Touch-oriented editing
Design directly on the canvas with touch-first controls that are intended to feel natural on iPad, including interactions such as a rotation dial and Apple Pencil-friendly editing.
Sitely
Sitely is a visual website builder for iPad and Mac, with touch-first editing, iCloud handoff, and pre-publish accessibility and SEO checks.
Overview
Sitely is a visual website builder for iPad and Mac. It is positioned for people who want to design and publish websites without coding or complex jargon, while still working with the layout freedom of a desktop-style editor.
The product emphasizes touch-first creation on iPad, including a Wireframe Mode that turns sketches made with Apple Pencil or a finger into actual webpage elements on the canvas. You can also move a project between iPad and Mac through iCloud, preview it across screen sizes, and publish lightweight sites directly from the app.
The site describes Sitely as suitable for a range of projects, from personal portfolios to business sites. It also highlights tools for pages, typography, accessibility review, SEO checks, animations, forms, booking, payment, and social embeds in the documentation and store pages.
Features
Wireframe Mode
Use Wireframe Mode on iPad to sketch a layout with Apple Pencil or your finger and have Sitely create real website elements on the canvas instead of translating a separate sketch later.
Responsive previews
Switch between phone, tablet, and desktop previews inside the app to see how layouts, images, and text render across screen sizes before publishing.
Page and site structure tools
Manage multi-page sites with page creation, duplication, grouping, and drag-and-drop reordering so larger sites stay organized.
Text and font controls
Edit copy in place with typography controls, direct text editing, and access to more than 1,600 built-in fonts, plus the option to use your own fonts.
Assistant for checks before publishing
Review a project with the Website Assistant, which points out accessibility, SEO, and quality issues and takes you to the relevant part of the site for fixes.
Use cases
Solo websites and portfolios
Create a personal portfolio, photo site, or one-person business page using freeform layout tools and in-place text editing without writing code.
Cross-device design sessions
Sketch a page on iPad with Apple Pencil, then refine it on the same device or continue on Mac if you want a different editing setup.
Feature-rich small business sites
Build a site that needs practical features such as forms, site search, payment, booking, or blog content, based on the feature categories shown in the documentation and store pages.
Pre-publish review
Review a nearly finished site with the Website Assistant to catch accessibility, SEO, and quality issues before publishing.
Responsive layout validation
Check responsive behavior across phone, tablet, and desktop screens inside the app before you ship, rather than waiting to test after export.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Built specifically for iPad and Mac, with touch-first interactions that take advantage of Apple Pencil and finger input.
- Wireframe Mode lets you sketch directly into a webpage layout instead of converting a separate mockup.
- The Assistant helps catch accessibility, SEO, and quality issues before publishing.
- Projects can move between iPad and Mac via iCloud, which supports a flexible cross-device workflow.
- The documentation and store pages show a broad feature set that goes beyond simple page building, including forms, booking, payment, blog, menus, and embeds.
Cons
- The pricing page at /pricing returns a 404, so plan details are harder to verify from the public site.
- Some capability details are listed in documentation topics rather than fully explained on the homepage, so prospective users may need to read the docs to understand the full toolkit.
- The source does not provide a clear integrations list or collaboration workflow beyond iCloud-based handoff between iPad and Mac.
FAQ
What is Sitely used for?
Sitely is a visual website builder for iPad and Mac. The source highlights direct canvas editing, page management, publishing, and an Assistant that reviews accessibility, SEO, and quality issues before publishing.
What kinds of elements and site features does Sitely support?
The documentation and homepage indicate support for text, images, image galleries, video, audio, boxes, layout blocks, layout grid, maps, blog, menus, popups, buttons, forms, smart fields, groups, site search, payment, booking, property booking, tables, and social embeds such as X, Instagram, and Facebook.
Does Sitely work on both iPad and Mac?
The homepage says you can download Sitely for iPad or Mac, and that your site can stay in iCloud so you can open it on either device. The page also notes iPadOS 18 and macOS 10.14 requirements, with optimization for newer iPadOS and macOS versions.
Is there a trial or paid plan?
The store page says Sitely offers a free 14 day trial that does not start a subscription. It also lists one-time purchase options and an annual subscription for Sitely Pro.
Where can I get help if I lose my license or have a question?
The support page includes a form for general questions and a lost license code flow. It also notes that customers who bought from the Mac App Store can use their Apple ID to download Sitely again instead of using a license code.
Quick Facts
- Category
- Website Builder
- Platforms
- iPad and Mac
- Primary audience
- Non-coders and people who want a visual website workflow
- Core workflow
- Design on the canvas, preview on multiple devices, then publish from the app
- Pricing shape
- Free 14 day trial plus one-time purchase and annual subscription options for Sitely Pro
- Source domain
- sitely.app
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