Weebly websites to shut down for UAE, Saudi Arabia, 65 more countries from September

Customers will have access to the account till December 2026, although sites will be unpublished

PUBLISHED: Sun 5 Jul 2026, 5:48 PM

By:
Poojaraj Maniyeri

US-based free website builder Weebly will no longer be available for customers in 67 countries, including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman after September 2026, according to an email seen by Khaleej Times.

Weebly said it is "winding down" services in different nations "due to changes in regulation and to simplify our global operations". The firm released a timeline of gradual changes, to help existing users access their data before the site shuts down.

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Starting 29 June, customers of 67 countries were no longer able to publish any new pages.

What UAE users should do before Weebly shutdown

September 27, 2026: Weebly websites will be unpublished. Before this date, users should download site content and data. Follow these steps:

Go to Account Settings, click on My Data, and select Download My Data. This will help you migrate your content to another website provider, or retain it.
Concerned about privacy? Ask Weebly to delete your data, through the Erase Data and Forget Me option under the My Data tab on your account page.

December 26, 2026: Last date of accessing Weebly account.

Until this date, you will have access to the account, although sites will be unpublished. This period helps users move their site, domains, and data to another service. Domain names can be moved to another registrar only after 60 days from the registration date.

According to the Weebly website, users must make sure that they do not make changes to your registrant contact information (email, phone number, first/last name), as this will lead to a 60-day registrar lock and prevent you from transferring your domain name.

Note that domain name transfers work differently for country-specific domains; users must contact Weebly's support team for assistance.

How to unlock, transfer domain name

From your Weebly Dashboard, go to websites, and click on Domains, then select Manage Domain.
Disable registrar lock, get EPP authorisation code, and copy the full code. Disabling registrar lock will also disable privacy protection. It is important to set privacy protection once again with the new registrar.
Follow the instructions for the newly chosen registrar as the rest of the transfer process will be managed by them

Why is Weebly winding down?

While the firm attributed it to "a change in regulation," online users have argued that Square, which acquired Weebly in 2018, is pushing its platform 'Square Online'.

Square is originally a US-based payment processor, and the firm says it has since evolved into the "largest business tech platform". It calls Square Online a "free online store" but clarifies that those who do not sell online can also use it to build their websites.

In an earlier support update for the Weebly Website Builder, Square Online was consistently referred to as a better alternative, although at the time, it was said that Square "has no plans to discontinue the Weebly website builder".