I have to admit that I’m mightily impress with the Homestead online website builder.
I opened an account and within 30 minutes had a decent 5 page business website built.
If you like drag n’ drop technology, need a decent amount of functionality that is simple, and a website that looks more than good enough for a business, consider using the Homestead online website builder.
2 things struck me about the Homestead online website builder:
- the amount of customization you can do, and do it easily to your site; and
- the HUGE number of templates you can choose from (and they look great).
Homestead website builder is a true drag n’ drop website builder, but the best part is you don’t give up functionality or features.
For example, in the editing page, you can add a text box and/or an image anywhere on the page. Check it out:
Pros
Great template designs and selection
Because Homestead does not offer a free version (except for the 30 day free trial), Homestead is able to invest handsomely into its templates. Yes, you can customize the templates, but if you prefer to click and publish, there are hundreds of templates to choose from. The following are just a few of thousands of templates:
Search for templates by purpose, feel, and color
Due to the huge inventory of templates, it’s time-consuming scrolling through them. Homestead makes it easy to narrow your search by selecting various parameters. For example, you can choose templates designed for “lawyers”.
You can also choose templates by color if you have a color preference.
Access to 250,000 images
This is a huge pro and benefit. This way you can create an image-rich website easily.
Pre-configured layouts for specific types of pages
I really liked this feature. How it works is if you choose a template page such as “About” or “Services” the page is already formatted for these types of pages, with template text and layout. Note, you have to revise the text for your business. The following is an example:
Easily edit any page
You can easily edit any page with pretty much no restrictions. Check it out:
Free 30 day trial
Many online website builders offer a free option with which you build a site and host as a subdomain. There is no permanent free option with Homestead. However, you can try Homestead for free for 30 days, which is sufficient time to “kick the tires.”
Is the lack of a free option bad?
I don’t think so. Homestead caters to the business community and in my view no business website should be hosted for free as a subdomain on the online website builder’s domain (i.e. YourDomain.WebsiteBuilder.com).
That said, you can host your Homestead website as a subdomain during your 30 day free trial period for building your site and giving Homestead a trial run. You can carry on with a subdomain, but if you pay for Homestead, there’s no reason not to get your own domain.
Telephone Support
You can call Homestead with support and sales questions.
Website Functionality – Solid options and Easy-to-Use
Homestead has a decent selection of functionality and integration features such as:
- Embedding YouTube videos
- Contact Forms which are incredibly easy to place pretty much anywhere on any page. As an aside, I strongly recommend you place your Contact Form on every page of your business website.
- Facebook buttons
- Maps
- Paypal buttons and shopping cart
- Set up an online store
Custom e-mail addresses
You can easily set up custom e-mail addresses for your business.
Adding Images is a snap
Images are great for business websites and should be used liberally. In fact, Homestead is one of the easiest online website builders I’ve used for adding and placing images anywhere you like on any page you create.
Cons
- You have to pay extra for a blog
- Bandwidth and page number limitations with smaller packages.
Click here to visit the official Homestead website.
Homestead vs. WordPress
- Homestead is easier to learn and use.
- Homestead is easier to customize your pages using text boxes and images.
- Customize each page’s layout far more easily than in WordPress.
- Pre-configured formats for specific pages to help you get started adding content and building a professional website quickly.
But …
Homestead costs more than WordPress.
With WordPress, when you get a hosting account, you can build multiple sites without increasing your cost. For a low hosting cost (approximately $5 to $10 per month), you can build multiple websites with all the functionality WordPress offers and you get a blog built-in with your site for the same cost.
You must pay extra for blog integration.
Homestead comes with a blog, but you have to pay extra. In other words, it’s not included with the most basic package. As an aside, I strongly recommend you get a blog with your website because being able to add as much content as you like is invaluable for any business website.
More theme selection with WordPress than Homestead templates.
There are more WordPress users than Homestead users. Consequently, there are more designs/templates available for WordPress than Homestead. That said, sometimes too much choice is almost as bad as no choice. I like premium themes from a handful of theme merchants including
- StudioPress (my StudioPress review – I use StudioPress the most),
- ElegantThemes (my ElegantThemes review),
- iThemes’ Builder (my Builder theme review),
- Catalyst Theme (my Catalyst review), and
- Templatic (my Templatic review).
WordPress with plugins has far more functionality.
WordPress became the undisputed online blog platform leader because it’s open source, which means anyone can create features in the form of plugins for WordPress.
Click here to give Homestead a 30 day free test-drive.
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