Weebly vs WordPress – Key Differences You Must Know
Weebly vs WordPress, which one should I choose?
To the satisfied users of both platforms, this might seem like a silly question. It isn’t, actually. While both have significant achievements under their belt, there are several differences that set the two platforms apart.
WordPress is a powerful platform powering 34% of all the websites on the internet. On top of that, it’s managed to provide a scalable and robust eCommerce solution WooCommerce that’s made it all the more powerful.
At the same time, you also have Weebly, a 12-year veteran in the digital world. A powerful website builder that’s constantly updated and just recently, after being acquired by Square, it has gained more resources to develop its eCommerce platform as well.
But which one is right for you?
We’ve written this article to help you decide which platform can prove the most beneficial to you. We’ve compared the two on key areas like flexibility, ease of use, and maintenance.
So, let’s begin, shall we? To make things easier, we’ve rounded up the article in an easy-to-read infographic. This will give a rundown on whether to select Weebly or WordPress. We would suggest you read it last since the subsequent sections will add significant value to the infographic once you start reading it.
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WordPress vs Weebly: The Quick Round-Up
Before we begin, let’s provide you with a quick overview of how things work with both platforms.
Weebly, The Website Builder
An easy to use the platform, Weebly is a drag and drop website builder that you can use without knowing any code. The benefit to it is that you can build your website without running into any complications that require programming knowledge.
The problem with this, however, is that you’re restricted to just the drag and drop editor. This means you cannot customize your site as much as you can on WordPress.
You can create a site for free on Weebly, but it’s only a sub-domain. For better features and more advanced (eCommerce, marketing, etc.) tools, you need to upgrade your Weebly account to a paid plan that starts at $5/month.
WordPress.org: The Open Source Powerhouse
Being open-source, WordPress.org gives you complete control over all the design and development aspects of your website. The flipside to having so much control over your website involves you having to be somewhat knowledgeable about code.
If you feel stuck with a plugin or settings on WordPress, you can always find the community ready to help you with any query.
WordPress is free to install and use, but to begin creating a site; you will need to purchase a domain name and hosting server. Depending on your requirements, both the former and the latter can vary in their pricing.
WordPress vs Weebly: Flexibility
Let’s see how they match up against one another in terms of flexibility:
Weebly:
While Weebly does allow you to edit the HTML and CSS code of your website, it doesn’t go beyond that in terms of customizing its functionality. Since it’s not open-source, you have limited controls over how their tools work.
Because of its architecture, you cannot integrate third-party tools to your website since Weebly blocks most of the core functions from public access. That said, a creative streak and some coding know-how can take you a long way with Weebly.
Since the platform provider manages things for you, you don’t have to worry about your site breaking, tools not properly functioning, and any security issues. Once you’ve developed your website, all you have to do is create content, while Weebly’s platform does the heavy lifting.
If you’re in need of technical support, you don’t have to worry since there are plenty of Weebly forums available for you to post your queries. For its part, Weebly also provides 24/7 customer service to help you troubleshoot problems easily.
WordPress:
WordPress lies on a wholly different plane of existence compared to Weebly. The CMS is open source and provides you significant control and flexibility on how you can design and develop your website. If you’re knowledgeable about coding, you can even add customized functionality to make it more personalized.
Read: How to edit WordPress code.
WordPress also prides itself on the number of tools you can integrate with your basic WordPress installation. Need a drag and drop website builder? A payment processor? SEO tools? An email marketing tool? WordPress has more than one tool (plugin) available for that. The majority of the tools are free to use, while also giving you the option to purchase a premium version.
Apart from plugins, there are tons of free and premium themes that can help you build your site according to your vision.
But while some of these plugins are good, there are those that are not frequently maintained and thus are vulnerable to security flaws. Speaking of which, WordPress has had issues with security, which the WordPress community has already taken care of with plugins and security improvements.
The WordPress community provides extensive support for all sorts of WordPress related problems. But it’s not all good. There have been instances of users and forums being stuck on unresolved issues. The plugin developers might offer some level of support, but you need to have premium plugins in order to be eligible for it.
All in all, the flexibility and integrations you’re getting with WordPress plugins is unmatched with any other CMS or website builder. As a safety measure, always make sure to test the plugins out before deploying it to your site.
WordPress vs Weebly: Which One is Easier to Use?
Let’s see how the two platforms match up when it comes to ease of use.
Weebly:
When it comes to website builders, Weebly is a good option. It’s easy to use and doesn’t require a steeper learning curve. Just drag and drop, move the contents, change the colors directly from the builder without ever touching a single piece of code.
For the non-technical website owner, Weebly provides more ease of use than any other platform. If you’re such an individual, then Weebly is your choice.
However, you will be more or less stuck if you want to customize the style of your site a bit since Weebly only provides minimal access to the HTML/CSS code of your site.
WordPress:
With a higher learning curve, WordPress is very difficult for beginners and non-technical individuals. While WordPress can be learned using YouTube tutorials and knowledge-based articles, it is important to understand that WordPress is a CMS and not a simple website builder. Because of this, the complexity is justified.
That being said, once you have gained command over WordPress, you can perform loads of different tasks. From developing your website to customizing plugins and themes, making sure the site is optimized for SEO purposes, and more, WordPress can help you accomplish that with ease.
Compared with the functionality provided by Weebly, WordPress offers a range of features (including a website builder) that makes it an all-round useful CMS that takes some time getting used to.
Weebly or WordPress? Which is Better for Regular Maintenance?
Now, let’s see which one of the two platforms are highly focused on ongoing maintenance work.
Weebly:
As we have already discussed, Weebly is a closed source platform that lets you post the content, and build your website but allows you to lightly touch the surface of its codebase.
The silver lining to its closed source nature is that Weebly manages all aspects of security, so you do not have to. You don’t have to worry about anything other than publishing and to manage your content pieces since everything is covered by Weebly under the hood.
WordPress:
Just like Weebly, WordPress is also constantly updated and improved for the better. Whenever WordPress updates its installation, you get a notification that an update is available. Those updates can be installed with just a click of a button, that’s it.
But while updates from WordPress developers are managed and maintained effectively, you can’t be certain about the plugin and theme developers. The popular companies constantly update their plugins, making them compatible with the latest version of WordPress. However, some are not that quick to do so. Make sure the plugins you’ve installed come with regular updates. The plugins that don’t give out updates can harm a site by exposing it to threats and hacks.
The point is that with WordPress, you will face ongoing maintenance work that you will have to take care of to ensure that the site isn’t exposed to any sort of security risk.
Conclusion: Weebly vs WordPress
Weebly or WordPress? Which one should you choose?
There is no clear winner here since the features and functionalities of both the platforms are significantly different from one another.
That said, if you’re looking for a simple website builder that updates itself and allows you to just focus on content, then Weebly is for you.
On the other hand, if you want to operate a CMS, open up an eCommerce store, and have more control over your website operations, then you should definitely choose WordPress.
Reach out for custom WordPress Development.
Read more comparison articles:
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- WordPress vs Webflow – Is Webflow a Good Choice For You?
- Shopify vs WordPress – Key Differences To Know and Which To Pick
- Shopify vs Big Cartel: Which Is The Best eCommerce Builder In The Market?
- WooCommerce vs OpenCart: Which One Is Your Right Solution?
- Shopify vs Wix – An Ecommerce Comparison for 2020
- Joomla vs WordPress – Which One is Better?
- Wix vs WordPress – How To Choose The Right One?
- BigCommerce vs Shopify
- Squarespace vs WordPress: Which One is Better for You?
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