weebly review

The first thing I want to say about Weebly is that it really does offer completely free web hosting. There is an available upgrade, of course, but the basic plan is free. No cash. No ads. No pop ups. No anoying Weebly banner. The site has a good reputation, too, and has been around for some time. It was listed near the top of Time Magazines 50 best websites in 07 and seems to be holding its own. I transferred my dot come to the site last night and am feeling pretty good about it. This is my URL: bijoulerie.com if you'd like to see how it came out.

Starting out on Weebly is easy. If you don't want Weebly in your URL, you can buy a dot com through the site or bring your own from wherever it is parked. Buying one from Weebly is encouraged and you will be warned that transferring an existing dot com is complicated. There is a tutorial however o the Weebly website and it is understandable. I found the process relatively easy though I did hit a snag towards the end. Even so, transferring my dot com from GoDaddy to Weebly took probably 15 minutes or less.

Making your website is painless thanks to Weebly's user friendly drag and drop widget type interface. Widgets include the usual text and picture applications as well as contact form and Google AdSense. Google AdSense allows you to sell things directly from your site but as I understand it, a huge bite is taken out of any money you make. Because I link my site directly to Etsy via Etsy Mini this doesn't effect me but for many people it would be a definite draw back. There is an advanced editing mode for anyone who wants to write there own html. but there are also around 50 different templates to choose from. You can upload your own banner as well.

My site went up in 2-3 multi-tasking hours and, aside from the other stuff I had to do, it was a fun 2-3 hours. I found nothing in the Weebly interface that was frustrating or confusing. and I'm pretty easily frustrated. I'm not sure how Weebly stacks up against other similar sites but it seems like a nice fit for me so far. I'll include updates as I progress.