Website Builder Guide
Create, customise, and publish professional websites — no coding required.
Choosing a Template
When you create a new website, you start by selecting a template. Marqly offers a range of templates optimised for different industries. Each template includes pre-built pages (home, about, services, contact) with placeholder content you can customise. If you prefer, you can start from a blank canvas and build entirely from scratch.
Note: Templates are defined in the HTML templates library and include SEO metadata, responsive layouts, and colour schemes.
AI-Powered Generation
Instead of starting from a template, you can use the AI generation feature. Describe your business in natural language — 'a cleaning service in Cape Town' — and Marqly's AI engine generates a complete website with relevant content, images, and structure. The AI uses context from your business profile to tailor the result. After generation, you can edit any element in the visual builder.
Note: AI generation is available from the builder toolbar. The AI considers your industry, location, and brand colours.
Customising Your Design
The visual builder has four main areas: the Toolbar (top) for adding elements, the Preview Frame (centre) showing your live site, the Property Panel (right) for editing selected elements, and the AIPanel for AI assistance. You can modify text, images, colours, fonts, and layout. The builder supports drag-and-drop positioning and inline editing.
Note: The builder lives at /builder/[WebsiteId]. The Property Panel shows different options depending on the selected element type.
Connecting a Custom Domain
Once your site is ready, you can publish it under a Marqly subdomain (yourbusiness.marqly.co.za) or connect your own domain. To use a custom domain, add your domain under Website Settings > Domain, then configure DNS records at your registrar. Marqly provides step-by-step instructions for popular registrars. Domain verification ensures the DNS changes have propagated before publishing.
Note: Domain verification is handled by the domains API, which checks DNS records and returns verification status.
Analytics & Publishing
Publishing a website generates a static version hosted on Marqly's infrastructure. Each published site includes built-in analytics that track page views, visitors, and referral sources. The analytics dashboard shows trends over time and per-page breakdowns. You can re-publish anytime to push changes live.
Note: Analytics are tracked via the tracking API and displayed under Websites > [Website] > Analytics.