Use a custom domain and launch a cheap Weebly website
[As of July 2023, Weebly may be removing the Personal plan option. I’ve been informed that a website that used this technique will be upgraded to a regular, higher-cost plan.]
Weebly is a popular do-it-yourself website builder. It has a free plan, but the Personal plan gives you the ability to use your own custom domain. That upgrade makes it easier for your website to be found in searches.
The Weebly Personal plan balances professionalism with cost savings
Weebly has a totally free option, which can be an easier path for new businesses if they are really cash-strapped and want to see how their business develops before investing more into a website.
The only way to have a free Weebly website is to settle for a free subdomain name based on the weebly.com domain, such as mysuperbusiness.weebly.com. But subdomain names don't do as well in search results (as I describe in this blog post) and don't look as professional as a domain name devoted to your business, such as mysuperbusiness.com. There is another way that costs a little more, but gives you the professional benefits of a custom domain name with the ease of a low-cost Weebly website. Weebly calls this the Personal plan.
Start by creating a free website on Weebly, then upgrade to the Personal plan
To take advantage of this setup, you can always start by creating a free website on Weebly. Then opt to upgrade to the Personal plan. You’ll also need to purchase a domain. Your website will then run on Weebly using your unique domain name. The features you get with a Personal Plan website are the same as those listed on the Free plan, which has the "Weebly-powered" logo in the footer for every page.
Downgrading to the Weebly Personal Plan is also possible
You can also downgrade from a more expensive Weebly site to a Personal Plan site, while keeping the domain name you've been using. You'll need to be in touch with Support to carry out this transaction, but I did it a while back for a personal website. I realized I didn't need any fancy features and I was fine with having the "Weebly-powered" logo on each page, so I asked Weebly to keep my domain and change the website to a Personal plan instead, saving me money each year.
The Personal Plan is a good compromise for personal websites and business websites
I'm pretty excited that I've found a good compromise that will work for several types of clients, including those who want personal sites for weddings and reunions or low-cost websites for sharing a hobby or creating a community group. It also works for those who just want to test the waters of a do-it-yourself website or those who will never need the full features of a more expensive Weebly plan.
Maybe it will work for you too?
