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Would like peoples reviews on the new site builder. If you have used the new builder and published please share your review on it. Please share link to your site as well. Maybe we can get a new thread going on feedback for published new sites on the new builder!
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520 Points
Posted 3 years ago
Brian4612, Champion
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32,264 Points
susan2829, Champion
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43,192 Points
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520 Points
susan2829, Champion
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43,192 Points
Brian4612, Champion
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32,264 Points
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1,186 Points
All good critiques here, especially Susan's outline of requirements for program improvements.
In order to maintain my old site's look while utilizing the improvements that Homestead offers, I built my website "from scratch", copying and pasting text, etc. I likely will incorporate more of the Homestead improvements (which I have discovered since completing my site) - I was in hurry and it would have been nice to have had a tutorial for each feature.
Anyway, just remember to do the "back and forth" between desktop site and mobile site for each of your pages; that advise, had I known about it, would have saved me a lot of time.
The program is pretty darn good with lots of modern bells and whistles, I would say, and am sure it will improve with the addition of Susan's suggestions.
In order to maintain my old site's look while utilizing the improvements that Homestead offers, I built my website "from scratch", copying and pasting text, etc. I likely will incorporate more of the Homestead improvements (which I have discovered since completing my site) - I was in hurry and it would have been nice to have had a tutorial for each feature.
Anyway, just remember to do the "back and forth" between desktop site and mobile site for each of your pages; that advise, had I known about it, would have saved me a lot of time.
The program is pretty darn good with lots of modern bells and whistles, I would say, and am sure it will improve with the addition of Susan's suggestions.
susan2829, Champion
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43,192 Points
I agree, Mary, that tutorials put together in a Help section would be HUGE in aiding everyone to conquer this beast and would definitely help webmasters to build quicker, cleaner and better sites without the frustration factor.
Be sure to share your site with us when you are done!
Best,
Susan
Be sure to share your site with us when you are done!
Best,
Susan
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1,186 Points
Will my site ever be done? Since 2003, have rebuilt multiple times. Always tweaking, revising text, etc. Plus filling orders, trying to find time for design work. Here's the link: ohboydleathergoods.com.
susan2829, Champion
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43,192 Points
HaHaHa! Did no one ever tell you that websites are like kids? You're never done with them.
Great site and your work is quite lovely.
Great site and your work is quite lovely.
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1,186 Points
Thanks for kind words! Much appreciated, Susan.
Brian4612, Champion
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32,264 Points
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1,186 Points
Thanks! All these topics are extremely useful to anyone starting out here. Together your list of links will answer many FAQ's. Seems to be a lot of repeated questions from beginners that would be answered. Wondering if maybe you can post this helpful list separate from this post with an appropriate title? Other experienced users might add more?
Brian4612, Champion
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32,264 Points
I collected them over a period of time as and when they came up for my quick reference but more than happy to create a new topic. Sitebuilder Tutorials.
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1,186 Points
I made a copy. Thanks. Hope others did too. I was just thinking that such a useful compilation of FAQ links as a general topic would get a lot of traffic.
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520 Points
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6,996 Points
One item I would add to those already mentioned is the limitations the software has with adding elements to the header sections without the ability to control if the added element appears on all pages of the site. This functionality is present in the other sections with a toggle "show on all pages" or "not", but the toggle is mysteriously missing from the header section. While there is a workaround, in that you can add an element to a section other than the header and then position it into the header, it can sometimes be a convoluted process.
Overall I thought the learning curve was fairly short and to a large degree consistent with SiteBuilderPlus. Keep in mind that my site building experience is limited to my own site...so my experience is probably far less than many of the contributors in this community. Fortunately, I did not run into too many problems with the mobile version. A good part of that could be that I started with a temple...but I did for the most part wait until the desktop version was almost done before I started paying attention to the mobile version. So perhaps I got lucky on that one.
From a search result, perspective Analytics is showing some noticeable improvements when comparing our older SiteBuilderPlus version with WebSiteBuilder. When comparing the first two weeks from our launch date our new site is reporting higher page views, a lower bounce rate and a higher time on page. Most importantly our conversion rate and in our case the number of requested quotes is up 192% over the same period last year. While the improvements are limited to a short period of time...I feel pretty encouraged and of course hopeful it will continue to perform better than the older version. This time of the year is our slowest time...so it will be interesting to see how things look during our peak season.
Susan2829 was kind enough to offer some guidance and a few suggestions along the way but I would more than welcome any and all comments from members of the community. The URL is www.csthousing.com
Overall I thought the learning curve was fairly short and to a large degree consistent with SiteBuilderPlus. Keep in mind that my site building experience is limited to my own site...so my experience is probably far less than many of the contributors in this community. Fortunately, I did not run into too many problems with the mobile version. A good part of that could be that I started with a temple...but I did for the most part wait until the desktop version was almost done before I started paying attention to the mobile version. So perhaps I got lucky on that one.
From a search result, perspective Analytics is showing some noticeable improvements when comparing our older SiteBuilderPlus version with WebSiteBuilder. When comparing the first two weeks from our launch date our new site is reporting higher page views, a lower bounce rate and a higher time on page. Most importantly our conversion rate and in our case the number of requested quotes is up 192% over the same period last year. While the improvements are limited to a short period of time...I feel pretty encouraged and of course hopeful it will continue to perform better than the older version. This time of the year is our slowest time...so it will be interesting to see how things look during our peak season.
Susan2829 was kind enough to offer some guidance and a few suggestions along the way but I would more than welcome any and all comments from members of the community. The URL is www.csthousing.com
(Edited)
susan2829, Champion
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43,192 Points
David that is really great that stats are up. Kudos and keep us posted!
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558 Points
Have just begun experimenting with the new Sitebuilder and, after using the old one for many years on many different sites, I am thoroughly unimpressed. There are fewer elements and options it seems although there appears to be a lot of spark and razzle-dazzle which, for me, is unimportant. I will continue to explore the new cloud sitebuilder but will not give up my old one. I'm also reluctant to recommend Homestead to others, especially inexperienced users, whereas I never hesitated before due to the ease of use in the original SiteBuilder.
susan2829, Champion
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43,192 Points
I agree Kathy that the original desktop builder was very easy to use, particularly for folks who were new to the website building process. Unfortunately the cloud-based builders appear to be the new 'standard'.
I also have to agree about the razzle, dazzle. Animations were/are/should be a thing of the past. They are so easily overused to the detriment of the site.
The new builder has potential, but it needs some attention paid to the things that matter most.
I also have to agree about the razzle, dazzle. Animations were/are/should be a thing of the past. They are so easily overused to the detriment of the site.
The new builder has potential, but it needs some attention paid to the things that matter most.
Drew N, Alum
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262,816 Points
Kathy L.4689, It would be helpful if you could specify elements you would like to see. In Sitebuilder there were so many that were really duplicates and unecessary. We may be able to give you an idea or two.
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558 Points
I would like to see more versatility in the forms, such as radio
buttons, check boxes, etc. and being able to place the elements freely
on the page.
See http://www.worleyshauling.com/TransportAgreement.html
Have used Bravenet forms in the past which are completely customizeable and provide the HTML code to copy/paste onto the page. They are very neat and clean and everything lines up as it should.![]()
See http://www.worleyshauling.com/TransportAgreement.html
Have used Bravenet forms in the past which are completely customizeable and provide the HTML code to copy/paste onto the page. They are very neat and clean and everything lines up as it should.
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558 Points
The Worley's Hauling form was rebuilt using old Sitebuilder rather than paying more to continue using Bravenet.
Drew N, Alum
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262,816 Points
Kathy L.4689, this is one of the first things I saw with forms too. I added it as a feature request, and have added your name to that idea.
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558 Points
Traffic meters?
Old Sitebuilder had a good selection but I usually use SiteMeter.com, or used to when they were reliable. They were customize-able and gave a wealth of site stat information whereas Homestead site traffic info is sometimes difficult to find if you don't use it often.
Old Sitebuilder had a good selection but I usually use SiteMeter.com, or used to when they were reliable. They were customize-able and gave a wealth of site stat information whereas Homestead site traffic info is sometimes difficult to find if you don't use it often.
(Edited)
Drew N, Alum
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262,816 Points
The site statistics are still being implements. The on site hit counters were removed because search engine often penalize you for it. There are many you can get and add via HTML, but you must be careful that they have no odd coding that is going to get you tagged as spam. If you want to use those you can, but we highly discourage it as search engines can actually penalize you ranking for having these on your site. They provide no real valuable information. Once the site stats are fully implemented, you will get much better info on your visitors
Drew N, Alum
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262,816 Points
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6,996 Points
susan2829, Champion
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43,192 Points
