That is the question… or so it should be according to CNET. Do not get me wrong, there is no replacement for a professional, custom branded website that you didn’t have to spend countless hours building.
BUT, we are not all blessed with such a generous budget. More often than not, work from home individuals, small business owners and startups just don’t have the budget to afford custom work.
So where do they turn? Platforms.
Weebly, WordPress, Webs, Squarespace, Joomla and so much more.
In today’s society, businesses and freelancers are expected to have an online presence. Not just any online presence. A branded, responsive online presence.
It’s as expected as having a business card or email. It’s just good business sense and has come to be known as normal. With using a website platform, low budget businesses can create that web presence and eventually grown into a custom built website.
But which platform should you use?
Well, through my personal experience of building and testing on every platform I could get my hands on, I have found that Weebly has:
- An incredibly simple to use platform that works perfect for beginners (aka the coding illiterate!) and can be customized for those with skills;
- Is integrated with a plethora of app that help enhance the functionality of your site and it’s uses.
- Their free account option could work for anyone that is not worried about branding. For example: fundraisers, team websites or collaboration sites.
- As many of the themes transition into HTML5, they are becoming more attractive.
- Has a mobile option.
- And you can edit your site on the go!For my needs, Weebly was the best and simplest method to get online (with that particular project).
Nothing is Ever Free Online
Now, Weebly does have a “Free” option and like I said, it works great if you have no need to brand your site. But, no true business website building platform is totally “Free”.
The free plans allow you to have a subdomain for your site but if you are actually trying to build a branded experience for your customers, then none of them are free.
Weebly did, by a landslide, have the most competitive prices, though. For as low as $4 per month, you can change that subdomain into your branded domain. That had me sold!! For more details on their pricing and the different packages, just click here.
This isn’t an advertisement or endorsement of Weebly but I do stand behind their product and here’s why – it works. It’s as plain and simple as that. It works and will accomplish your desired presence if you harness it correctly!
Awesome Designs
As you do your due diligence, you are going to find dozens of designers boldly stating to stay away from Weebly. Why is this? Well, their main concern are Weebly’s templates.
Weebly’s inbuilt website-designer is relatively easy for even an incompetent technophobe (like a few people I know) but if you go off the exact template given, you won’t have the most professional looking site. BUT, their templates are easily customized and that is exactly what they wants you to do.
Use that inner creative bugg to customize YOUR site with their template. Plus, if you take a moment to learn basic HTML or CSS (way simpler than most would think), your customizing options grow even more.
Not only can your overcome the simple templates but your Weebly site can be more than professional. It all depends on the effort and attention you give it.
I know of several, several highly profitable Blogs and Small Businesses that are hosted with Weebly. If you put the time and energy into learning the system, you can create a magical site for your remarkable business endeavors!
Want to See What Website Builder and Training Platform I Use?
– John
A Work at Home Jobs
I think Weebly is just fine if you’re just making a quick site to throw up and test an idea or something, basically what Ferris outlines in his 4 Hour Work Week book. But if you’re doing something more serious, well, hosting and a domain isn’t exactly expensive, so there’s no real reason that you should have to resort to one of these free website builders.