In a crowded space, it is always refreshing to see a new startup innovating to upset the established order. It is even more exciting to see them better the niche in the same stroke. Page.ly is such a startup, attacking the consumer and small business website creation market boldly. This is a space that even Google has departed from.
Move aside MoonFruit, Page.ly is coming in. Instead of the traditional model of leaving users to find their own way in various aspects of website creation, Page.ly instead holds their hand from start to finish. Know nothing whatsoever? Finally, you have a friend.
Even more so, Page.ly is a paid-only service, limited only to the United States. This might be due to legal issues surrounding the registering of domain names, which is one aspect of the service. Instead of letting potential paying customers muck through DNS settings and the endless GoDaddy menu options, they do all the work for you. Page.ly states very plainly that “we do love Canada, eh?” However, I am sure for the moment that a semantically interesting apology will not assuage users that want in. Canada aside, what about the rest of the world?
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Aside from the embarrassing US-centric availability, the service is garnering positive reviews. At a modest USD 15 monthly, the service is in the price range of any consumer or smaller business that lack the funding for an expensive custom option.
Page.ly is an end-to-end solution, covering everything from domains, to analytics, to design, to maintenance. Of course, the user has to handle the work, but Page.ly provides them with efficient tool sets that even the most basic internet user can handle.
The service was founded in April of 2009, has yet to receive funding, employs two people, and hails from Arizona, according to Crunchbase. Page.ly is a startup with a solid product, and even more solid business model: charge for quality services. Of course, we wish that they would expand to a world market, but given their young age they are perhaps hesitant to push past their legal safe zone for the time being.
Page.ly has a wide swath of competition, including the venerable MoonFruit, Weebly, WordPress.com, and Webs. With company like that, the founders must sleep lightly at night to dodge the treading giants.
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