Weebly vs. Wix 2023 – What Should Be Your #1 Option?
Your business deserves to be heard and recognized. Potential customers also deserve to experience a positive interaction with you online. This event is not possible without a beautiful, reliable website. Weebly and Wix are two of the bigger players for website-building platforms. They each strive to provide an affordable, straightforward product that everyone finds easy to use.
Both website builders make a drag-and-drop editor available to anyone with computer knowledge. You will also get fantastic value through each of their pricing plans.
But, is Wix or Weebly better? In this article, we give you a full rundown on the main differences between Wix and Weebly, the ease of use of each platform, app store capabilities, theme selections, and e-commerce extensions.
App Store Selection
Weebly and Wix are the few website builders offering an app store, which makes them so unique. If you are a web designer who likes a one-stop-shop website builder, then you cannot go wrong with either of these choices. Each app store includes a combination of paid and free apps. But how are they different from each other?
Wix’s app store is referred to as the app market and contains over 300 different apps. The site allows you to browse the complimentary apps created by Wix, newer apps just uploaded to the site, and the most popular apps everyone is currently buying.
Some of Wix’s most popular apps include the Wix Pro Gallery and Wix Chat, which enables website owners to have a quick chat with site visitors from anywhere in the world, at any time. Although Wix is not known for its robust blog platform, the Wix Blog app is also a popular choice among users. Some other top downloaded Wix apps are the Wix Forum, Online Store, Wix Events, and Visitor Analytics.
Another exciting extension of the Wix app market is the variety of different business apps that it contains. You can choose from categories such as blogs, bookings, hotels & travel, music, restaurants, photography, and events. In the app store, Wix allows users to use tools like free chat, analytics, business tools, forms, chat, marketing tools, social media, and video.
Weebly’s app store is similar because of its ease of use and customer support. Referred to as the app center, Weebly’s store has slightly under 300 apps for users to experience. All the apps are designed to increase search engine optimization, increase qualified traffic, and create more sales and considerations.
Here, you can access 3rd party integrations and other resources for blogs, websites, and online stores. The installation process is straightforward and just takes a few clicks. Once you purchase or download the app, it will be integrated directly to your website editor, eliminating confusion and headaches. Each application is designed to add another level of functionality to your site.
Like Wix’s app store, Weebly’s app selection is designed for the right professional. There are business applications for marketing, social media, eCommerce, online communications, and more. You can install exciting apps like Facebook Like features, frequently asked question figures, events, calendars, and others.
Weebly’s app developing community is expanding and always coming up with new ideas, so it is smart to check back at the app store.
Site Theme Library
The gap between Weebly and Wix regarding website templates and themes is wide. Wix provides over 500 aesthetic designs created by professionals. Each of these templates is polished and completed, but you can edit the website once you upload it to your editor.
The main goal of a template is to be a transitional springboard between your website planning and final product.
Every single Wix web design template is optimized for mobile orientation as well. No matter on what device someone is accessing Wix websites, it will fit perfectly onto the screen. As you are editing the site, you can change the content and design from a computer laptop editing interface and a mobile version.
Wix’s selection is plentiful, and although the quality seems outdated on some choices, you can find everything you need in this website section. Wix provides templates in categories such as business, fashion and style, travel and tourism, health and wellness, food, and restaurants, photography, landing pages, music, creative arts, education, events, blog, and many more.
There is a glaring weakness about Wix’s design templates, which is the flexibility you must change once you have made a final decision. As soon as you decide on your template of choice, you cannot switch back to a different template and resume your work. If you feel strongly about changing to a different template, you must start from scratch to do so.
Although Weebly has far fewer website design templates at around 75, they are of much higher quality than Wix. With Weebly, you do not have as much room for flexibility with your design template choice. But too many options can leave you moving slow toward launching your website editor, which is an enormous problem among designers.
Also, if you are interested in web development, Weebly gives users access to the web template’s code. Without starting from scratch, you can see what a full code looks like and reverse engineer some functional decisions in the website editor. The app store also provides options to purchase premium plans from outside sources, which Wix does not offer.
Related: Weebly Templates – 14 Beautiful Templates and Designs for Your Site
Weebly’s mobile optimization of its templates is about even par with Wix, but there is a huge difference maker between the two website builders. With Weebly, you can change your model down the road if you are not too hot on it anymore. This feature gives the website developer flexibility and peace of mind to change things up if they see fit.
If you are the person who does not spend too much time worrying about creative freedom and looking to incorporate coding skills, then Weebly will provide you with a better solution here. But, if you have little technical skills, plus various web design ideas and thoughts, then Wix is the right path to choose here.
Related: Weebly websites examples
Editing Interface
There is a significant difference in flexibility for the editor in Weebly and Wix. With Wix, the editor is much more unstructured. You can drag and drop text and other figures anywhere on the screen. The Wix editor will be easy to use for people who like to work from scratch and have a full scope of design.
When you start from the beginning, Wix offers a variety of elements that you can add. A plus button on the left side of the screen enables the user to input text, images, photo galleries, vector art, shapes, interactive buttons, boxes, strips, lists, grids, and videos. If you want to customize these elements, you can adjust the settings, layout, design, or animate options.
The freedom of the interface can be refreshing, but it can also be frustrating to hone down after a while. For the most part, the editor is easy and straightforward to understand. If you reach a point where you are stuck on an issue, the FAQ section will give you ample help to put you back on track. The Wix ADI feature is also excellent for beginners because it guides you side-by-side while configuring the website.
The Wix editor is diverse and provides support to over 16 different languages. This is entirely possible if you want to develop a multilingual website. Sites in multiple languages can be helpful, but it is also not recommended because it can interfere with SEO ranking and results.
On the other hand, Weebly offers a much more rigid, structured editor. When you add elements, they can each be dragged and dropped into their spots, but it needs to fall within the grid that is already designed for you.
Weebly also automates the design process for you more because the design team thinks ahead for you. They configure the details of the editor to adjust after each of your changes.
Regardless of whether you want to get into the code or not, the WYSIWYG editor allows you to drag elements, move them around and resize them without doing much of the dirty work. If you like predictability and knowing where everything is located, then a Weebly site is the perfect option for you.
Weebly also offers a content management system, an extended interface that allows the user to filter, sort, edit, and publish different content on the site. At the top of the screen, there is a “pages” section that outlines the various pages on the website. You can drag each page into your desired order and then click on the respective one before you get to work.
When it comes to Wix vs. Weebly, Wix provides you with more design potential because you can make it as unique as you want. But it is less forgiving than Weebly. Whether changing the template design or retracing your steps, you easily get lost in the editor. If you enjoy the safety net with your editing and like to have a guided process, Weebly will cover all your needs in the editor.
E-Commerce Capabilities
Wix offers effective, straightforward ecommerce plans and features suited to all your business needs. You set up and customize your online store in any form you want. You can implement galleries of product pictures, wish lists, product selections, and quick buttons for “add to cart.”
Wix’s e-commerce platform is also diverse and branches into multiple sales channels. You can run your store and have complete control, selling to anyone, anywhere, including Instagram and Facebook. You can also communicate with your prospects and customers through social media channels or straight through your website.
A key advantage of Wix ecommerce is inventory management capabilities. As a business owner, you can continuously monitor inventory levels. Not having the right amount of inventory is a common issue for users, and Wix perfectly covers this front.
Not only do you have a robust e-commerce tool with Wix, but it also does work for you on the email marketing front. Wix’s ecommerce arm allows you to automatically send an email to any customers who abandon their orders.
When you ship the goods out to your customers, you can also calculate the projected tax and shipping costs in the Wix platform. Wix also goes the extra mile and lets you print your labels if needed. With the aid of the multilingual capabilities of the platform, you can ship globally and expand your business. Although this is a lynchpin of the Wix vs. Weebly debate, it is also true of the Wix vs. Squarespace debate.
Lastly, Wix’s ecommerce platform helps you build customer trust through its secure payment options. There are dozens of payment methods, opportunities, and providers, including debit cards, credit cards, and PayPal. Wix’s payment options allow you to receive payments in over 40 different countries. Customers can enjoy a smooth checkout without the transaction fee.
When it comes to Weebly’s ecommerce platform, it also offers a full number of features that check off many of your business needs. You can find excellent value in some of their lower-cost e-commerce plans. Many of these packages offer features that you would usually get in higher-end programs.
With Weebly, you receive secure checkout and shopping cart capabilities that get integrated with the site. This whole part of the software gets updated and set up automatically when you first create your store.
Although the back end is not as polished as Wix, you can still be organized and track your inventory as people shop on your site.
Whether it is managing a few products or hundreds, you can use the Weebly insights to promote products that are about to run out. You can also keep customers in the loop when products get sold out based on the inventory levels.
Weebly’s ecommerce function makes it a stress-free shopping experience for the web visitor. You can improve the navigation of your site by inputting a filtered product search. Customers can sort and narrow down their product choices by color, price, size, and other vital attributes. You can also sell digital or downloadable items, which get sent to customers via email with a personalized link.
Lastly, Weebly offers you portability by letting you monitor your store while traveling with Android and iPhone applications. No matter where you are, you can log in to the app, fulfill and process orders, respond to specific customers, add new products or photos, or reach out to customers when goods have been shipped to them.
Pricing Structure
Both website builders offer free plans for you to get your website up and running. You must evaluate the different pricing options to make the best site possible and connect it to the worldwide internet.
Regarding pricing between Wix vs. Weebly, Wix has the upper hand in many categories and gives you an excellent value on your money. You can fire up your website and begin editing without dropping any money with Wix. But you will eventually need to upgrade to at least a premium account to get your domain name connected and remove any Wix advertising.
Overall, Wix offers eight separate pricing plans. Four are for general website use, and the others are for e-commerce sites. Wix premium plans for general websites include:
- Combo – $13 per month
- Unlimited – $17 per month
- Pro – $22 per month
- VIP – $39 per month
With all these options, you receive unlimited bandwidth, between 10-20 gigabytes of storage, domain connection, removal of Wix ads, 1-2 hours of video, $300 ad vouchers, and complimentary apps for site boosters and visitor analytics. If you upgrade to pro or VIP, you can access the events calendar, professional logo, social media logo files, priority responses, and other VIP support.
Because of Wix’s many e-commerce capabilities, it offers four comprehensive pricing plans. You can choose from the following:
- Business Basic – $23 per month
- Business Unlimited – $27 per month
- Business VIP – $49 per month
- Enterprise – $500 per month
Related content: Wix Pricing 2023: What Plan to Pick and What to Avoid?
Through these plans, you receive unlimited bandwidth, 20-50 gigabytes of storage, removal of Wix ads, endless video hours, Google analytics, ad vouchers, a variety of apps and add-ons, and VIP support. Wix certainly packs a lot of benefits into each of the different pricing structures. You can also earn a discount if you increase the term length. The longer time you choose, the lower the annual pricing becomes.
Similar to Wix, you can create a site on Weebly for free. But, if you want to get rid of advertising on Weebly and connect your domain, you will need to upgrade to one of its three plans. The price offerings include:
- Personal – $6 per month
- Professional – $12 per month
- Performance – $26 per month
Related article: Weebly Pricing 9 Important Things To Know
As you move up the pricing plans, you receive a collection of features, including free SSL security, unlimited storage, custom domain, no ads, advanced site stats, search capabilities within the site, and the ability to embed a 3rd party code.
Customer Help & Support
Wix provides both phone support and email support for each paid plan. Most website builders do not do this and make you upgrade to get this feature. Wix tries to cover all your potential questions within the FAQs, but the company also does an excellent job in getting back to you on a question or need.
Throughout the entire website building process, there will be a help button available to click on. When you go to this button, it gives you a comprehensive step-by-step guide on utilizing the provided tool properly. You can also explore video tutorials if you want a more in-depth explanation. You also have full access to a community forum, where you can gain advice and help from other Wix users.
Weebly also gives you email support for each paid plan, but you do not get the same benefit with the phone support. This helpline is only included with the top three plans that are paid. But, Weebly does have the upper hand here with its live chat support. If you need a quick response on an urgent issue, then Weebly will come in handy here.
Weebly also has a community forum available as well as a help center. However, you will need to receive the same depth of knowledge here that you do with Wix.
Conclusion
As you can see, each website builder provides the necessary tools to take your business website to the next level. Each option is unique and more reliable in certain areas, although Wix gains the edge in most categories, especially ease of use. Both providers give you the drag-and-drop tools, making them intuitive for beginners to create a website.
Wix also gives you more choices for design templates and other marketing tools. Although you cannot change your design template to another option, Wix gives you more design formats and business themes. Combined with more robust e-commerce and inventory management platform, Wix sets you on the right path for success.
The most important thing to remember when creating your website is to have a plan going in. You may not always know the exact designs and colors you will use, but you should have an idea of the value you want to provide to incoming site visitors. Wix and Weebly both give you a vehicle to personify your brand to the masses. But it all begins with your motivation and “why” behind your business.
