Free Websites - Yola vs Weebly

I have always been turned off using free website builders in the past. But as I seem to be purchasing so many domains of late I am always looking for alternative low cost hosting solutions.

I was surprised when I came across Weebly to find just how quick and easy it was to get a website up with minimal effort.

This led me to research a bit further to find other sites similar to Weebly.

Today I found one, Yola. Initially a had come across Yola in the past but dismissed it due to the fact I want to host a few pages and it didn't seem possible. But after registering today I found that you can have 5 free sites using yola sub-domains.

Both sites have unique advantages and disadvantages, which I thought I could highlight in a hub to let fellow hubbers in on what I have learned.

Both Yola and Weebly are completely drop and drag so both can be used with ease by even the most inexperienced web user.

As I am quite experienced in building websites I have always been against using these types of sites, preferring to use wordpress and design my own theme.

However, even I was impressed with both sites on how quickly I could put up a site on a domain name that would otherwise be gathering dust.

You can drag columns, text boxes, image boxes and more to areas you want them and pick from many stylish templates.

While both sites are very similar in the drop and drag department they do have some features that stand out which I will highlight below and rate both platforms on how they stack up.

Both Weebly and Yola have free options, but both differ depending on what features you are after. Weebly allows you to have two free sites which can be linked to a custom domain that you own or use a weebly subdomain, so you site would be http://subdomain.weebly.com

Yola allows free users to have up to five sites, however you can not use your own domain unless you upgrade to a paid plan.

As a entrepreneur with a fairly large domain portfolio, I was more impressed with Weebly's free option as it got me two websites for nothing! Once in I was hooked and was looking at the paid options.

If you don't own any domain names or never intend on owning any then Yola is the site for you. But if you do own domains and want to increase their value by adding a website, then Weebly wins hands down.

The Free Option:

• Yola 3/5
• Weebly 5/5
  

Both sites have around the same amount of templates, however, many of Yola's templates (the good ones) are only available to Yola silver members or higher. Most of the Yola free templates look identical, not much variety.

The Templates:

• Yola 2/5
• Weebly 4/5
  

Both site builders have some amazing features for free accounts. Weebly has some additional features for pro users.

All in all both Weebly and Yola features are on par and are very simple to use with the drop-and-drag interface which would have a novice putting together a site in minutes.

The Features:

• Yola 4/5
• Weebly 4/5
  

As a webmaster, I often dabble in affiliate programs also. Both have affiliate programs that you can earn money by referring other people to their paid services.

The Weebly Affiliate Program is quite simple to join and offers 25% per lead if it results in a sale. A good choice of banners to choose from, although limited in comparison to the Yola Affiliate Program which is available through commission junction.

Yola wins on the affiliate program front with much higher commissions due to the higher price of their paid packages. One thing I did notice, is Weebly has a 2 tiered affiliate program, which means you can sign up sub affiliates and earn commissions from their sales.

The Affiliate Program:

• Yola 3/5
• Weebly 2/5
  

Weebly wins in my books rated 15 out 20, with Yola coming in not far behind on 12 out of 20.