Weebly, the AJAX-based website creation utility I reviewed in detail last month, has just added two new features that are worth taking note of. First, a JavaScript-based elements or widgets structure — just like Google Gadgets — and second, a function to export your site without the Weebly header into a zip file.
The gadgets or widgets (‘elements’ here-after) I found were a really cool addition. They currently have an element available for Google Maps, Adbrite Ads, Feed Reader, Badgr and Flickr Badge to integrate onto your site, and they claim elements can now be very easily be added to the system, so we can expect more in the future. What I’d like to see them do, though, is to open up the system for everyone to add their own elements — so if a Weebly user sees a cool Javascript poll widget somewhere, he’d be able paste it right away — I’m sure this is coming in the future.
The feature to export is the most requested addition which lets users export their whole site without the Weebly header, so the user can use Weebly just as a quick and dirty development tool then upload it to his or her own site or server. If they wanted, they can also modify it as much as they like. This is really neat, and with the ease that Weebly lets you build pages, I’m sure it’s going to come handy to many people.
Weebly has a lot of things lined up for the future. They have a to-do list on their blog, and it looks like their only half-way there. Most of the things are on the themes side, including a better theme manager, more theme options, and my favorite: more themes. On that note, if anyone’s still looking to be invited into Weebly’s private-beta, I was given 30 more invitations — post a comment or e-mail me with the subject “Weebly Invitation” if you’d like one.
[tags]Weebly, AJAX[/tags]
