Weebly vs. WordPress Comparison

Website Development
Weebly vs. WordPress Comparison
Article by Maria Martin
Last Updated: March 20, 2023

Weebly vs. WordPress are popular website builder choices for business owners. Weebly is a popular free website creator, while WordPress is the most widely used open-source content management system (CMS) on the market. The latter has one of the highest marketplace shares, too.

If you have narrowed down your choices to WordPress vs. Weebly, you should carefully choose between them for your brand website and e-Commerce store.

You should consider your company goals and align them with how WordPress versus Weebly can help you achieve them. In addition, take into account the ease of use of the two platforms.

Your choice will also depend on how technically knowledgeable you are or the budget you intend to allocate for Weebly or WordPress outsourcing.

To help you decide, let us review how WordPress vs. Weebly compare in terms of the most crucial aspects of a website builder.

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Weebly vs. WordPress: An Overview of Features

Here, we take a look at the features you will get from Weebly and WordPress.

Weebly Features

Weebly is a website builder with its own fully hosted server. It does not require installation on your computer, so you can work on the platform online. It is widget-based, uses drag-and-drop elements, and does not require programming.

While the entirety of Weebly’s storage system is unlimited, the individual file size allowed for upload is limited. The limit will be based on your plan:

  • Included plan: 10MB per file maximum
  • Starter plan: 100MB per file maximum
  • Pro plan: 250MB per file maximum
  • Business plan: 1GB per file maximum

The free plan allows you to use a free Weebly subdomain, ending your URL with “.weebly.com.” You can create a custom domain via one of the abovementioned paid plans.

These are major websites powered by Weebly:

  • The Box Bros
  • Indy Plush
  • Casky Beats

WordPress Features

WordPress is an open-source website-building CMS tool enabling you to create, launch, and manage online content without programming.

A WordPress site needs a domain name and a web host. You can purchase both accounts from a hosting company, such as:

  • Bluehost
  • HostGator
  • GoDaddy
  • SiteGround
  • GreenGeeks
  • Hostinger
  • DreamHost

Moreover, WordPress needs installation to set you up for website creation and design.

Microsoft and Whitehouse.gov are examples of renowned websites powered by WordPress.

Weebly vs. WordPress Features Verdict

With both WordPress vs. Weebly, coding will not be necessary. They have simplified tools and interface to match your web development and design skills. Both are excellent for a quick and easy website launch.

However, WordPress offers a variety of functionalities not available on the latter. They are as follows:

  • Complete user, file, and page management
  • General and granular settings
  • Advanced traffic statistics
  • Automated spam protection via Akismet
  • High-quality documentation
  • Top-notch blogging features, including related posts, popular posts, and private blog posts
  • 30+ drag-and-drop sidebar widgets
  • Convenient migration process
  • Built-in SEO tool
  • Compatibility with multiple platforms
  • On-demand premium offers

Pricing

The price and other fees are another crucial deciding factor when choosing a website builder. How much do the two platforms cost?

Weebly Pricing

Besides the free plan with limited featured options for site modification, Weebly offers the following paid plans. The prices apply to annual payments.

  • Connect Plan ($5/month)
  • Pro Plan ($12/month)
  • Business Plan ($25/month)
  • Business Plus ($38/month)

The premium versions provide:

  • Free domain
  • e-Commerce benefits, like product or service reviews, inventory management, discount codes, shipping coupons, and tax calculator
  • Marketing functions
  • Security features
  • 40+ mobile-friendly themes
  • Several client support levels, including over-the-phone assistance
  • Option to include a site search bar
  • End-user registration
  • Password protection for end-user access
  • Video background
  • HD audio and video for uploaded content
  • Unlimited members
  • Up to 100 administrators

WordPress Pricing

WordPress basic paid plan's monthly price is $11, while its e-Commerce plan is $30—both billed annually.

On top of the premium fees, here are five other factors to account for in your budget:

  • Domain name- from $12 per year
  • Hosting plan- from $2.95 per month
  • Template themes- $0 to $200, one-off charge
  • Plug-ins- $0 to $1,000, one-off charge
  • Security- from $50, ongoing or one-time payment

And you get:

  • Numerous customization options using HTML and CSS
  • Access to a directory of 55,000+ plug-ins
  • Access to a menu of 10,000+ themes, plus Magento themes integration
  • Resources for documentation
  • Social media and YouTube channel integration
  • Unlimited blog functionalities
  • Integration with: ActiveCampaign, Salesforce, Shopify, WooCommerce, and Hubspot
  • Hybrid use with Laravel

Weebly vs. WordPress Pricing Verdict

For website creation alone, WordPress is more affordable than Weebly. Depending on your business needs, costs may go higher.

Ease of Use

Will you or your teams be able to integrate WordPress or Weebly into your processes quickly? Let's take a look at their ease of use here.

Weebly’s Ease of Use

So, how user-friendly is Weebly, and what skill level does it require?

Upon signup, you can conveniently pick between Square Online site builder and Weebly site builder—a part of Square Inc.’s business suite. Here are two scenarios:

  • If you need to sync your physical store’s inventory with your online shop’s, go for Square.
  • If you do not have a brick-and-mortar shop to sync your online inventory with, then Weebly is the easier, better choice for your business.

Overall, Weebly is easy to use and has a short learning curve. Here are the reasons why:

  • It is a drag-and-drop website creator, making editing, repositioning, and resizing of site components easy for a non-technical entrepreneur.
  • It provides a WYSIWYG interface and experience for more convenient site development and maintenance.
  • It comes with how-to guides and useful tips all throughout the web development process.
  • Coding and programming, like HTML, are not necessary.
  • It lets you experiment with different themes to find out which will suit your brand best.
  • Its themes are mobile-friendly and display faultlessly on different devices.
  • It has an app store that adds more functionality to your website.

WordPress’s Ease of Use

Now, how easy-to-use and navigate is WordPress?

WordPress has a steeper learning curve because:

  • You need to familiarize its CMS and blog section terminology and jargon to use it confidently. Otherwise, it may take you several days to get the feel for it.
  • It does not offer a WYSIWYG editor, eliminating your site’s ability to maintain on its own.
  • It needs you to be thoroughly aware of how its features work to administer website updates.

Weebly vs. WordPress Ease of Use Verdict

WordPress is more complex technically. Thus, Weebly wins the beginner-friendly category.

SEO

Now, we examine which website builder can help you compete for online visibility through SEO support.

Weebly SEO

On Weebly, you get access to the most fundamental search engine optimization (SEO) functionalities through which you can configure these elements for search visibility:

  • Page title
  • Meta description
  • Built-in URL structure customization
  • Limited number of headings
  • Alt tags
  • 301 redirects
  • Limited underlying codes
  • SSL security
  • Google Analytics Code

You are allowed to use an H1 and H2s. Should you need to edit these and, for instance, add more sections to a blog article, you can install a third-party application from the Weebly app store.

WordPress SEO

On WordPress, you can access the same SEO features as Weebly, plus these add-ons:

  • Complete control over multiple headings
  • Customized appearance via CSS modification
  • External solutions and plug-ins
  • Manual code editor on the dashboard
  • Over a dozen other SEO-related plug-ins for active installation

Weebly vs. WordPress SEO Verdict

SEO is a level playing field for WordPress versus Weebly.

eCommerce

Here are the features the two platforms can provide eCommerce businesses.

Weebly for eCommerce

Weebly’s focus shifted to target eCommerce when Square Inc. acquired the platform.

Its business plans are best for setting up an online store for digital products, as well as for physical products that need shipment and inventory management.

Under these premium plans, you can utilize the dashboard or mobile application to:

  • Receive payments
  • Execute transactions
  • Let buyers check out securely within your domain and not to a redirected website
  • Track orders
  • Respond to customer inquiries
  • Have flexibility with shipping and tax options
  • Eliminate transaction fees

WordPress for eCommerce

Although WordPress is a robust blogging platform, it can also house an eCommerce shop with the aid of additional strongly coded plug-ins that can meet your store’s demands.

Some of the highly favored WordPress plug-ins supporting online enterprises are:

  • WooCommerce
  • Easy Digital Downloads
  • Shopify
  • MemberPress
  • BigCommerce

Using any of these add-ons, you can:

  • Launch a business WordPress site
  • Sell electronic and physical products
  • Offer services, such as web design
  • Customize your business pages
  • Control all aspects of your online shop

Weebly vs. WordPress eCommerce Verdict

If your brand needs only a minimal eCommerce presence, Weebly is right for you.

If you prefer greater control over your eCommerce pages—from a highly customized interface and product or service offer display to the process details—WordPress can offer adequate flexibility and should be the better choice.

Client Support

You will likely encounter issues using a website builder. In that case, we'll look into how each platform can support you with your needs.

Weebly Client Support

If you ever run into some trouble using Weebly, here are your support options:

  • Professional services via customer care team
  • Dedicated knowledge base
  • Fellow user support on community forums

It is important to note that Weebly concentrates on centralized support for all its users. This means that you may not get premium helpdesk assistance, regardless of your plan.

WordPress Client Support

WordPress support includes:

  • User community and forums
  • Free tutorials
  • Free quick and comprehensive guides
  • Documentation resources available on the internet
  • Dedicated teams for topic- and niche-specific issues and concerns
  • One-on-one support for premium solutions

Weebly vs. WordPress Client Support Verdict

Between WordPress vs. Weebly, the former provides a wider range of support.

Footer Ads

Weebly can show:

  • A Weebly ad
  • A Square ad

You can remove either and use unlimited space for your content when you avail of a premium plan.

WordPress can display:

  • A WordPress ad
  • A brand promotion
  • A content-based ad

Similar to Weebly, availing the most basic WordPress paid plan will enable you to remove footer advertisements.

Weebly vs. WordPress Footer Ads Verdict

Both WordPress versus Weebly will require use of premium versions to remove ads.

AdSense Earnings

WordPress allows AdSense codes with a verified AdSense account on free websites.

Note that it will be difficult to gain Google’s approval with subdomain. To monetize your website through ads, you can sign up with its WordAds program.

Unlike WordPress, Weebly blocks AdSense codes entirely if you are using a free subdomain.

You need to purchase a plan to use AdSense. To incorporate ads anywhere on your web pages, you can subscribe to the website creator’s editor feature, i.e., AdSense element.

Weebly vs. WordPress AdSense Earnings Verdict

On either Weebly or WordPress, you can only get the most out of AdSense of site monetization if you buy a plan.

Reliability and Speed

On the one hand, Weebly editor used to be stable until the Carbon update when loading started taking longer than it should. To run business websites with complete Weebly features, it is recommended to leave its overall management to the website builder.

On the other hand, WordPress is a superior-quality platform for numerous content types on a single website:

  • Blogging
  • Portfolio
  • Image and video galleries
  • e-Commerce shop

Weebly vs. WordPress Reliability and Speed Verdict

Since its inception, WordPress continues to showcase fortified stability and consistency.

Migration and Flexibility

Flexible archival and migration should be fine on Weebly if your site houses fewer web pages. Download the HTML backup and redo the whole content manually.

The situation is completely different on WordPress. Export and import your website smoothly in minutes despite a large volume of pages and content. Plus, it also offers a premium redirection service to assist with moving out of the platform.

Weebly vs. WordPress Migration and Flexibility Verdict

Enjoy hassle-free migration and archival in the shortest possible time with WordPress.

Key Takeaways on Weebly vs. WordPress: Which Is Better for Your Business?

Here is a wrap-up on WordPress vs. Weebly.

Weebly’s strengths cover:

  • Ease of usage and user-friendliness
  • Availability of centralized and professional customer care
  • WYSIWYG interface

Weebly is for you if:

  • You prefer an intuitive, straightforward setup and publication.
  • You do not need loads of customization.
  • Your profits are not heavily reliant on your e-Commerce site.

WordPress’ pros include:

  • Superior customizability via pre-made themes and coding
  • A substantial assortment of functions and features via innumerable plug-ins
  • More control for the business owner
  • Its open-source attribute

WordPress is for you if:

  • You intend to build a highly customized, professional, and dynamic website whose interface and navigation are dictated by your branding.
  • You envision huge amounts of uploads on multiple pages.
  • Your organization requires a faster, more responsive website.
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