Building a website has always been difficult, but presently the process has become a lot more straightforward than previously. There are numerous platforms and tools that allow you to create trendy websites with advanced functionality, even if you have no knowledge of coding. Two popular options are WordPress and Weebly and this blog will aid you to figure out the one that is right for you.
Convenience Of Use
Weebly:
A drag & drop platform that builds a website, you only need to drag the content, shift it all over without any knowledge of coding at all.
If you lack the technical know-how or do not have the time nor the interest to gain insight about codes, in that case Weebly is a better option to consider for website building.
Weebly contains a useful help center, though its tools are highly intuitive and simple to apply. If there arises any need to search for more details regarding the usage of its features, you can use the help guides.
WordPress:
WordPress does not incorporate drag and drop facility as a website builder, and so the way you get to position your content (like videos, slideshows, etc) is based on the choice and setup of the design template.
If you decide to modify the format of the template like redoing the page layout, you need to change the codes related to the template or engage the services of a competent coder to achieve that task.
Fundamentally, though WordPress is an effective and versatile platform, to use it productively, it’s imperative that you require to modify codes. If you can perform this function, then this website builder offers you a more highly advanced website compared to Weebly.
Design And Customizing Options: Which Is More Adaptive?
Surely you don’t want to create a website that resembles others, more so if you are a business or a marketing brand. So let’s take a look at which platform has more positives in building a captivating standout site – WordPress or Weebly!
Themes
- Business
- Online store
- Personal
- Portfolio
- Blog
- Events
Each category contains between 6 and 15 themes. The themes are clean and trendy and offer easy switching.
In contrast WordPress presents thousands of themes within its Theme Directory. You can search by the preferred layout, the features to be pre-installed, or by subject (like a holiday, blog, or portfolio). Thereby, WordPress.org helps you to locate the ideal design for your site!
Customization
After choosing your theme, you need to personalize it which is really the fun part!
Though Weebly simplifies the process of adding new elements, modifying text, and replacing images, you’re restricted by your theme. It does not allow you to do certain things, as against different website builders such as Wix, which enable you to drag and drop things anywhere you want.
In Contrast, WordPress offers complete customization over your website.
Though you pick a theme for your site, you create every page and post in your desired structure, offering extensive creative freedom as against Weebly. This needs more effort and time, and some basic knowledge of coding will help you. But the total creative control furnished by WordPress is simply unbeatable.
This makes WordPress the winner!
Blogging Tools
Weebly is equipped with extensive blogging tools that start your blog within minutes. Scheduling and advanced sharing functions, comment handling, and sharing on social media are some of the features that make your Weebly blog a star.
You can begin a blog effortlessly and speedily with Weebly and operate its useful blogging tools. Weebly is a handy option for a blogging website. But, if you prefer an outstanding and effective site, WordPress is unbeatable on account of its blogging functionalities.
WordPress started as an absolute blogging platform and retained that title while expanding itself to facilitate various kinds of sites. What makes it a rare blogging platform is its variety of plugins, SEO techniques, and customization scale all integrated to make it an innovative blogging platform.
Social Media Networking
Weebly allows you to insert links plus social icons to your site, thereby connecting to your different social media accounts. You can select from 13 social networks that include Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
The perfect WordPress plugins for social media helps to grow your following on social media easily and promote social shares. With numerous social media plugins in the Plugin Directory of WordPress – it only comes down to selecting the best one for your social media integration.
Building Your Online Store
Using Weebly For Ecommerce
Weebly constitutes a nice choice for creating an online store, with elementary eCommerce features like shipping tools and inventory handling all inbuilt automatically, ready for you to utilize.
Weebly forms an excellent choice for small businesses and entrepreneurs seeking to sell online. Though it’s not in the same power league as a platform like Shopify, still it’s been uplifting its eCommerce game after being acquired by Square and should offer an exciting space to watch.
Using WordPress For Ecommerce
The eCommerce plugin WooCommerce is developed for WordPress and enables you to build a powerful and rare online store.
After you’ve installed your plugin, you can start including products and creating your store. The eCommerce features you receive will depend on your chosen plugin. WooCommerce, for instance, allows you to display product ratings and reviews, configure the currency, set shipping options, besides more.
The primary advantage of WooCommerce is its versatility – you have much greater control over your store than you have with Weebly.
Verdict: It’s a tie!
WordPress can provide you a comparatively more powerful online store when you create with WooCommerce, but Weebly really comes equipped and ready for you to develop your personal ecommerce website. Weebly is simpler to start selling through, though WordPress offers you a more scalable store in the long-run.
Marketing
Weebly renders marketing simple – you can design and send emails with only a few clicks. Its in-house email marketing facility, Weebly Promote, incorporates with your site for you to select a template, handle your contacts, and monitor your results, all from the same spot.
WordPress doesn’t arrive with the marketing tools inbuilt, but you can conveniently employ a marketing plugin instead. The happy news is that there are a few high quality ones you can install for free, like Jetpack.
Verdict: It’s a draw!
Weebly has the advantage as its features all arrive built-in, and it also has an app market if you need additional tools. However, WordPress has a huge range of super powerful tools that can’t be flipped over – so as far as this round goes, it’s a draw.
SEO: Which Will Aid You Rank?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comprises the process of rendering your site as attractive as possible to search engines – primarily, the almighty Google. There’s a seemingly unlimited list of things that you require to optimize, which is understandably challenging for beginners!
Fortunately, you’ve got some assistance. Weebly, for instance, possesses an Ultimate SEO Guide built to see you from your initial nervous steps through to assured SEO glory. Further, your Weebly site is already optimized to a certain degree, meaning you simply have to fill in the blanks to make your site ready to rank.
WordPress functions slightly differently. Often hailed as the finest platform for SEO, WordPress leaves all the enjoyable technical stuff up to you. If that thought is sufficient to perk you up, hold up and make way to the WordPress Plugin Directory.
When you’re there, install Yoast SEO, and let it comfortably handle your SEO for you. That’s correct – this plugin renders SEO simple even for absolute beginners, and is mandatory for any successful site. Though other SEO plugins are also available, Yoast SEO is the most recommended one.
Verdict: WordPress wins!
Despite Weebly’s SEO tools arriving inbuilt, as well as its extremely helpful SEO Guide and checklist, WordPress has to win. It’s utter power, apart from the fact you can install plugins such as Yoast SEO to optimize your site’s rankings, simply can’t be overlooked.
Ongoing Maintenance: How Much Task Are They?
After you’ve created your website, you desire it to remain at the top of its game. That implies maintaining it safe from hackers, bugs, and crashes, and ensuring it’s running with all the latest updates.
If that sounds like plenty of work, then Weebly will be the better builder for you. Since it does all that for you!
Weebly attends to your site’s infrastructure, security, and more to retain your site working at its best.
Weebly supplies you with hosting and security, and runs any updates instantly to maintain your site safe and secure. You don’t need to bother about renewing anything except your Weebly subscription – rather, you can simply focus on your website, and permit Weebly look after the technical stuff.
WordPress, on the contrary, needs much greater care and attention. It’s highly important no to lag behind on WordPress updates, as this can expose your site to security breaches and failures.
The happy news is that a competent WordPress hosting provider, like Bluehost, will run these core updates for you instantly. You’ll also require to update your plugins and theme, but possessing those instant updates does imply you can ease a little more.
Bluehost is the finest WordPress hosting provider, and assists you with site maintenance by running instant updates and optimizing for quick site speeds. Another major factor to remain on top is your hosting. The kind of hosting you require can alter over time as your site progresses, so prepare to upgrade it in order to stop crashes. If you’re content with your hosting plan, then all you require to do is renew it on time to maintain your site live.
Overall, Weebly is like selecting an all-inclusive holiday, where all is attended to for you. You don’t require to run around sorting out security or hosting since Weebly’s got your back.
Verdict: Weebly is the winner!
Weebly requires far less ongoing maintenance than WordPress, as it’s all sorted in-house for you. WordPress is a continuously altering platform that needs more work to maintain, and therefore loses out to Weebly in this round.
Final Words
If you’re not a techie, and you wish to get your website on and running with minimal ruckus, Weebly is the way for you. Just bear in mind that you’ll be more restricted compared to WordPress.
If you don’t mind spending a few days to learn, and you wish to have complete control over the functioning of your website, then pick WordPress instead.
So consider what you wish to accomplish with your website, and base your decision on that.
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