homestead_faq's profileBrand User

677 Messages

 • 

44.6K Points

Friday, May 10th, 2019 5:46 PM

20 Commonly Asked Questions About Website Building

20 Commonly Asked Questions About Website Building

If you’re about to get started building your first website or even rebuilding your existing site, congratulations! Though the process might seem overwhelming, using our WebsiteBuilder program, even beginners can create an attractive and professional-looking website.
As you get to work on your site, we wanted to take the time to answer some of the most common questions that are asked:




Question #1 – Do I need to know HTML?    

Nope! Tools like Homestead’s WebsiteBuilder make it possible to build websites off of defined templates – rather than from scratch using HTML. This will allow beginners and professionals alike to build a site for their business.

Question #2 – Will building a website take a long time?

Again, no. If you want to build a fully customized, top-of-the-line site, you’re in for a long project; however, most small business owners can use the tools we provide with WebsiteBuilder to create new websites within a few hours.

Question #3 – What is a web host?

A web host is a company that provides the server space where your website lives. Think of it like renting an office space or a storefront in a shopping mall. Your web host provides the space and resources needed for your website to operate.

Question #4 – What is a Domain/URL?      

A domain is an identifier for your website, much like your business name is for your business.  A URL is the address for a specific page on your site. For example, homestead.com is our domain. “https://www.homestead.com/pricing” is the URL for our pricing page. The domain is part of the URL, along with details about the specific page I want to bring up.

Question #5 – How do I choose a domain name?

The ideal domain name is short, clear, and easy to remember. Avoid abbreviations, numbers and less popular domain extensions (as in, “.tv” or “.site”) if possible. It should be as relevant to your business name as possible.





Question #6 – How do I choose the colors for my website?

When choosing colors, pick those that will be pleasing to your visitors’ eyes and that represent your business or industry’s image. If, for example, you run a tax preparation office, stick with more neutral colors. A children's preschool would be better suited using bright and fun colors like lime green and purple!

Question #7– What pages should I have?   

At a minimum, your website needs a Home page, an “About” page, a page that describes your products and/or services, and a “Contact” page.

Question #8 – How often should I update my website?

Frequently! Updating your website at least once a month helps you to build rapport with your readers and helps give your site a boost from an SEO perspective. People aren’t likely to return to your site if it never has new content. A blog is a great way to continually deliver fresh content to your audience. WebsiteBuilder offers a blog feature to make this easy!

Question #9 – Is my text readable?

Before you release your new site to the world, be sure that you have a high amount of contrast between your text color and your background color to ensure your page visitors are going to read what you wrote. Black text on a white background is the best option, so be cautious when using other color combinations.

Question #10 – Does my website need a logo?

Not necessarily. If you choose a website template that uses text – rather than graphics – to display the company’s name, you may not need a logo. If your business has a logo, though, DEFINITELY use it. Branding is SO important for your business. Use that logo in your header and set it as your favicon! It is very easy to add a Favicon in WebsiteBuilder!

Question #11 – Where can I find pictures for my website?

The pictures you use for your website should come from free or paid stock photos (you can use stock images in WebsiteBuilder or find them on a site like Pixabay). You can also use pictures that you’ve taken personally, although you want to make sure that they are high quality images. Avoid simply grabbing images from other websites or Google’s Image Search feature unless you’re sure that usage rights allow you to use the image.

Question #12 – How can I edit my images?

It’s best to edit your images to the size they need to be before uploading them to your website. You can use tools that can be found online to optimize your image sizes, to prevent larger images from slowing down your website. For any other basic editing, there are free tools available online (like Pixlr) if you don’t already have an editor you use.

Question #13 – Should I include Flash animations on my site?

It is recommended not to. Flash intros are pretty outdated these days. Most devices don’t even have Flash enabled, so your site visitor would have to allow Flash to run before they are able to see it, anyway. If you must use Flash on your website, use it sparingly and be sure that your website will display alternate content for viewers who aren’t able to view (or who have turned off) Flash.

Question #14 – Should I have music playing on my website? 

Auto-played background music or other content with audio should be avoided on all websites, as it creates a poor customer experience. Having audio that plays automatically can be mildly annoying to users that are browsing in a quiet location or listening to their own music. On a more serious note, consider those using screen readers and how this will affect their ability to use the site. People with cognitive impairments depend on their screen reading software to browse websites, which can become impossible to use if audio is obscuring the speech of the screen reader. It would be incredibly difficult, if not impossible, for that person to navigate your website. Basically, it is an accessibility issue.





Question #15 – How will visitors find my website?

Visitors may find your website through search engine results, business directories, review websites, social media links, and more.

Question #16 – How can I measure the number of visitors to my site?

In WebsiteBuilder, we have a free Stats tool that will measure this for you. If you don’t choose to use our program, there are many different analytics programs available today that are free to use, like Google Analytics.

Question #17 – How can I make my site load faster?

Slow loading sites frustrate viewers, so site speed should be a priority. In particular, pictures, video clips, or other multimedia files can slow down your website, so beware of adding too many. Additionally, make sure to optimize the images you add to your site, to make sure they aren’t too large.

Question #18 – How do I create a sitemap?

Using our WebsiteBuilder program, you don’t need to do anything to create a sitemap. We will create one for you. To see it, simply add /sitemap.xml to the end of your domain. (domain.com/sitemap.xml)

Question #19– Should I use social media?   

Yes! Social media is such a powerful tool to reach out and connect with your customers, so take the time to map out a social media strategy that works for your business and figure out which social media platform/s will fit best with your website/business.

Question #20 – Does my site need to be mobile friendly?

Absolutely! In 2018, 52.2 percent of all website traffic worldwide was generated through mobile phones, and this number is only growing. Not having a mobile responsive site is detrimental to your SEO. Google will show your site less in search results if your site is not mobile friendly, in a practice called “mobile first indexing”. This is important considering 60% of Google searches are done via mobile devices... you would be missing out on quite a lot of traffic. To get the most out of your online experience, do yourself- and your site visitors- a favor, and make your site mobile friendly. Luckily, using WebsiteBuilder, you can make changes to your mobile site from within the editor!

3 Messages

 • 

240 Points

5 years ago

Thanks for those 20 reminders.
On reminder #20, the clickable link to "mobile friendly" goes to a "Page Not Found".
Brand User

7.6K Messages

 • 

106.7K Points

I will get this link updated. Thank you so much for bringing that to our attention. 

1 Message

 • 

110 Points

5 years ago

Please I need someone here to help me build my website. I thought a free website came with my package.

3 Messages

 • 

210 Points

4 years ago

That's great and powerful

Brand User

7.6K Messages

 • 

106.7K Points

Thanks, glad it was helpful. 

1 Message

 • 

130 Points

3 years ago

In google it shows The Magic of Alfonso Vazquez Spring Valley CA 91977. How do I change it to The Magic of Alfonso/ San Diego Magician

Brand User

11.1K Messages

 • 

145.6K Points

Hello, 

This would be the Page Title. Please follow the instructions in this article to update it:

https://community.homestead.com/conversations/sitebuilder-plus/sitebuilder-plus-page-titles-and-descriptions/5f2a9a805818095884487ab4

 

3 Messages

 • 

140 Points

3 years ago

The website I designed is supposed to come with a free SSL certificate but visitors still get "Not secure" next to the domain. Can you help?

Brand User

11.1K Messages

 • 

145.6K Points

Hello, 

The only domain I see on the account is coming up secure on my end. Did you get this figured out?

3 Messages

 • 

140 Points

Our domain www.medicalassociatespediatrics.com comes through as not secure on Chrome

Brand User

11.1K Messages

 • 

145.6K Points

I see. The site is showing up secure for me when I don't use www. before your domain. This makes me think that it is an issue with the DNS, although because your DNS is with us, I cannot check. 


 

Please follow the instructions in this article and make sure to add A records pointing to the proper IP address for @and www. If you need help, your domain registrar should be able to assist you.

https://community.homestead.com/conversations/websitebuilder/websitebuilder-ssl/5f2a9b3158180958845dab29

10 Messages

 • 

400 Points

3 years ago

I'm trying to figure out how to get support on DNS specifications but can't get past the capture stump on login.  My website says "not working" after trying to move back from CloudFire.  DNS is still pointing to them.  Can you reset them to Homestead?  www.americancruiseplanners.com

Thank you. 

Brand User

11.1K Messages

 • 

145.6K Points

Hello, 

It looks like you got your nameservers pointing back to Homestead default. The website is working on my end, is it working for you?

10 Messages

 • 

400 Points

Not in secure mode.  I did set the DNS settings back to default.  works in non-secure mode for me. 

3 Messages

 • 

90 Points

3 years ago

How do I set up a cookies notice and a privacy notice on my homestead website? I cannot find these on a search in help, nor is there an element available in the site builder. 

Brand User

11.1K Messages

 • 

145.6K Points

Hello, 

You should be able to place a text box on your website with whatever notice you need to show. If you are looking to put a popup widget on your site, I would recommend getting HTML from a company that provides that

9 Messages

 • 

162 Points

3 years ago

do I need to download the new version? I've had to update from the web for several years now as the sitebuilder I downloaded will not open.

Brand User

11.1K Messages

 • 

145.6K Points

Hello, 

If you're referring to WebsiteBuilder, no it is not a program you have to download. It is an online editor. 

9 Messages

 • 

162 Points

I'm talking about the original Site Builder that I downloaded onto my computer years ago. It hasn't opened in years, and used to have features that could only be used from it. I have been able to do simple editing online since it quit opening on my computer. So, if I downlaod the new site builder, will I lose all of my data?

Brand User

11.1K Messages

 • 

145.6K Points

The downloadable editor you're referring to, Sitebuilder Desktop, is very old and outdated and tends to not work on newer operating systems. 
The newer editor is not one you download. To start using it, you would need to create a new site. None of your data would transfer from Sitebuilder Plus. You would need to rebuild the site.

7 Messages

 • 

220 Points

3 years ago

Is it possible to add a website search element to my site using website builder?

(edited)

Brand User

1K Messages

 • 

30K Points

We do not offer a built in search option and is not available. 

8 Messages

 • 

168 Points

@judy8928​ Pretty sure you can put Google or another search box on your site.  https://www.wikihow.com/Add-a-Google-Search-Bar-to-Your-Website

8 Messages

 • 

168 Points

3 years ago

Can websitebulder be used offline then published like an earlier version ?

1 Message

 • 

60 Points

3 years ago

I change my website name. But it won't publishing it hasn't. Changed even though I got a confirmation saying yes it did.

Brand User

11.1K Messages

 • 

145.6K Points

Hello, 

If you're referring to redemptionhouseministry.com, this site is working on my end. What do you see when you visit the site?

20 Messages

 • 

448 Points

3 years ago

We just updated our site and now I don't see the STATS button that we had before.

Where do I find this?

Brand User

11.1K Messages

 • 

145.6K Points

Hello, 

Here are the instructions for viewing WebsiteBuilder site stats:

WebsiteBuilder: Where Can I View My Website Statistics? | Homestead Community

7 Messages

 • 

240 Points

2 years ago

I am trying to change the site association to the new website I created and must have done something wrong. Now neither of my sites are showing up and just a message from homestead.com. How do I speak with someone from homestead?

1 Message

 • 

60 Points

2 years ago

I have experienced long-term saving older pages and format and other  problems without help. I would like to discontinue working with Homestead and start ASCAP or BMI song writer pages. I cannot use anything that requires financial safety and there is no product that is acceptable for insuring that copywritten compositions are protected and have BMI (Broadcast Music song registrations ) as the top end of safety. I have been charged on credit cards via Homestead changes to accounts that can still be used because Homestead changes the last 4 digits of your credit card, and this type of flawed credit accounta is not accepted by professional agencies. Unfortunately, I must discontinue use of Homestead as there are no sufficient ways to change credit numbers with just a few digits and will not be accepted by professional agencies.

1 Message

 • 

60 Points

2 years ago

I would like to cancel my website--what should I do?