4 ms·

UX Lessons from Weebly

franciscop 12y ago
It actually looks quite nice. Does it allow for further html edition? If so, is the html output semantic? While most editors' html is gibberish, so is the interface, so maybe Weebly also got this right
- steve-benjamins 12y ago
  Yup, Weebly allows you edit HTML. Some (outdated) documentation showing the HTML editor is available here: http://themedocs.weebly.com/index.html http://themedocs.weebly.com/index.html. Weebly's markup is good- especially compared to most website builders markup with poor markup (as you pointed out). Wix probably has some of the worst markup among website builders. For reference, here's an example Wix website: http://s99433.wix.com/stevebenjamins http://s99433.wix.com/stevebenjamins and here's an example Weebly website: http://weeblyreviewed.weebly.com/ http://weeblyreviewed.weebly.com/. You can check out the markup using your console.
zomgbbq 12y ago
You left out Squarespace - whose site editor is amazing. Was this on purpose or just an accidental ommission?
- steve-benjamins 12y ago
  Not sure I understand? The article is an in-depth look at Weebly. The bad examples are meant to show how easily a website builder's interface can get ugly. Squarespace wasn't included as a bad example because it has an excellent interface. In fact Squarespace and Weebly are the only website builders I've given a perfect score to in my website builders guide.
  - kipple 12y ago
    How do you feel about Webflow? I haven't used it personally but from what I've seen (watching over shoulders) it is more technical than most builders but very solid. The interface actually reminds me of Weebly, like expert-mode Weebly.
    - steve-benjamins 12y ago
      Unfortunately I haven't spent enough time in Webflow yet to say. But it seems thoughtfully designed. I'll have to do a review of it soon!
      - kipple 12y ago
        That's very fair. I look forward to it! I enjoy your reviews so far, the trend of legitimately useful sitebuilders is interesting. I yearn for a return of the geocities days, when everyone was pumping out lame websites instead of social network profiles.
deedubaya 12y ago
If you don't know how web pages work, what pixels and padding and color values mean, all of these solutions suck. Small business owners, students, and even "computer savy" people have a hard time with this. > Look how easy Weebly is to use compared to these other implementations! Weebly isn't a joy to use. It's just easier to use than most of it's competitors, which is what this article focuses on. There is room for improvement here...
- steve-benjamins 12y ago
  I don't understand your comment? To be clear: not all website builders suck. Weebly and Squarespace are two examples of very good website builders.
buckbova 12y ago
Do you do okay with click throughs via share-a-sale? http://www.shareasale.com/ http://www.shareasale.com/
mbesto 12y ago
Steve - general comment about your website. Good site and great reviews. I refer people to website builders all of the time (I know the HN crowd will probably frown on that comment). Good to see someone has taken the time to do a thorough review of all of them. One thing you might want to add to your reviews is "ease of sharing". For the non-technically inclined (your audience) being able to share content is pretty big and is one of the major reasons I tell people to stay far far away from Wix. Example: http://imgur.com/TS1Z2Vq http://imgur.com/TS1Z2Vq No images, no content, etc. Not to mention, from a technical perspective Wix is a nightmare.
- steve-benjamins 12y ago
  Thanks, I appreciate the comment :) Interesting point- ease of sharing is not something I had investigated too closely before. Thanks for sharing.

It actually looks quite nice. Does it allow for further html edition? If so, is the html output semantic? While most editors' html is gibberish, so is the interface, so maybe Weebly also got this right

steve-benjamins 12y ago
Yup, Weebly allows you edit HTML. Some (outdated) documentation showing the HTML editor is available here: http://themedocs.weebly.com/index.html http://themedocs.weebly.com/index.html. Weebly's markup is good- especially compared to most website builders markup with poor markup (as you pointed out). Wix probably has some of the worst markup among website builders. For reference, here's an example Wix website: http://s99433.wix.com/stevebenjamins http://s99433.wix.com/stevebenjamins and here's an example Weebly website: http://weeblyreviewed.weebly.com/ http://weeblyreviewed.weebly.com/. You can check out the markup using your console.

zomgbbq 12y ago

You left out Squarespace - whose site editor is amazing. Was this on purpose or just an accidental ommission?

steve-benjamins 12y ago
Not sure I understand? The article is an in-depth look at Weebly. The bad examples are meant to show how easily a website builder's interface can get ugly. Squarespace wasn't included as a bad example because it has an excellent interface. In fact Squarespace and Weebly are the only website builders I've given a perfect score to in my website builders guide.
- kipple 12y ago
  How do you feel about Webflow? I haven't used it personally but from what I've seen (watching over shoulders) it is more technical than most builders but very solid. The interface actually reminds me of Weebly, like expert-mode Weebly.
  - steve-benjamins 12y ago
    Unfortunately I haven't spent enough time in Webflow yet to say. But it seems thoughtfully designed. I'll have to do a review of it soon!
    - kipple 12y ago
      That's very fair. I look forward to it! I enjoy your reviews so far, the trend of legitimately useful sitebuilders is interesting. I yearn for a return of the geocities days, when everyone was pumping out lame websites instead of social network profiles.

deedubaya 12y ago

If you don't know how web pages work, what pixels and padding and color values mean, all of these solutions suck. Small business owners, students, and even "computer savy" people have a hard time with this. > Look how easy Weebly is to use compared to these other implementations! Weebly isn't a joy to use. It's just easier to use than most of it's competitors, which is what this article focuses on. There is room for improvement here...

steve-benjamins 12y ago
I don't understand your comment? To be clear: not all website builders suck. Weebly and Squarespace are two examples of very good website builders.

buckbova 12y ago

Do you do okay with click throughs via share-a-sale? http://www.shareasale.com/ http://www.shareasale.com/

mbesto 12y ago

Steve - general comment about your website. Good site and great reviews. I refer people to website builders all of the time (I know the HN crowd will probably frown on that comment). Good to see someone has taken the time to do a thorough review of all of them. One thing you might want to add to your reviews is "ease of sharing". For the non-technically inclined (your audience) being able to share content is pretty big and is one of the major reasons I tell people to stay far far away from Wix. Example: http://imgur.com/TS1Z2Vq http://imgur.com/TS1Z2Vq No images, no content, etc. Not to mention, from a technical perspective Wix is a nightmare.

steve-benjamins 12y ago
Thanks, I appreciate the comment :) Interesting point- ease of sharing is not something I had investigated too closely before. Thanks for sharing.