If you are looking for the best website builder and your research has brought you to Wix and Weebly, then you are at the final step at narrowing down your best option. Wix vs Weebly is not a particularly new question, especially since people have been comparing the two and trying to pick the best one for years now.
However, doing so is harder than you might think, as neither of these two solutions is bad.
Still, if you want THE best one out there, then comparing Weebly vs Wix is the necessary part of the process, and it will reveal to you which to go for. This is what we will focus on today, finally providing you with closure and approaching as close to a definitive answer as possible.
Wix vs Weebly: Which is Better?
Before we start comparing features, we should point out that you would likely be satisfied with both choices, so you cannot go wrong with any of them.
Both are big, old, respected, legitimate solutions that have accumulated over 150 million users between them. They are easy to use, even if you never made a website before, and both are more than capable of saving you time and money.
But, as we would want to know which one is the very best, let’s get on with the comparison by looking directly into what each has to offer, and how the other one responds.
Ease of Use
Let’s start by comparing the ease of use of these two services. As mentioned, both are perfectly easy to use — enough so that anyone can find their way around, be they a professional, a complete novice, or something in between.
Both offer the same drag-and-drop approach, meaning that you can simply select an element and drag it to the spot on your page where you want it to be. Drop it there, and that’s it.
The trouble comes from the fact that not all drag-and-drop builders are the same, so even here, you can have one being better than the other for whatever reason.
In this particular case, we have Weebly, which has a certain structure in its templates. What this means is that you can switch templates later on, which is certainly convenient.
However, it also means that you are somewhat limited when it comes to where to put certain elements.
Wix, on the other hand, is pure drag-and-drop, meaning that you can put anything anywhere you want, with no limitations.
In the end, Wix is slightly easier to use and personalize your template entirely. Even beginners can enjoy complete flexibility.
Of course, this also means that you have so much choice that it might be a bit overwhelming. Even so, we enjoyed the total freedom to do whatever you want.
And, if at any point you decide that total freedom is too overwhelming after all, you can always choose to use Wix ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence). This is also a good choice for those who want their site up and running as fast as possible.
All you need to do is add some basic info, and Wix ADI will create the site for you. You can later modify the design, add more specific info, and alike, but ADI is a good way to set up the foundation for your website’s final look.
In the end, we had to give a point to Wix here, simply because it is more intuitive, and it provides you with more options and ultimate creative freedom.
Plans & Price
Of course, price is one of the most important aspects of the website builder, especially if you are just starting your new business and your budget is still rather limited.
The good news regarding the two website builders is that they both offer a free plan. Neither of the free plans has a limit, so you can keep using them indefinitely if you do not mind the restrictions that they bring.
However, when it comes to other plans, this is where we start to see a number of important differences.
Let’s start with Wix. Wix has as many as seven payment plans, which go from $13 to $35 per month. Weebly, on the other hand, has only four payment plans, although you will quickly notice that it is considerably cheaper, ranging from $5 to $25 per month — billed annually, of course.
Now, you might be thinking — what’s the point of paying for a website builder when there are free plans?
Well, the answer is simple — free plans will let you try out the builder, and even create your site with no need to pay for anything. However, as mentioned, free plans come with certain limitations.
For example, you will quickly discover that you do not have access to a lot of great features that you might want to use.
Even though Wix offers more features for free than Weebly, there are still plenty of them that are locked away until you pay.
In other words, while you’ll be able to create a website, you won’t be able to use its full potential or to nurture its growth as adequately and as quickly as you would with these features.
If you plan to use your site as an online shop where you will sell your goods, that simply won’t do, as you won’t be able to accept online payments with a free plan.
Meanwhile, your site will have ads all over, which is another downside to free plans, and it will happen regardless of whether you go with Wix or Weebly.
So, now that we have established that it is worth going premium with these services, let’s see what exactly they offer.
As mentioned, Wix has 7 plans in total, three of which are business plans that range from $20-$35 per month. Those include:
- Business Basic
- Business Unlimited
- Business Pro
Any of them can be good enough for running an online store thanks to their eCommerce features. However, if you need a website plan, there are four others, which include:
- Combo
- Unlimited
- Pro
- VIP
As you can imagine, each plan has a greater amount of storage, the two largest ones come with unlimited bandwidth, and each plan comes with more additional features.
So, if you want to open an online store, your best option is to use its $23-per-month Business Basic. On the other hand, the best value plan is its Pro plan, which will cost you $22 per month.
Now, let’s take a look at how Weebly compares. Apart from its free plan, Weebly offers four premium plans, in a cheaper range that goes from $5 to $38 per month. The plans include:
- Connect
- Pro
- Business
- Performance
All plans cover simple website building pretty well, and you can use them for launching a private blog, an online store, or anything else in between.
The cheapest plan if you want to sell goods would be the Pro plan, where you can list up to 25 different products, which should be enough for smaller businesses. Pro plan is also a good choice for additional features at a lower price.
In the end, while Wix costs a bit extra for premium plans, its free plan offers more features, so the best choice depends on you and your goals.
If you think that the free plan will be good enough for you, go for Wix. If you require a premium plan, Weebly is cheaper, so we would recommend that one, as the prices are significantly lower.
Flexibility of Design
The next important issue that needs to be tackled is the flexibility of design. Simply put, you want to make your website look as stunning as possible. However, you also want it to be functional.
You need to choose a template that will look good on the page, but also on mobile. And what if you change your mind later on? Can you switch templates after the site is published?
Next, you also need as many choices as possible, as well as the ability to customize things in any way you might like.
In other words, there is a lot to ask for when it comes to design flexibility, and so it matters which website builder you choose from this perspective, as well.
Wix seems to understand this better than Weebly, as well. It offers 500 professionally-designed templates, which is 10 times as many as Weebly offers — only 50.
Furthermore, all templates are high-quality, mobile, and very responsive, meaning that you get a lot of creative freedom. If you pick Wix, you will have a very high level of control over customization, which is why it is great for newcomers and professionals alike.
Of course, Wix does have a few limitations worth mentioning. We mentioned that you might want to change templates once the site goes live, and unfortunately, this is not possible with Wix.
Furthermore, another thing that we consider a con is the fact that coding is not built-in within the editor.
As for Weebly, we mentioned already that it has significantly fewer templates, although their quality is pretty decent, and templates are rather stylish. They are all mobile-responsive and professionally designed, so it parallels Wix on every turn, except when it comes to quantity.
There are also industry-specific templates offered by both solutions, although you cannot search for your chosen industry. Still, since there are only around 50 of them, you should not have too much trouble finding something that fits.
One thing where Weebly outperforms Wix is the fact that you can switch templates even after the website has gone live.
This is an important advantage since it means that you are not stuck with what you chose, but can instead make changes as you see fit. The downsides include the fact that it offers less creative control than Wix, and, of course, the already mentioned smaller selection of templates.
However, Weebly also has a big advantage, which is the fact that it allows you to get full access to your site’s backend code by using its Weebly Code Editor.
That way, you can add extra features and fine-tune the visuals, or simply fix issues that you might notice along the way. However, if you can’t code, you don’t have to do any of that, and simply use it as it was offered.
You do not have the same choice with Wix, unfortunately, as this website editor doesn’t let you ‘under the hood’ so easily. In order to access the code, you must first enable Wix Corvid, which would let you create custom functions and/or content on the site.
Nevertheless, Wix also provides a better site knowledgebase, and it is more beginner-friendly than Weebly, which lets you do what you want if you can deal with coding.
In the end, Weebly has better design flexibility due to the option to replace templates after launching the website, but Wix is more customizable — until it comes to coding.
Then, Weebly once again takes the lead. And, while Wix has 10 times more templates, the fact that it doesn’t allow you to change them once the site is up and running is a big downside, so Weebly wins this one.
Apps, Tools, and Features
Of course, there is a lot more to a website than just looks, and while it looking great is a big advantage, you need to make sure that it has everything else that it needs, such as tools and features that you may require.
Choosing a better site builder based on this aspect will be difficult since both Wix and Weebly offer a lot of built-in features and tools. Not only that, but both builders are rather responsible when it comes to keeping their tools and features improved and regularly updated.
They come with all the standard editing tools that you may expect, and definitely everything that should be there with a drag-and-drop design. Weebly goes beyond that, adding a number of customization tools, as well.
You can expect to see things like:
- Custom headers
- Video backgrounds
- RSVP list, survey, contact form creation
- Full-width image
- and more.
With tools and features like these, you can easily ensure that your site is unique and stunning and that it will be interesting to your visitors and customers.
Best of all, these are not particularly specific tools, meaning that you can use them on pretty much any type of website, be it an online store, a blog, or something else.
As mentioned, Wix is just as good as Weebly when it comes to the number and quality of various features that it has to offer. It has tools and features that include:
- Scroll effects
- Maps
- Contact forms
- Testimonials
- Unlimited fonts
- Media galleries
- and more
Thanks to all of these tools, organizing your website will be not only easy but also fun and interesting. And, the more you add, the more interesting it will be for your customers.
Naturally, you need to be careful not to make your website overwhelming to first time users — it is always better to make it easy for people to navigate your site. However, whatever you want to do, these two will let you do it.
While we are talking about tools and features, it is worth also addressing the apps that you can get from them, as apps fill in the gaps that features tend to leave uncovered.
Both website builders are pretty excellent here as well. Weebly, for example, has more than 300 apps in its Weebly App Center, which means that you will spend hours reviewing them and picking the ones you need.
Not only that, but you can use 50 of them completely for free. Best of all, new apps continue to arrive all the time, and if you have an idea for an app, you can just submit it, and perhaps see it uploaded someday.
The quality of apps is great, as well, and if you are unsure of some app, there are plenty of reviews from other users that will help you decide whether or not it is worth trying out. Finding the right app is easy too, thanks to the search function, which lets you pick a category or type of what you are looking for.
As for Wix, we mentioned that it is pretty much just as good, although its app selection is a bit smaller — at around 200 different apps, which its Wix App Market contains.
There are all kinds of different apps that range from eCommerce solutions to social media features, so you are more than likely to find something to fit your needs.
Finally, Weebly also allows you to export your site and even import it into different hosts, which is not something that you will find on Wix. Its features only function within its hosting environments, meaning that you won’t be able to take your site with you if you choose to leave.
As a result, we believe that, as far as this aspect goes, both website builders are equally good at least until we come to exporting your site, which is one aspect where Weebly clearly stands superior by default.
eCommerce Support
We mentioned eCommerce capabilities that both website builders can offer earlier, but with online stores being so popular, we feel like this aspect deserves a proper segment of our comparison.
We believe it is best to say it as it is, so let’s just get it out right now — Weebly has a larger focus on eCommerce than Wix.
Once again, that doesn’t mean that Wix is not good for it, but if this will be the focus of your website, then Weebly might be a better solution.
Both builders feature numerous tools that are perfect for running and managing an online store, but Weebly has simply been focusing more on this aspect. In fact, one of its recent updates strengthened its eCommerce capabilities even further. It offers:
- A fully integrated shopping cart
- Online orders, with the ability to pick up the item in store
- Safe checkout
- It tracks coupon performance and statistics
- It tracks and manages your inventory
- and more.
With all of these and other features at your side, it is much simpler to run an online store and make shopping easier for your clients, as well. And, with the site being easy to use, it is more likely that you will get more customers.
Do not underestimate the value of customer experience, especially when the industry is so competitive these days. Recommendations go a long way, and if your customers are talking fondly about your store — more are bound to come.
Apart from its own features, Weebly also offers a plethora of third-party eCommerce applications, just in case you wish to include something that is not already offered by default.
As mentioned, Wix offers quite a bit itself, starting from the fact that it has an eCommerce function. It also offers more third-party applications than Weebly, although you can just as easily run your online store by using built-in features alone. Wix offers:
- Global tax and shipping
- Secure checkout
- It tracks discounts and coupons
- Product galleries of high quality
- Numerous payment gateways
- 0% fee for transactions
- It allows you to manage orders
- It lets you track inventory easily
In other words, Wix is not bad as an eCommerce solution, with a lot of built-in features, and even more apps that you can add manually.
However, as fine as it is, Weebly is still better, and we stick to our original statement, which is that Weebly wins this one.
Quality of Marketing
Considering that one of your biggest goals is to have your customers return, it is not enough to simply have your site easy on the eyes. While the looks and user-friendliness will definitely help, you also need proper marketing tools that would help you keep people engaged.
This means organizing good email campaigns and ensuring customer loyalty, which is something that you have to build over time.
Fortunately, both Wix and Weebly have you covered. Wix offers its Wix Shoutout, which allows you to send emails and share content on social media with ease.
You can customize email campaigns, use professional templates, and receive information regarding engagement metrics, and more. To put it simply, email marketing is very easy to handle with Wix Shoutout, and we believe it to be a great service.
Weebly, on the other hand, offers Weebly Promote service, which lets you create and add email campaigns to your site directly. Basically, what this means is that all you need to do is build an email list and create emails that you wish to send.
You can do it all with the same drag-and-drop feature. Like with Wix, you get to track all kinds of statistics and send good emails to remind your users of your business, offer discounts, special items, and more.
While it is a close call when it comes to this aspect, we believe that Wix might be just a slightly better solution when it comes to marketing tools. The only reason for this is that it has that extra social media function, which Weebly lacks at this time. As a result, Wix has a slight advantage, and it wins this round.
Customer Support
Naturally, we cannot compare Wix vs Weebly without addressing the customer support.
Customer support is extremely important for situations when you have an issue, question, or when you get stuck with something. In fact, Wix handles this in a very interesting way, by adding a separate ‘question mark‘ for each element on the site.
That way, if you don’t know what something is, you can just click on that and immediately get instructions that explain it.
Wix is also the only builder to offer this, meaning that you will not find it at Weebly. Weebly users would have to go to the support center and search for instructions and guides there.
This might seem like Wix gets another point, although the situation is a bit more complex. In essence, Wix has to offer excessive instructions as it is a lot more complex, due to all the available features, tools, apps, and alike.
But, if you still have to contact customer support, you can do so via email or phone, from Monday to Thursday between 5 am and 5 pm. The support is available regardless of which plan you chose.
Weebly, on the other hand, only has support for Pro, Business, and Performance plans, and it is available via email, chat, or phone from Monday to Friday, 6 am to 6 pm. On weekends, you can reach them between 8 am and 5 pm.
Both also have helpful and in-depth datacenters, although Wix is once again more comprehensive and better-developed. In the end, Wix does win here, too.
Weebly vs. Wix – Who Is the Winner?
First of all, we recommend both of them as some of the best website builders on the market.
From all we have seen, deciding on which one is better — Wix or Weebly — depends on the aspect that you see as the most important.
Both website builders have their strengths and weaknesses when compared to one another, but both Wix vs Weebly are among the top solutions out there for a reason.
Neither of them is bad, as we have said several times already. However, deciding on which one is better than the other one is not so easy, and that’s your choice to make, depending on what you need and want.