Create Your Free Craft Website with Weebly

Many craft artisans would like to expand their craft markets by selling online, but many are very intimidated to give it a try. Craft marketplaces such as Etsy and Artfire are a great place to start, but if you want a truly customized and professional look and feel to your craft business, you may want to consider setting up your own website. There are many different website hosts out there, each with their own set of pros and cons, but if you’re looking for a quick and easy website set-up without all the HTML knowledge, Weebly is for you.

Weebly is a completely free website builder. It is built upon a drag-and-drop system of elements that make adding your content, and listing your items as easy as could be. There are no set-up costs or hidden charges, and no monthly fees. The only charges would depend upon your domain name (see “Website Name” below). And since the hosting is free, there is absolutely nothing to lose to give it a try. If you decide this style of selling isn’t for you, you can cancel and close down your shop at a minute’s notice.

• Text
• Pictures
• YouTube
• Revenue modules
• Shopping card
• RSS feeds
• Forums
• Online polls
• Event bookings
• Contact form
• & More!

Another feature that Weebly offers is the ability to add Google Adsense to your website. This, however, may be the one time you choose not to use it. The reason for this is because most of the content on your website will be about your product, and Google ads are formulated based on content, you are more than likely going to be advertising your competition.

When you register with Weebly and set up a website, you will have the opportunity to name your site whatever you would like. However, keep in mind that your website will ultimately have “.weebly.com” attached to the end of your domain name. Weebly gives you the opportunity to purchase your own domain through them, but you will find just through a simple Google search that many other companies will offer you domain names at a much cheaper cost. Once your domain is purchased, whether through Weebly itself or through another company, you can easily transfer the domain name over to your Weebly site at no extra cost.

1. Sign up for a Weebly account at Weebly.com. (Your site will instantly be created after registration.)
2. Choose a design template. Weebly offers many different design templates for you to choose from. Though the designs that are offered are not the most dazzling you’ve ever seen, you should be able to find at least one template that will be sufficient for your needs. For more advanced users, there is an option of uploading your own design template through custom HTML.
3. Create a page header by dragging a photo element from the top of your screen down into the header part of your site. Once you are satisfied with the look of your header image, you are given the opportunity to copy it to all of your pages, so that the same header appears on top of all levels and pages of your website.
4. Continue to add text, photos, and media through the easy drag-and-drop system.
5. To list items for sale, choose the revenue element from the top screen and drag and drop which product style you would like. Once the revenue module appears in the body of your site, you are able to upload a photo of your item, along with a title, description and price tag. If you would like to offer more photos of your item, use the two-column layout and drag and drop the photo gallery module down into either side of the column.
6. You can edit your website at any time just by clicking on the “Edit” feature from the Weebly homepage. Keep in mind that you will be able to make as many edits and changes to your website as you would like without having them go public until you click “Publish” on the Weebly dashboard.

Give Weebly a try today!