in one place. They are also one of the only platforms to offer an entirely free version. All you need is an email address to build a complete website and store. The one limitation is that your site will contain Weebly branding and come with a cap on storage space.
If you would like to upgrade your pricing plan, you can add a long list of features for as little as $5 per month. Here is a breakdown of the available packages:
Starter
$9/month for a six-month plan$8/month for a one-year plan$5/month for a two-year plan
Pro
$14/month for a six-month plan$12/month for a one year plan
$9/month for a two-year plan
Includes all the starter plan features plus:
Business
$34/month for a six-month plan$25/month for a one-year plan$21/month for a two-year plan
Includes all the pro plan features plus:
You can have access to all the top features for just $21 a month. There simply isn’t another platform that offers that kind of value. If nothing else, you will get your money’s worth with Weebly.
Customer Support If you want access to all of Weebly’s support tools, you will have to open a business account. But again, even their premium plan is available for just $21 a month. You can contact customer support by phone, email or live chat. Customer support hours are 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time (M-F) and seven a.m. to 4 p.m. on the weekends.
Users can also watch free training videos and browse FAQ pages. The Weebly support center covers every topic you need to know about. The articles offer helpful information and screenshots with clear directions.
Weebly is working on adding community forums. You will be able to visit and provide feedback about changes, suggest improvements and discuss issues with other users. This feature is still in the initial development stages but is something to look forward to in the future.
While there are plenty of ways to contact Weebly, their actual customer service record isn’t exactly conclusive. Many customers report that they receive quick responses, but that the answers lack helpful information. On the other hand, there are plenty of positive reviews.
Overall, there seem to be mixed sentiments about the quality of customer service. From the sounds of it, there isn’t a consistent level of performance across the company. It may all depend on which customer service representative you talk with on any given day.
So while the final verdict isn’t entirely negative, this may be an area where Weebly needs to make improvements. It seems fair to expect a certain level of service every time you contact them. There are always going to be exceptions, but they should be far and few between.
Ease of Use Sometimes drag and drop editors aren’t as simple as they seem. While you can add blocks, there may be restrictions on where you can make changes or on resizing blocks. That isn’t the case the Weebly. It provides a true drag-and-drop editor. You can select an element and move it onto your site. This makes customizing your template as simple as possible. For business owners with little to no design experience, these tools make it feasible and affordable to build a professional website. Practically anyone can get started with Weebly.
If you need some extensive hand-holding and step-by-step guidance, Weebly will be there for you. The interface is clean and easy to navigate. Onboarding features and help tools will give you direction and answer your questions.
When it comes to ease of use and a positive user experience, Weebly ranks at the top.
Conclusion Should you Choose Weebly eCommerce?
Absolutely. With Weebly, there isn’t one stand-out feature or characteristic. What you will get is a great all-around shopping cart for an incredible value. If you want help with a particular area of focus, there may be an available option that caters to your needs.
Otherwise, Weebly is a reliable choice that will provide comprehensive features in all the major categories. It is perfect for beginners and provides everything you need to start and build an online store and grow your business. More than anything, Weebly provides an unbeatable value.
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