Likelihood to Recommend Jekyll is great for people who aren't intimidated by editing HTML, CSS, and Markdown files, people who are on a shoestring budget, and people who want a blazing fast website. Jekyll may not be the best option for people who aren't interested in editing their websites in a text file and would rather have a
WordPress -esque back-end from the beginning.
Read full review If you are having students create websites or information pages about something they are studying in class, this is a great option. The fact that students can spend less time getting situated and learning the app and get right to work researching and creating their pages is great. For middle to high school, this is a fantastic app to use. However, if you want more nuanced analytics or want students to focus on blogging more than webpage building, this is limited.
Read full review Pros Content stored in Git with the website code Free to use Easy to deploy to cheap/free hosting solutions Produces super fast static websites Read full review Drag and drop interface makes it very easy to add all types of content, including images, text, video (and YouTube videos), embeddable applications and more. It's very easy to set up navigation features like cascading menus and sticky navigation (where the menu stays put - may depend on the template chosen though). A technical backend is fairly straight-forward for setting up a fav icon, 301 redirects, SEO, Google Analytics, etc. Robbin Block Creative Marketing Strategist, Instructor, Moderator, Author
Read full review Cons Complicated for non-technical users Can be difficult to enter in new content Implementing dynamic components can be challenging Read full review Weebly doesn't have a lot of templates to choose from, so if you don't have any experience with CSS or HTML, it's hard to customize your site to an extent. Weebly isn't fully SEO friendly. They don't allow you to add H1 tags to pages out of the box. You can't create folder structures when it comes to web page URLs. You can put web pages under a main menu dropdown, but they don't allow you to put all sub-menu items in a structured folder (like site.com/folder/page-1 and site.com/folder/page-2). Read full review Likelihood to Renew Weebly is consistently adding features that line up with our needs. The ease of use makes it the perfect program for us since we have users of multiple age brackets and knowledge of web design. We love that we can give users access to only the pages they are affiliated with
Read full review Usability It is simple to use and offers enough customization to make a website that is personalized. Templates are pretty standard and the help section is laid out well by topic with frequently asked questions. Some design knowledge is helpful, but through trial and error anyone can get a hold of the reins fairly quickly.
Read full review Alternatives Considered Jekyll is integrated into GitHub Pages, which made it an easy choice. Using Jekyll was also easier as there's not really a server or a database to configure and you can just get things started from day one. Running and verifying content changes locally for developers is super efficient as Jekyll runs locally, too.
Read full review Weebly's designs, plugins, and customization options are a little more advanced in some cases than other similar programs.
WordPress requires a different level of expertise and knowledge of code, keywording, and plugins, so I wouldn't even compare them.
Wix is a little more user-friendly because you can drag and drop your design, which was very convenient for customizing your site. I didn't personally select Weebly, but it is user-friendly and nearly anyone comfortable with a computer could figure it out. Weebly support is also pretty good.
Read full review Return on Investment Jekyll has kept our costs low, very low, on all the projects I've used on it. Think $10 a year low. Read full review Weebly has allowed our business to create a connection with our customers by offering home decor, cooking and styling tips. Weebly gives us the chance to relay information to customers regarding merchandise, current sales and promotions, store hours and locations etc. Which has helped increase business. Weebly has given our not very tech savvy business the opportunity to have a website and stay relevant with our competitors. Read full review ScreenShots