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imageWeebly is an online website creator and hosting site. Normally, when someone wants  to create a website, they must pay for the storage space and the domain name. You can even end up paying for the site design itself. Some sites, such as Google Sites, offers free space to create and design web pages, but is fairly limited to its capabilities. If you really want to pay, there are sites like Godaddy.com that offers domain names (the www.yourname.com) and hosting, as well as design programs like Website Tonight. This offers much more customization and the ability to add in many tweaks and widgets that Google Sites does not have.

In steps Weebly. Weebly is the mix between the two. Weebly offers free website design and hosting (it does not offer domain names, but that is the cheapest part of the equation, and Weebly has its own walkthrough so it can be linked to your account if you purchase one). Weebly is also very user friendly. Everything is simply drag and drop. There are many designs to choose from that look professional, and not as empty as many of the designs from Google Sites.

Classroom Uses

Weebly provides a free alternative for teachers to set up class websites. There is no advertisement, so it is safe from outside links. It is easy to setup with drag and drop features, and also looks much more professional than Google Sites. Weebly also offers 30 student accounts for free (with a 2 page limit). This provides an opportunity for teachers to create student pages in which they could display ePortfolios or other work done in classroom. Having student work displayed online is a good way to link home and school, and gets students excited about the work they have completed.

For an example of what a Weebly page could look like, feel free to check out my class page at www.themrsmith.com !

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