Why Homestead® (an Intuit Company)?
Homestead was originally recommended to us by several entrepreneurs who run small businesses in the Silicon Valley area. Frankly, our previous experiences with website designers, software and online site builders had been disappointing. Web developers were expensive and not always reliable, and too often we received incomplete direction that backfired later. Some online site builders were very cumbersome to use, provided limited functionality, and locked us into services with steep monthly fees without giving us what we really needed.
We like Homestead because it is comprehensive and, with a little practice, simple to use. The company offers templates as well as the option to create a site from scratch and alter background and font colors. Adding photos, logos and HTML code, and PayPal buttons for sales of products or services is easy. Social media features make it easy to integrate websites with Facebook or Twitter. You can see data about who is visiting your site by logging into your online account. While there is a Homestead blog feature offered, we have opted to utilize popular blog services such as WordPress or BlogSpot. And the page functions allow for addition of keywords, descriptions, and page names to aid in SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Last but certainly not least, Homestead’s customer service has been outstanding. The more you use the SiteBuilder the easier it becomes, but if you get stuck at any point along the way, they’re there to help. And of course we can help you get started.
As customers ourselves, we were also reassured to know that Homestead is owned by Intuit, the same people who make QuickBooks and Quicken Software.
How can I know if a Homestead® website is right for my business?
We feel that Homestead is a good choice for small businesses that need simple websites to convey information to their customers and potential customers. Photographs, bios of business owners, testimonials from satisfied customers, and contact pages make it easy to promote your business and help potential customers get the information they need to contact you and buy your products or services. In our experience many small businesses spend more than they need to in order to create a website. Spending more money or adding more bells and whistles may not help, and it may actually hurt your business if the site is more complicated or confusing than it needs to be. Unfortunately we get many inquiries from small business owners who have already paid someone to design a site for them, only to be left with a partially completed or ineffective site. The old adage about simple being best often applies in the case of small business websites.
If you need a complex site or more advanced functions such as online stores, searchable databases, etc., we recommend that you talk with one or more web designers to compare their services and determine if the capabilities of Homestead are sufficient for your needs. We always recommend working locally with web designers who have created sites for other businesses in your community so that you can look at their work and check references. Keep in mind that there are many different ways to create websites, but anyone you talk to should represent their work, abilities, and limitations honestly.
Is it true that I can’t take my Homestead/Intuit website with me to another hosting service?
Yes. The site that you create can only be used with Homestead/Intuit. If you choose to use another hosting service you will need to rebuild your site or have someone rebuild it for you. This is one reason why we feel that this option is best for simpler sites. In truth, your website should always be changing and evolving to reflect changes in your business. Any site that works well for you today will likely be quite different five years from now. We feel that Homestead/Intuit sites provide an excellent starting point.
Also, keep in mind that your yearly hosting fee allows you to build more than one site. In fact, we have multiple websites on our one Homestead account. This has been a vast improvement over the previous online SiteBuilder that we used, which charged a separate fee for each website! We feel that the option of creating more than one website on the same account is a great advantage, especially for those who have more than one business.
Isn’t it true that I can build my own website with Homestead or other online site builders quickly and easily?
In our experience these claims are misleading. Building a good website requires a clear sense of your audience and purpose. You must decide what types of information to include, how to help your customers navigate quickly and easily around the site to access that information, and then write your content clearly and in such a way that search engines will be able to direct potential business to you. All of this takes careful planning and time.
And a static website is no longer adequate. It must be updated regularly with current, well-written content in order to be effective. In recent years there has been much more emphasis on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) than there was in the early days of the Internet. SEO involves several functions that help to make your site appealing to search engines so that potential customers can find you. One of the beauties of creating your website using Homestead/Intuit is that its simplicity allows you to participate in all of these aspects of your online marketing effort yourself. You learn about best practices as you work with your site without having to get too bogged down in technical details. If you choose to utilize the services of a web developer at some point, you will know enough about best website and Internet marketing practices to make informed choices.
Are there any other reasons why I should consider building my own website?
It is rare for any service provider to care as much about your business as you do yourself. In the world of web development services, a $500 or even $1,000 website is small potatoes. But to us, that’s a lot of money. It is absolutely possible for you to build a good website for your business for that amount of money, even if you utilize our services to help you get started. And you will have the added benefit of learning how to update and edit it yourself as your site is built. It’s an extremely efficient choice, in our opinion. Even if you are able to get a nice site from a web developer for that amount of money, we recommend that you insist on one that you can update yourself and that you take the time to learn some basics about SEO. Keep in mind that for most of us, learning about Internet marketing is a process achieved over time. You will be best served by a website and online presence that can easily be adapted to reflect your business and your level of Internet expertise on an ongoing basis.
What is it you (Wise Rabbit) can do that I can’t do myself?
It is true that you can build a website yourself with Homestead. However, with the benefit of our experience we can save you time. And, because we're here in northern Michigan, we can meet with you personally. Any program requires a learning curve, and we can make that shorter for you. We may also be able to introduce you to features and functions of the software that you may not be aware of as a new user. We have seen a tremendous range of quality in the websites built using Homestead’s SiteBuilder, and we are very proud of ours. You can view a few of them here.
