Tooltester is supported by readers like yourself. We may earn an affiliate commission when you purchase through our links, which enables us to offer our research for free.
Homestead’s website claims a whopping 12 million users, making Endurance 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.
Screenshots
Homestead pricing
$9.74
Starter
Very limited: 25 MB of storage and only up to 5 pages.
$24.74
Business
5 GB of storage, up to 3 websites and a maximum of 100 pages. 1 domain name and 5 email accounts.
$64.74
Business Plus
To create unlimited number of sites and pages.
Monthly prices for 1-year contracts. Domain included in selected packages.
Pros and Cons of Homestead
Pros
Cons
Pros
high number of features and templates
Cons
complicated editor that needs to be installed locally
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) Info popup
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 Info popup
Only paid subscriptions available.
Languages Info popup
Text editor supports any western European language, but interface available in English only.
Your own domain name (e.g. .com or .net) Info popup
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 Info popup
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) Info popup
Video tool, photo gallery and many other widgets such as a Facebook “like” button included. Also a large image gallery with free photos.
Mobile App Info popup
iOS
Android
No mobile app available.
E-Commerce Info popup
Add a simple Paypal button or upgrade to SimpleStore or Storefront for an additional charge.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Info popup
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 Info popup
Use Homestead’s built-in RealTracker, or add Google Analytics to each site individually.
Contact form
Offers quite a few field options.
Password protection & member areas Info popup
You can password-protect pages.
Newsletter tool Info popup
There is a mailing list feature. Not tested.
Add HTML code Info popup
Allows you to add other widgets and tools.
Storage space
25 MB+
The Starter plan offers 25 MB only. The Business plan looks better with 5 GB.
Backups & Restore Info popup
There is a backup feature.
Support
FAQ
Chat
Email
Telephone
Email and phone. Support has been responsive.
Fun Factor Info popup
To be honest, working with Homestead was not our idea of fun.
Overall Rating
2
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 $7.99 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 $22.99.
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.
Hi, my name is Robert Brandl! I used to work in a digital marketing agency where I managed website and email marketing projects. To optimize my client's campaigns, I always had to find the optimal web tools. Tooltester offers this knowledge to you, hopefully saving you endless hours of research.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Our work is supported by affiliate commissions. Learn more.Accept Cookies
Comments