When it comes to building your website for your eCommerce store, there are a variety of platforms to choose from.

While doing your research, you may have come across Wix and Weebly. Both platforms are gaining popularity, as Wix boasts of having 100 million users while Weebly is at 30 million.

These two platforms have lots of similarities; however, there are several features that set these two site builders apart.

In this post, we'll compare Wix and Weebly by analyzing their tools, features, template designs, ease of use, pricing, SEO tools, and more so you can make an informed decision on what's best for your online store.

Comparing Wix and Weebly

Wix and Weebly are very similar because they are both drag-and-drop website builders.

  • Setup: Wix has proven to be a distinct and intuitive website builder. It only takes a few minutes for users to understand how to use it and no coding experience is needed. However, if you do have coding experience and you want to do some tweaks on the backend, it may be a lot harder to do so.

    Weebly also rated highly as being a very user-friendly drag-and-drop website builder. They also allow you to create standalone dedicated Product Pages for your items, which is pretty unique for a drag-and-drop builder.
  • Design Flexibility: With over 500 professional and trendy templates, Wix is in the lead when it comes to advanced features that make website building easier and quicker. Apart from being customizable, these templates are also mobile ready, with dedicated mobile editor. However, it's worth noting that the template cannot be changed once the website goes live.

    Weebly, on the other hand, has fewer templates and the designs are more basic. However, all Weebly templates are mobile responsive and can be changed after your site goes live.
  • Special Features and Tools: It is evident that Wix and Weebly never back down when it comes to ensuring that users enjoy maximum satisfaction through utilization of its tools and features.

    For example, new or improved tools are introduced monthly on Wix. Even though the site builder maintains a wide range of built-in tools, they rely heavily on third-party and in-house apps for scalability.

    As for Weebly, now that they are owned by payment processor Square, you'll notice their checkout offerings will be pretty strong.
  • App Markets: In order to improve user satisfaction, Wix users are offered a wide range of apps in the Wix App Market, with over 200 apps already on offer and more being added regularly.
    Weebly holds its own, as it has over 300 apps available for users to choose from. These apps are also updated regularly, with new ones added often. Also, Weebly offers its customers the option to submit any ideas they have for new apps.
  • SEO: In order to help improve your website’s SEO ranking, Wix comes with built-in SEO tools which include meta titles, alt tags, and others. It also has a tool that enables users to create an SEO plan for each individual website. At the Wix Help Center, Wix offers lots of guides and tips that help in improving site visibility.

    Weebly also comes with built-in SEO tools, guides, and checklists that help users get started in improving their site’s visibility.
  • Open API: Both platforms offer an Open API.

    However, it's worth noting that Wix currently only offers its Open API to blogs and static pages - NOT for their eCommerce sites. This means that if you want to use a particular app that is not listed in their app store, and (in this example) the app you want to use requires access to your order management, you would not be able to successfully integrate it.

    On the other hand, Weebly does have an Open API for their eCommerce functions, which makes it more flexible to integrate other third-party apps that may not be listed in their App Market.

Differences in their offerings

When it comes to offerings, there are some differences on what Wix and Weebly offer its customers. Some of these differences include but not limited to the following:

  • While Wix offers over 500 design templates, Weebly offers just about 50 design templates.
  • Wix does not offer the ability to switch templates after a website goes live but Weebly allows for templates to be switched after the website is launched.
  • Wix has been rated to be beginner friendly as a result of the simplicity of its tools and features. Weebly has does offer more advanced website building options, also making it appealing to site owners with more advanced programming knowledge.

Customer Support

When it comes to the use of certain services and applications, customer support will always play an important role in customer satisfaction rate.

There are differences in the way Wix and Weebly support to its customers. Wix provides support through its knowledge base, email, and phone calls on all plans, from Monday through Thursday.

Weebly on the other hand, also offers support through a knowledge base, email, and live chat. Weebly only offers phone support to those on its higher plan, like Pro, Business, and Performance plans.

Wix's knowledge base is more user-friendly as it comes with a search bar that allows users to search for specific topics or queries. There is also forum and blog for more information. Its on-page support is second to none and as such, makes Wix a winner when it comes to support and help.

Differences in Pricing Plans

When it comes to pricing plans, there is flexibility for everyone.

Apart from the free plan that is offered by both Wix and Weebly, there are paid options based on your website needs.

For example, Wix plans range from as low as $5.00 per month to as high as $35.00 per month, while for Weebly, the price ranges from $8.00 per month to $38 per month.

You should also take note that opting for yearly subscription can save you as much as 30%, depending on the plan you have chosen.

Final Thoughts

Whether you go for a Weebly website or a Wix one depends mostly on what you are using the website for. If you are a creative beginner who is going into eCommerce, then Wix could work for you as you will find its features and tools, ease of use, support, and pricing most beneficial to your business.

However, considering that Wix doesn't have an Open API for their eCommerce pages, this means you can't integrate third-party tools that could potentially help grow your business. If their in-house offerings aren't good enough for you, you may need to consider moving elsewhere later down the road.

We have a more positive outlook for Weebly. While it may not have as many templates and customizations as Wix, it has the potential to be better suited for eCommerce now that it's owned by Square, a payment processing company. This is already evidenced by the fact that they offer 3 payment options (PayPal, Stripe, and Square) and a more customizable checkout experience.

Additionally, we like that it has an Open API for eCommerce pages, which makes it more flexible to work with third party apps should you find that their in-house features are lacking.

If in doubt though, you can always do a free trial on both platforms to decide which builder works better for you.

Note: We are listed on the Weebly App Store! Learn more about our integration here, or visit our Weebly app listing for more details.