Homestead Site-Builder Review: The Godfather of Websites

Homestead's website claims a whopping 12 million users, making Intuit one of the biggest website hosts out there. The platform has also received numerous positive press reactions since since its launch in 1996. This alone is enough to make us want to try their product.

A closer look revealed one feature in particular that we didn't expect: Homestead works as both an online and offline website builder. But you can't actually do anything unless you're connected to the internet, which cancels out any advantages to this two-tiered approach. We'll readily admit that we're not a big fan of installing software too.

Homestead's web-based tool, Site Builder Light, unfortunately only features a fraction of the tool's functionality. Let's have a look at some screenshots:

Offline editor

Web-based editor

Template selection

Homestead Intuit in detail

Criterion	Rating	Comments
Ease of use		Web-based editor is very simple but offers only the most basic of features. Locally installed version is a lot more complicated and less intuitive. Does not look like a convincing concept to us.
Choice and flexibility of design (templates)		Templates on offer do look ok - we've seen worse. But template customization is very limited and if you decide to change your template, you lose all your content. (Not a problem we've seen with other site builders we've tested).
Advertisement- free	Yes	Only paid subscriptions available. Find more on Homesteads pricing options here.
Languages		Text editor supports any western European language, but interface available in English only.
Features
- Top-level domain (e.g. .com or .net)	Yes	Re-direct or transfer your existing domain; you can also register a domain via Homestead. Help section will show you how this works.
- Depth of navigation		There's only the main navigation level, as the templates don't have any sub navigation. This will be a major problem if your website grows larger.
- Widgets (small tools to add extra functionality)		Video tool, photo gallery and many other widgets such as a Facebook "like" button included. Also a large image gallery with free photos.
- Monetization	Yes	With Google AdSense inserted via a HTML widget, or other banner ads.
- e-Commerce		Add a simple Paypal button or upgrade to SimpleStore or Storefront for an additional charge.
- Search-engine optimization (SEO)		Meta tags, meta descriptions and page titles can all be edited. URL is generated from the name of the menu item. W3C Validator finds a high number of HTML errors in the source code though, which is unnecessary.
- Blog		Can be added via the blog manager module, which is quite a pain to work with.
- Visitor statistics		Use Homestead's built-in RealTracker, or add Google Analytics to each site individually.
- Contact form	Yes	Offers quite a few field options.
- Add HTML Code	Yes	Allows you to add other widgets and tools.
- Storage space	Starting at 25 MB	The Starter plan offers 25 MB only. The Business plan looks better with 5 GB.
- Forum	No	No forum available.
Support	Email and phone	Support has been responsive.
Fun factor		To be honest, working with Homestead was not our idea of fun.
Overall rating		This website builder is in desperate need of a complete overhaul to better reflect the era we live in.

Conclusion:
 

When describing Homestead's site builder, it's easier to tell you what it isn't: neither free nor cheap. In fact, it is very expensive compared to its competitors. The USD $4.99 package gets you only 5 single pages with storage up to 25 MB (that's right, not GB). To be able to use it in a remotely realistic fashion, you'd have to opt for their hugely overpriced Business package at USD $19.99.

The problem is not that Homestead is missing a lot of features. Instead, the underpinning system should probably have been replaced long ago because it seems like more and more features have just been added on top of an old core. Homestead is the dinosaur of website builders and is doomed for extinction, unless it quickly learns to adapt to its new environment.

> Homestead Intuit website builder packages

 

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Last updated: 10 Jan 2011 | Robert Brandl