Encouraging your child’s online creativity with Weebly

There are many perks to being a work-from-home mom. The 15 more minutes I have in the morning since I don’t have to apply the makeup. The ability to juggle the morning and afternoon bus stop regime. The money I save on my very own brewed coffee, breakfast and lunch. The list can certainly go on, and for this post, I will spare you the drawbacks. However, as I have been working in this capacity for almost eight years, the most rewarding part of working from home is how astute my children have become in understanding adult responsibility and a strong work ethic.

My son Shane is eight. He’s crazy perceptive, intelligent and curious. He loves all things hockey and technology and has actually uttered the words, “Mom, I know marketing.” Therefore I wasn’t surprised when he asked me the other day if he could start his own website.

Having the experience myself of creating a handful of websites (I’m currently working on the redesign for all Mom Central properties – oh just wait and see – they are going to be beautiful!), I know the work, creative exhaustion, and financial commitment it takes to construct a website. So I was apprehensive to say yes to his inquiry, but as a mom and role model to my kids, I felt a responsibility to agree. I thought it could be a great exercise for him and a fun project for us to work on together.

Creating a website with Weebly

I started to research. Where could I find a technology solution that wouldn’t be too difficult for an eight year old to grasp, wouldn’t require deep pockets, and would increase his knowledge on all things having to do with websites? After a few Google searches I found it! Weebly  to our rescue. Their tagline is “web creation made easy” and that it is.

When I told Shane that we are going to work on his website, he was ecstatic. I woke up the next morning and on his whiteboard in his room was his brainstorm of different pages and ideas (see picture). I was amazed and so proud of his ambition and creativity.

We’re having the most fun creating MyHockeyUniverse.net – we haven’t published the site yet, because there is still a lot Shane wants to create, but we’re getting there – together.

I highly recommend Weebly to parents who want to engage with their kids, teach them the new wave of the world, and give them the tools to be able to find their voice and creativity. Thank you Weebly for making this possible, super easy and free!

Have you had a similar experience or if you decide to work on a similar exercise with your child? Please share below!

More about Weebly

Powerful drag and drop website editor - Stunningly easy drag and drop website editor. Videos, pictures, maps, and text are added by simply dragging them to your website. Super straightforward to build a website with Weebly – no HTML or technical skills required!

It’s free – It is completely free to create and publish a website with Weebly. You can opt to buy a pro account upgrade for a small fee, or purchase your own domain, but their free service is and will remain 100% feature packed.

Hosting included – No restrictions! They provide the hosting so you don’t need to pay for a hosting provider. They don’t impose arbitrary bandwidth restrictions, storage caps or limits on the number of pages allowed, either.

70+ professional designs (or customize your own) – Deciding on a look for your website couldn’t be easier. They have dozens of professional designs to choose from and add more regularly. Want to make your own? You can completely customize the template of your site, or build your own with HTML and CSS, right in the Weebly editor.

A variety of content elements – If you can imagine it, you can do it with Weebly. Add pictures, videos, music and audio, documents, maps, and photo galleries. Sell products, accept online bookings, create a contact form, or arrange your pages in multiple columns. Drag on slideshows, files, forums, games, RSS feeds, or any other HTML embed code – all by simply dragging and dropping.

Powerful blogging features – Post your thoughts and receive comments using their super slick blogging features. Weebly supports an unlimited number of blogs within your website, with full comment moderation features allowing an open, moderated, or closed conversation.

No advertising – They don’t place advertising on your site, and never will. Some “free” website providers force advertising to be placed on your site, but you won’t find that with Weebly.

Stacey Smith is the VP of Integrated Marketing at Mom Central. When she’s not working on websites for work or with Shane, she’s playing Barbies with Carly (5) or saving Chloe (18 months) from falling off of – everything.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.