When I decided that I was ready to build my own website I got on the internet in order to find a way to make my dream come true.  This gave me an opportunity to see just how many different website builders were out there and just how much help I was able to receive if I wanted to build my own site.  While my searching gave me the opportunity to find many helpful website builders, I was also finding a lot of terrible website builders.  That is why I decided that I wanted to spend some time reviewing different builders.  This was a great way for me to help others learn about the different site builders they could use and which ones may benefit them the most.  After all, it is a lot easier to look at different reviews rather than visiting each site and wasting time.

As I stumbled upon homestead.com the first thing that I noticed was that there was a video that appeared on the front page.  This video was amazing as it showed me just how easy it could be to follow a few simple steps and get my site up and running.  However, on this homepage I also noticed that there was a try it free ad.  This meant that I was going to need to enter all of my credit card information into the site before I would be able to actually build my site.  I was willing to give it a shot in order to see if I liked the website builder and what it had to offer me.

This really was not anything new given the fact that many website builders had asked me to do the same but after reviewing many site builders I did come across many of them that were actually 100% free and I did not need to enter any information.  Now, of course, these other websites did allow me to purchase an upgraded package, just like homestead does, if I was interested in extra support and other services but it was not a requirement.

Homestead homepage. If you look at this screen shot here you are going to see exactly what I was talking about. You will notice that there are a few simple steps off to the side that make it appear very easy to build your site. You can also see that the video is playing as well. Finally, the try it free link is also given very largely so that you are will think you are getting a great deal and you are eager to begin.

Once I actually entered all of my credit card information and I set up my account I was able to begin searching through many different website templates that homestead.com had to offer me.  I was able to see what others had used in the past and what may be the best for my business and my needs.  There really were a lot of different templates to select from and I did have a difficult time trying to find one to build off of because there were so many great templates available to me.

This screen shot shows just a few of the templates that you can use. If you look at the photographs that are used on each of the website templates you can see just how professional they really can look. There is no need to worry about your website looking homemade an unprofessional. I was excited about my possibilities after seeing these templates.

When I finally decided on a template I simply needed to spend time entering my information and designing my site the way that I wanted it to be.  I was able to enter all of my information and add the pages that I wanted my website to have.  This took some time but it was exciting and it was very easy.  Within a few hours my site was finished and I was able to begin telling people about it.

While all of this was really easy, there are a few different things that you are going to need to fully understand before you jump into this site and you get carried away thinking that this site is going to help you increase your business.  I found out the hard way that it does take a lot of hard work to promote your new website and this can often cost a great deal of money.  Now, homestead.com will give you the opportunity to use their services in order to get your website noticed.  Just take a moment to look at this screen shot and I will explain my thoughts on this in a few moments.

Homestead web listings offer. You will definitely have your site visible on many different search directorites. If you are not really sure how to get traffic to your new website then this might be the way for you to. It is definitely worth looking into.

Now, you may see some of the benefits to using this service but before you jump on it, take a few moments to consider the following things.  First of all, you are not going to have any guarantees.  I learned this a long time ago. Next, you are going to need to pay $14.99 for this service.  On top of that you are going need to have the homestead website, which you will not have at the end of your 30 day free trial.  So, you will need to decide if you would like to purhcase a membership to this site if you are going to want to keep your site up and running and you would like to use the weblistings service.  If you are willing to pay for all of this then it might be the way to go.

At this time, I am only going to be utilizing the free membership option.  However, I was very curious about the different membership options that were available so I did a little bit of research about what they would cost me and what they would actaully offer me if I were to purhcase one of them.  Therefore, I did look at these memberships.  You can see the prices located in this screen shot.

If you look here you are going to see that these memberships are actually relatively expensive when you consider the fact that these are the prices that you are going to be paying monthly. However, you might want to take notice that you are going to have email addresses with your domain name. This is really nice if you are going to have employees working for you. Just take note that your data transfer (bandwidth) is not that high with the professional membership. You will need to determine how much of this you are going to need each month to make sure that your membership is going to be enough.

One thing that I noticed while building my website on homestead.com was that I was not going to be able to open a store with this site unless I was willing to purchase a professional or enterprise membership.  You can see this when you look at the screen shot above.  This was a negative to me but while I was carrying out my research of this site builder I found that they would build this for me if I was not really sure what I was doing and I needed assistance.  I really liked this and I viewed it as a really large benefit.

Frequently Asked Questions About Website Builders

1.)  Is this site free and what are the package prices for this site?

If you are looking for a website builder that is also going to give you a lot of options for free then you might not want to use this site.  Yes, the website claims to be free but as you review it in more detail you are going to see that it is only free for 30 days.  After that you are going to need to pay for your membership.  If you are not interested in paying after the 30 days then you are going to need to make sure that you have taken the time to cancel the membership so that your credit card is not automatically charged.

There were different packages that were available if you were going to continue using this site and you were interested in continuing with the monthly plan (which is $4.99) once the 30 day free trial was over.  One package is considered a business package and you will be able to receive a website, domain and a free email with this.  This will cost you $19.99 each month.  You will also be able to blog on this site when you purchase this package.  Another package that you will be able to select from is the business plus package.  When you sign up for this package you will need to pay $49.99 each month.  You will receive all of the same benefits as the last package but you will also be able to have assistance generating traffic to your site because you will be given a $30.00 a month credit.

2.)  How good is the free package compared to the packages that you can purchase?

The free package is very nice because you will be able to view hundreds of different templates and you will be able to create a great site for yourself or your business.  However, you are not going to be able to receive email or a domain name. You will want to make sure that you are purchasing a domain name if you are really interested in creating a serious website and being noticed.  It shows that you are serious about your business.  Now, I did not purchase a new domain name as I have already created a site.  That is why I purchased a sub-domain.  You will be able to select whatever is going to work the best for you.

The above benefits, along with different methods to generate website traffic are given when you purchase the higher packages.  One good thing that I did find out in relation to the free package is that you will still be able to receive email and telephone support.  Many free website builders will not give you that support unless you are willing to pay for an upgraded package.

With the free site you will not have blogging capabilities and you will be limited on the number of pages that you are going to be able to have on your site.  For many individuals that are just starting out, this is not a problem.  With the free site you are only going to be able to have 5 pages.  However, if you are starting a business or something then you will want to make sure that you are considering upgrading your plan so that you will be able to create more pages if needed.  It really is going to depend on what your website is for and what your needs are going to be.

3.)  Does it come with a hosting plan?

Yes, you will be able to have your website hosted through homestead.com.  I found this wonderful because it was offered with any package, and this included the free packages.  I did not have to worry about finding another site and paying another company to carry out the hosting for me.  It was very simple and easy to get my site up and running.  You will find that it will be just as easy for you.

4.)  Do you get free support?

As previously mentioned you are going to be able to take advantage of the free email and telephone support any time that you need assistance with your site building.  You are going to have access to this support at any time no matter what plan you are going to be paying for.  However, this site does allow you to pay someone to build your site for you.  This is an option if you are totally lost and confused but it can be expensive.  You will see that once you get started, you are not going to have any trouble designing your site.

5.)  What are the benefits of this website builder?

One of the largest benefits of this site is that it does have free web hosting.  I also found that the video on the website builder’s homepage was very helpful and many website builders that I have come across do not have that.  I really liked the fact that I was able to review hundreds of different templates and designs in order to get an idea of what I wanted to do with my site.  It often inspired me and it gave me great insight into what my site could look like.  Finally, I really found the free phone and email support as a positive.  I mentioned earlier that with many website builders, you would need to purchase a plan in order to have this type of support.

6.)  What are the negatives of this website builder?

I was not impressed with the fact that I needed to enter my credit card information in order to start building a site.  This has been a problem for me on other sites that I have used as well.  I did not like the fact that I needed to remember to cancel a membership or I would be charged a monthly fee.  I think that stating a website builder is free and then having this stipulation is very misleading. On the other hand, you will probably never cancel the service as it’s one of the best. It seemed that every time I turned around I was finding more and more things that I was going to be able to do with this site but I always needed to pay extra for that feature or that option. I guess this builder is more for businesses or sites with high traffic intentions.

This website builder did not have a frequently asked questions section.  It seemed like it took me forever to navigate the site in order to find the answers to the questions that I had.  The entire site, other than building my own website, seemed very difficult to navigate.  It was like I needed to continually click around and I was moved from page to page.

7.)  Is homestead flash compatible?

Yes, this site is flash compatible.  If you are interested in doing so, you can actually post your utube videos on your site.  This is one really nice feature for individuals that are trying to promote a business or they simply want to have a personal website or blog about themselves or their family.  Many website builders will tell you that loading times may be slower when you are adding videos and such to your site.  However, you are not going to have this problem with homestead.

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