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Our Verdict
Weebly provides an intuitive e-commerce building platform designed for businesses of small and medium sizes. It comes with customizable templates, drag-and-drop web-building functionality, and integrated payment gateways.
As you scout around looking for a suitable e-commerce platform to build your business, don’t forget that Weebly has tools for inventory management, tracking of orders, and SEO.
It offers you different pricing plans starting from $0 (that is, the free plan) to $26 per month, depending on what you need.
See below the added information about the Weebly e-commerce platform:
Corporate Office
460 Bryant St, San Francisco, United States.
Phone Number: 1-844-493-3259
Website: www.weebly.com
Pros
- Offers an easy-to-use interface.
- Provides a forever-free plan.
- Comes with competitive prices.
- Renders a free SSL security.
- Requires no programming skills to use it.
- Has e-commerce features.
- Offers web-hosting services.
- Provides a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Cons
- Has too many ads in the Free and Personal plans.
- Provides limited phone support.
- Offers limited options for customization.
Who Weebly Ecommerce Platform Is Best For
Prioritize the Weebly e-commerce platform if you:
- Want to Build a Store for Free: Weebly gives you access to its free plan forever. With the free plan, you can familiarize yourself with Weebly’s offerings, and learn how the platform works. You can also gauge the features the free plan has against what you seek. If the plan doesn’t contain what you’re looking for, you can upgrade to any of its premium plans.
- Unlimited Bandwidth: If you run a growing business and want a seamless user experience for your visitors, you can rely on Weebly’s unlimited bandwidth. With its paid plan, you can access limitless bandwidth that helps your website to handle a high volume of traffic without restrictions or additional costs.
- Need an Easy-to-use Platform: Weebly isn’t difficult to use. You don’t have to be a tech guru or have any coding knowledge to build a website on the platform. The platform comes with an easy interface, along with drag-and-drop features that allow you to set things rolling seamlessly.
- Want a Mobile Responsive Site: Weebly allows you to build your website or store that is responsive to different devices. That means, the sites can automatically adjust and look good on any device such as smartphones, and tablets.
- Desire Social Media Marketing Tools: If you have a strong presence in the social media space, or have a strong desire to market your products or services via social media, Weebly is a suitable option. You can easily add social media icons, share buttons, and feeds from popular platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and more.
- Look for Email Marketing Tools: With Weebly’s email marketing tools, you can create and send professional email campaigns. You can also manage contact lists and monitor performance metrics such as open rates and click-through rates.
MORE >>> Wix eCommerce Platform Review
Who Weebly Ecommerce Platform Isn’t Right For
Look elsewhere for your e-commerce website solution if you:
- Need Limitless Customization Options: Understand that Weebly has limited options for customization when compared to other similar platforms like WordPress. If you’re seeking advanced design flexibility and custom code integration, you may find Weebly unsuitable.
- Limited Integration with Amazon: Unfortunately, Weebly doesn’t fully integrate with Amazon, and that’s a thing to worry about. You can only list products on Amazon and manage inventory via Weebly. But, there’s no multichannel selling feature for you. By implication, you can’t find features such as 2-way sync–a feature that helps you integrate with platforms beyond Amazon.
What Weebly Ecommerce Platform Offers
- Inventory Tracking: Weebly allows you to track your inventory so you can manage demand and supply.
- Mobile App: With its mobile app, you can see what’s happening in your store anywhere, anytime, provided there’s an internet connection.
- Fully Integrate Shopping Cart and Secure Checkout: With a fully integrated shopping cart, your customers can easily checkout right from your e-commerce website.
- Filtered Product Search: Help shoppers to find exactly what they’re looking for, using Weebly’s powerful product search tool.
- Opportunity to Sell: On Weebly’s e-commerce platform, you can sell digital products, physical products, services, and lots more.
- Free Ecommerce Hosting: Weebly provides reliable, world-class cloud hosting. You don’t have to worry about hosting fees.
- Order Processing and Management: Weebly helps you to process and manage orders, shipments, refunds, and return policies.
- Payment Options: Give your shoppers a variety of payment options such as PayPal, Stripe, Payoneer, and more.
Weebly Ecommerce Platform Details
Inventory Tracking
As you run your e-commerce business, you can keep track of your products and stock levels using Weebly’s inventory tracking and management tools. From time to time, update your inventory levels and make sure they are accurate. Your inventory management also prevents you from running out of popular items and keeping up with trends using sales data.
Mobile App
With Weebly, you can manage your website or store right within its mobile app. The app is designed to accommodate both iOS and Android devices. That means, you can manage orders, track performance and update your site on the go. Simply go to Apply Store or Google Play Store to download the app.
Fully Integrate Shopping Cart and Secure Checkout
Building a website or store on the Weebly e-commerce platform means having access to an integrated shopping cart and a secure checkout process. Your customers can have a seamless shopping experience and security as a result of this feature.
Filtered Product Search
Part of Weebly’s offering includes a filtered product search feature. This functionality enhances your customer’s shopping experience by helping them quickly find and sort products they are looking for–using various criteria. The product search feature includes an integrated search bar, filter option, sort option, and real-time filtering.
Opportunity to Sell
As you build a website or store on Weebly, you have access to a lot of opportunities to sell products and services online. The platform comes with tools and features that allows you to quickly set up your store and list your products to start selling.
Free E-commerce Hosting
You don’t have to worry about hosting costs, especially if you’re on a tight budget, and have no plans on buying a hosting service. Weebly’s free hosting is reliable and offers world-class cloud hosting. It offers a subdomain where your store will be hosted. An example of what you’ll get is like this: YourBusinessName.weebly.com.
Order Processing and Management
With Weebly’s order processing and management feature, you can efficiently handle customer orders from A to Z. On your Weebly order dashboard, you have a comprehensive view of all your orders. You can the order details such as order number, order status, customer details, product details, and many more insights.
Payment Options
Weebly makes selling easier for you and your customers by providing a variety of payment options. You can set up payment gateways like Square, PayPal, and Stripe so your customers can finish their purchases. Be aware that Weebly provides SSL encryption that ensures the security of all transactions taking place on your online store.
Where Weebly Ecommerce Platform Stands Out
Weebly’s e-commerce platform isn’t just like every other website builder out there. The platform is distinct from its competitors in some aspects. Here’s how Weebly stands out from the crowd:
Money-back Guarantee
Weebly offers you a refund within 30 days of purchasing its plans. You can ask for a refund provided the platform doesn’t offer what it promised. This is a great way to out the platform’s premium features with the assurance of a full refund if you’re not satisfied.
Forever Free Plan
You can create and publish a website without any initial cost. Weebly’s zero financial commitment plan allows you to get your hands on the platform and its offerings.
Web-hosting
With Weebly, you don’t have to worry about finding a separate hosting provider, if you choose to. If you’re using the free plan, you can host your website on the Weebly subdomain, giving you something like yourbusinessname.weebly.com.
PRO TIPS >>> Is Shopify the Best Ecommerce Platform?
Where Weebly Ecommerce Platform Falls Short
No business is without defect–Weebly inclusive. Here’s how Weebly falls short as an e-commerce platform:
Too many ads in the Free and Personal plans
Know that Weebly’s Free and Personal plans come with ads. Consider a few alternatives if you find ads intrusive and disruptive. You can either upgrade to a higher-tier plan or check out other e-commerce platforms.
Limited Phone Support
Weebly falls short with regard to phone service. It offers limited phone service which can be a major constraint in managing your ecommerce platform. You can leverage the help center, or seek external support from freelancers and agencies that specialize in Weebly.
How to Qualify for Weebly Ecommerce Platform
Weebly is an ecommerce platform that has its rules, and criteria you must qualify for before becoming eligible to use it. Check out the steps below:
- Create a Weebly Account by visiting its website.
- Decide on the type of e-commerce website you want to build.
- Choose a plan that supports your goals and budget.
- Select a website template that properly represents your brand and what you plan on selling.
- Configure your online store by adding product names, descriptions, images, prices, and more.
- Set up your preferred payment gateway and have it linked to your store so customers can choose and make payments.
- Connect a domain–either a paid version or simply use Weebly’s subdomain.
- Promote your store and let people know what you sell.
Alternatives to Weebly Ecommerce Platform
Wix
Consider Wix e-commerce if you want to create a website without limits. Wix helps you build an e-commerce website or store using its all-in-one, unified solution. You get everything you need to run and scale your business right from the Wix platform.
You can find beautiful theme designs that are responsive, and amazing website templates across different categories. In addition, Wix allows you to dropship, and sell print-on-demand products, digital products, and subscriptions.
When it comes to pricing, Wix offers a variety of premium plans to accommodate different e-commerce needs. Typically, prices begin from $17 per month up to $159/month.
Squarespace
Choose Squarespace if you desire one of the best e-commerce website-builder platforms that offer exceptional visuals. Its pricing starts at $16 monthly to $72, aside from the 14-day free trial you get to choose. However, there is no free plan available on Squarespace. And the platform doesn’t require a credit card from you to enjoy its free trial plan.
You can enjoy a lot of benefits from Squarespace including discounts on annual plan payments, student discounts, and promo codes. If you opt-in for the annual billing, you’re eligible for a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Shopify
Pick Shopify as your preferred e-commerce solution if you’re seeking a multinational platform that offers secure hosting, and lets you customize your website or store to suit your brand identity.
The platform also allows you to sell unlimited products across different categories and with all its plans.
Prices begin at $24/month to $2,300/month. You can save up to 25% of your fee when you opt-in for the yearly subscription plan. Also, whenever you purchase a plan, you’re only paying $1 for the first month.
GET SMARTER >>> Shopify vs OpenCart
Customer Reviews
Weebly has a bad rating of 1.3 out of 5 stars from 689 reviews on Trustpilot. Around 34% of the reviews gave the platform 5 stars, while 50% gave 1 star. The customers’ complaints are centered on poor customer service and recurring charges.
On Capterra and Getapp.com, Weebly rates 4.3. Stars respectively, according to 1794 reviews. You can see that both review sites share opposite opinions about Weebly’s offerings.
From the above reviews, it is evident that you also need to embark on a personal review. While the above review sites offer you insights into what’s obtainable from Weebly, doing a personal ground check if the platform would suffice.
Start by asking friends and family who have used the platform in the past. Ask them to share their experience so you can learn from the good, the bad, and the ugly side of the platform.
Pro Tips
To optimize your use of the Weebly e-commerce platform, there are pro tips you must take into consideration. Read on to find out more.- Utilize Weebly’s built-in SEO tools so people can easily find your site.
- Choose a mobile-friendly theme song your site can fit into various devices.
- Link your Weebly store to your social media accounts to broaden your reach.
- Increase your store’s capability by visiting Weebly’s app center to find tools such as shipping integration, inventory management, and many more.
- Use the Weebly Promote tool to run targeted email campaigns.
- Leverage Weebly’s analytics tool to know how users are interacting with your site, and monitor sales data, and sources of traffic.
- Pump rich content into your site from time to time to keep it fresh and busy.
- Negotiate prices to get the best deals.
- Ask for a Custom Quote if possible
Recap
Pondering what you’ve read so far concerning the Weebly e-commerce platform, you’d agree that the platform offers a simple interface you can flow with—even if you’re a newbie or have zero knowledge of coding.
With its free plan, you can access basic tools and functionality…forever. And if you choose to go for a paid plan, the prices are competitive.
Remember, also, that Weebly provides free SSL security and a collection of rich e-commerce functionalities.
With that being said, the decision is yours to make. Take your time to compare Weebly with other similar providers to see which platform offers the best value. Also, factor in your business needs, and budget—they form the bedrock of your decision-making.
