I Heart Weebly
GET WEEBLY
If you are someone who listens to a lot of podcasts, then you’ve probably heard other podcasters promote the hell out of Squarespace. Even my favorite podcaster, Marc Maron whores himself out to Squarespace like a bombastic whore in a red light district. And hey, really, there’s nothing wrong with Squarespace. But I happen to think that Weebly is a much better option. Especially if you’re just getting started. And you can still expand later. And you can still switch to Squarespace later... but you won't want to.
I’m here to tell you, if you want to build your own website and you don’t know shit about how to get started, you want Weebly. You need Weebly. It is hands down the best option, and I’ll tell you why. But before I do… Full Disclosure. It’s completely free, but they do have a pro plan. And if you upgrade to a pro plan through me, I will make a commission. It wouldn’t cost you any less if you went straight to Weebly, but if you use the link on my page, you’ll be helping to support my efforts and the time I put into this podcast.
Okay, so what makes me an authority on websites? Oh, my babies, let me count the ways…
I built my first website in 1994, That means I’ve been at it for almost 26 years. I taught myself to build my first websites from scratch. Then, when more sophisticated website building apps came out, such as Dreamweaver and Flash, I learned how to use them. In fact, I used to get clients by bringing the user guides with me wherever I went, or I’d by books with words like “Intenet” or “Web Design” in the title. I’d walk into a diner and sit at the counter, or go to the laundromat and read my books while waiting on the spin cycle, intentionally holding it so the the cover would show. Or I’d make sure to set it down in a conspicuous place while I ate. Or while folding the laundry.
People would see me reading these books and start asking me about websites, and I’d end up getting hired to build theirs. Eventually, I ended up having a up a pretty side business by word of mouth. Suffice it to say, I’ve built enough websites using different platforms over the years to know what I’m talking about.
So Why Weebly?
1. It’s Free - You can have up to 10 free domains on Weebly at no charge. Always. Squarespace gives you a free website, too. For 14 whole days. Weebly is forever.
That’s TEN completely different websites under ONE account. No expiration date.
2. Easiest to use if you know absolutely nothing whatsoever about how to build a website. Even if you eventually find yourself too busy to maintain it, you can at least build the site you want right from the start and it makes it easy to edit for anyone else you want to delegate the job to someone else later.
3. Forty (40) design templates. Now, Wix, for example, offers over 100 designs, but there’s a catch. I don’t know why, but I have friends who use Wix. WIx seems to be the one a lot of my musician friends choose to go with. I think they choose Wix because some of their templates look really cool. But I gotta tell you…
Three times now, I’ve had friends send me a link to their new Wix website that they’re all excited about because they’ve built it themselves; but when I went to check it out on my Samsung Galaxy 9+ which is a very popular Android phone, the text looks all kinds of fucked up and the whole design is out of whack. When I went to my iMac to look at it, looked fine. beautiful. Some even have cool special effects like a fancy photo slide show. But what good is a website if it only looks good on a desktop computer or in a certain type of browser. My Weebly sites look elegant no matter what device I’m using. So, you’re not alienating anyone. And of you’re building a website for your business, this translates into cash. So Weebly for the win! And by the way, you can create those slide shows in Weebly, too if you upgrade to their Pro Account.
5. Phone support. For me, that’s HUGE! I don’t get stuck very often, but when I do have a question, I love that there is an actual human being that’s there to talk me through the problem. And they’ve always been friendly and helpful.
6. Youtube Video Player. Here’s the thing. If you have a free account, you can’t play audio or video clips directly on a Weebly web page using their media player. However, they have a GREAT workaround! The Youtube Video Player. This means if you have a Google account (and who doesn’t} you automatically have a Youtube account, too. In case you don’t know by know, Google owns Youtube. So you can upload your video to Youtube and stream it directly to your web page on Weebly.
7. SEO. Search Engine Optimization. This applies primarily to a Weebly pro account, but - It has been my experience, that the sites I have built using Weebly show up quicker if I search for it on Google than any other platform I’ve tried, including the almighty Wordpress. I don’t know why. It just is.
8. Speed. Again, for whatever reason, I find Weebly sites load very quick in my browser. No need to explain why that’s a good thing in this instant gratification society.
9. Great for Blogging - Weebly has a blogging option that automatically sets up a blog for you. It Automates the whole process of adding a page for each post and archiving your past blog posts. It’s actually pretty cool once you get the hang of it.
10. Because you heard it from me - As I said, I’ve built websites on several platforms and I’ve researched all the others. Wordpress is great if you don’t mind a steep learning curve, and Wordpress hosting can be expensive. But if you want free and easy… there’s only one I would recommend and that’s Weebly. To get started, click that blue "I Heart Weebly" box below. Don't forget, your heard it from me, Hal in Philly... Because it's...
Easy When you Know Hal
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