Weebly vs. WordPress: Which One is Best for Content Management System?

So, you want to start a website.Enter your text here...

That’s great. But where do you start?

First, of course, you need to find an idea. Do you want to promote your business or share your creative endeavors? Creating a website is a simple and easy solution to get whatever content you want out on the web.

After you’ve picked a topic, now you must design your perfect website.

Thankfully for you, with the DIY generation taking over the world, build-it yourself website programs are now more popular than ever and offer you a simple solution to create a vibrant, engaging website. Even if your code game is not strong, there are a variety of options on the market today to keep your website running smoothly.

With so many build-it yourself website programs in use today, you may feel overwhelmed at picking the right one for you.

In this article, we discuss two of the top choices in creating your own website: Weebly and WordPress. We will discuss some of the many great features offered by each website creator program. We will highlight the flexibility, ease-of-use, user support, and pricing guidelines for each website creator.

​WordPress, an open source website builder, that offers its users the ability to customize their website using a variety of tools. In this article, we will discuss WordPress.org. WordPress.org is different from WordPress.com in that .org offers for more customizable features for those more familiar with coding applications.Enter your text here...

​Weebly is a web-hosting server and website builder that uses a drag and drop formatting design. The user-friendly tools allow for a smart and straightforward solution to your website building needs.

With Weebly, you can edit HTML and CSS codes on your website which provides you with independence designing and customizing your site. Unlike WordPress, Weebly does not allow control over how some of their tools work.  Not having as much control over Weebly tools does mean that you can incorporate non-Weebly tools in your site creation.

Unfortunately, core functions for Weebly are blocked from public access.

Knowing a little bit of code is helpful for using Weebly, but not mandatory.  Weebly manages the platform which means you do not have to stress over tools or the functionality of your website. All the building platforms are monitored and controlled by Weebly. Meaning, Weebly handles all of the technical aspects of your site, offering you peace of mind if anything does happen, you know, Weebly will handle it.

WordPress is an open source site builder which allows for a lot of freedom in modifying your website. The program provides more controls over the editing aspects of your site and gives you complete access to different platform codes.

If coding is not your forte, then this platform may be a little challenging to navigate through at first, but with a little training, you can easily perform basic designing tasks.

WordPress does offer a magnitude of plugins to use for your website, but a small number of plugins may not be built as well as others. Poor quality plugins may leave your site unprotected from security risks and may cause issues with the other tools on your site.

WordPress does have a lot of great plugins but be mindful to make sure each plugin works before you launch the website.

Even though WordPress is a little more advanced, the programming allows for more user control.

In comparing the two sites, Weebly is the more user-friendly builder available today. The easy to use platform works well with those who do not have a lot of experience with coding.

Weebly allows for drag and drop design so you do not have to know any code at all to set up your site. You drag your content where you want it and drop it in place.

WordPress, on the other hand, is a more code-centric website builder. Unlike Weebly, WordPress uses a far more in-depth approach at the design. Comparatively speaking, WordPress is the far more advanced builder, but offers more features of design.

Unlike Weebly, WordPress is not a drag and drop site builder. Your content location is up to which template you pick for your site. So some changes to the website may not be available for your use. Minor changes are allowed by using code, but not as many options as with WordPress.

Weebly offers a vast library of helpful guides for any of your needs. Weebly provides their users with 24/7 email support and live chat, and phone support during business hours.

Customers share that using Weebly is so simple that they rarely need to contact the company for help but are thankful for such great information at their fingertips.

WordPress uses a community forum where users can post issues to other users and WordPress developers. Many questions do receive an answer, but it seems that a lot of posts are not answered at all.

With WordPress, help takes a little longer than Weebly. This issue is with the forum setup.

With so many people posting, a lot of questions are overshadowed by the thousands of other questions on the forum. Users complain that their problems are ignored or answers are difficult to find.

To use Weebly is free, but there are four different premium plans for users. Each plan ranges from $5 to $45 per month which are all based on a two-year plan. If you want, there are six months and even one-year plans available.

Be mindful that the six month and one-year plans increase the monthly subscription costs.

Their top premium plans offer more advanced features and tool options. With a premium plan,  you are given more e-commerce and marketing capabilities, site search, and header slideshows.

If you are not interested in a premium plan, their free plan gives you the basics you will need to create a website. The only downside is Weebly will post advertisements on your site which can get a little annoying.

Every plan provides access to Weebly’s simple drag and drop builder and over one hundred design templates. Depending on how advanced you want your website, Weebly has a plan for you.

The WordPress platform is free to download and use. But, you are responsible for finding a hosting service for your site. The average range of hosting runs around $8 to $9 a month. Unlike Weebly, WordPress does not offer free website hosting.

Concerning templates, most are free, but the premium designs average around $25-$75, depending on the reliability of the template designer.  Most plugins on WordPress are free, but there are some that cost extra. The prices range from $10 to $55 per plugin.

Unlike Weebly, WordPress does not provide a custom domain name, so you will also have to invest in that. The price for a custom domain name ranges from $5 to $20 a year.

WordPress does not offer monthly subscription services like Weebly, so your initial investment in creating a website on WordPress can run you around $125-$250.

If you to hire a coder to manage your website, that number will increase, depending on how much you pay the coder.

Weebly is one of the more comfortable to use website builders out on the market today. The drag and drop feature allows for user-friendly controls and no coding knowledge. The technical support is available 24/7, so you know that your website is in good hands.

The site offers free hosting for your website, so you do not have to worry about spending extra paying for a hosting site.

The downside to Weebly is that the builder is less customizable compared to WordPress. The design platform is restricted from public use, so there are not as many options offered.

WordPress offers users with coding knowledge a more customizable and flexible functionality. Unlike Weebly, WordPress does require users to be more proactive in the upkeep of their websites, but if you know the code, this shouldn’t be an issue.

Pricewise WordPress is a more substantial investment than Weebly, but the site offers you the freedom to design your website however you want.

Overall, Weebly is the best bet for website designers with little to no knowledge of coding. The easy to use drag and drop features and 24/7 customers support gives you strong guidance in creating the perfect website for your needs.

Weebly may not offer as many features as WordPress, but they do provide more user centric tools to help making a website less time consuming and stressful.

Now, WordPress is a great option for those with a lot of coding knowledge and more time to commit to creating a website.

Their flexible formats and extensive plugin collection are a great addition to any website, but in this user-friendly world, Weebly is the ultimate winner.