HOMESTEAD'S 16MG FREE WEBSPACE

Frequently Asked Questions


General Information

System Requirements

Using Homestead Express

Using Homestead SiteBuilder

Your Own Domain

Technical Difficulties

General Information

What is Homestead?

Homestead is a service that gives anyone of any skill level an easy and flexible way to build a Web site. Building a Site is as easy as dragging and dropping text, images, and animations onto your page.

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Where will my pages be stored?

Everything related to your Site is stored on our server, not on your local computer or at your Internet Service Provider (ISP). This allows you to have access to your Homestead files from practically any networked computer!

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How much disk space will I get for my Site?

Each Site is allowed 16 MB of disk space.

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How can I advertise my Site?

You can find tips for advertising your Web site in the Promoting My Site section. It gives you tips on submitting your URL to search engines and other ways to advertise your Web site.

To access this area, go to the Welcome page and click the Promote your site link.

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Can I upload my current Web page into my Homestead account?

Yes. If you have existing Web pages, you can upload them into your Homestead account.

The Imported HTML Element, located within Homestead SiteBuilder, lets you import existing HTML pages/files from your computer to your Homestead account. Once the page is imported, a link will appear on your page. When a viewer clicks on this link on your page, the imported HTML file will open.

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System Requirements

What computer, modem speed, and Web browser do I need to use Homestead?

No special system requirements are needed to build a Web page with Homestead Express. All you need is a web browser.

To build a web page with Homestead SiteBuilder, you must have Netscape 3.01 - 3.04 or 4.0 - 4.61, or Internet Explorer 4.0 - 5.0 on a computer equipped with Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT. Homestead SiteBuilder works best on computers with at least 32 MB RAM and with a Pentium 90 or faster processor. We recommend an Internet connection of 28.8 kbps or faster. (This includes 33.6, 56.8, DSL, and T1 connections.)

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Does Homestead work on a Mac?

Yes. Mac users can create web pages using Homestead Express. Homestead Express is a template-based web page design tool that steps you through the process of designing and publishing a Web page.

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What's the difference between Homestead SiteBuilder and Homestead Express?

Homestead SiteBuilder is our powerful, easy to use, drag-and-drop Web page design tool that gives users greater freedom in designing their Web pages to their liking.

To make a Web site using Homestead SiteBuilder you simply drag Elements such as text and shapes, clipart, graphics files, and interactive Elements like a stock ticker or chatroom on to your page. Elements can be accurately positioned, resized, recolored, and layered quickly and easily with just a few clicks of the mouse.

Homestead Express is a template-based Web page design tool for users with systems that do not meet the system requirements for Homestead SiteBuilder. Homestead Express is very simple to use, and it steps you through the process of designing and publishing a Site. With just a few minutes of work, you'll have created your own Site.

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Does my computer meet the system requirements?

To find out if you have at least a Pentium 90 processor and at least 32 MB of Random Access Memory, or RAM, here's what you should do:

1. Click the Start Menu in the lower left-hand corner of your screen. (A menu should appear.)
2. Move the mouse over Settings. (A sub-menu should appear.)
3. Click Control Panel.
4. Double-click System.

Under Computer you can check how much RAM you have and what kind of processor you have.

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Using Homestead Express

How does Homestead Express work?

Homestead Express takes you step by step through the process of building a page. Homestead Express offers you a choice of templates that you can use to create pagess. For example, there are templates for creating pages to advertise your small business or announce the birth of a child or post your resume. You can compose text for your page, and further personalize it by choosing a background, text colors, and clipart for your page. You can also import an image to your Homestead Express page.

Creating a page using Homestead Express is a snap. After just a few minutes of work, you'll have a published page for your family, friends, and customers to view.

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Can I import an image to my Homestead Express page?

Almost all Homestead Express pre-built pages give you the option of importing a .jpg or .gif image to the page. Unfortunately, the ability to import an image is not currently available to Web TV users or to IE 3 users.

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Can I edit my Homestead Express page using Homestead SiteBuilder?

Yes. If use a computer that meets Homestead SiteBuilder's system requirements, then you can edit and update pages that you have made using Homestead Express.

Please keep in mind, however, that once a page has been edited using Homestead SiteBuilder, it is no longer possible to edit that page in Express.

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Using Homestead SiteBuilder

How do I use Homestead SiteBuilder?

At the bottom of Homestead SiteBuilder, you will see Elements such as text and shapes, clipart, graphics files, and interactive Elements like a chat room. Drag any of these onto your page, save, and your page is done. Elements can be accurately positioned, resized, recolored, and layered quickly and easily with just a few clicks of the mouse.
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Can I use my own pictures, animations, and graphics?

Yes. You can import your own .jpg and .gif pictures, animations, and graphics into a Homestead page. To import a .jpg or .gif graphic:

1. Drag the 'Imported Image' Element onto your page. (The Imported Image Element can be found in the 'The Basics' Element Category at the bottom of Homestead SiteBuilder.)
2. Follow the instructions to import your image.

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Can I upload files from my computer to my pages?

Currently you can import HTML files (using the Imported HTML Element), .gif and .jpg image files (using the Imported Image Element), and .au, .aiff, .aif, .wav, .mid, and .midi sound files (using the Imported Sound Element).

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Can I post files on my pages for viewers to download?

Yes. Using the 'Post a File' Element in Homestead SiteBuilder, you can post files such as Microsoft Word documents, zipped files, or .class files for other people to download to their computers.

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Is there a size limit on imported files?

There is a 5MB limit on imported files. We recommend that you limit image file imports to 200K or smaller.

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Can I insert HTML into my page?

Yes. You can insert up to 6000 characters of HTML code into a page using our HTML Snippet Element. Examples of things you can do with the Snippet Element include adding a Web ring or a banner or a simple table to your page. You can also use the Import HTML Element to import an HTML file to your account.

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What's my Web address?

Once you save a page, it is automatically assigned a URL, or Web address (URL). To find out what the URL is:

1. Save your page.
2. Click the 'Preview' button. (The URL should appear in the Location box at the top of the Site.)

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Can I shorten my URL?

Yes. The best way to shorten your URL is to name the main page of your Site "Index." Then, when visitors to your site are typing http://homepages.address.com/thewebisfree, they do not need to specify the name of the page they want to view. By simply typing the main URL of the service and then the name of your site, they should automatically see whatever page you have designated as the "Index" page.

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Your Own Domain

Does Homestead offer domain name support?

Yes. Our domain forwarding service lets you register your domain and forward anyone who visits your domain to your Site. That means someone can type in www.YourName.com but they'll actually see the content you created at http://homepages.address.com/thewebisfree. E-mail forwarding is also included in this service. That means that any mail sent to @YourName.com will automatically be forwarded to the e-mail address of your choice.

For pricing information and/or to sign up:

  1. Go to 'Services'
  2. Go to 'Secure Your Domain Name' and follow the instructions from there.


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What does it mean to have my own domain name?

A domain name is the first part of an address on the Internet. Having your own domain name means that the URL of your Site would be http://www.YourName.com, instead of http://homepages.address.com/YourName.

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How can I get my own domain name?

Our domain forwarding service lets you register your domain and forward anyone who visits your domain to your Site Web site. To sign up:

  1. Go to 'Services'
  2. Go to 'Secure Your Domain Name' and follow the instructions from there.


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What if I already own my domain name?

If you already own your domain name, you can sign up for our Web site and e-mail forwarding service only for $24.95 per year.

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What's e-mail forwarding?

E-mail forwarding is also included in our domain forwarding service. That means that any mail sent to @YourName.com will automatically be forwarded to the e-mail address of your choice.

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How long before the domain service is activated?

Once the service registration is complete, we must then wait for InterNIC (the organization set up by the US Government to control all .com .org and .net domain names) to complete our transfer request to move the domain over to our nameservers; this can take from 24-48 hours for them to complete. As soon as InterNIC has finished the transfer, your site will be active.

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Technical Difficulties

What's the Tech Support e-mail address?

We welcome your feedback and encourage you to use our tech support form, whether you have a question, a comment, or a bug report. To find the tech support form, select 'Tech Support' from the 'Help' menu.

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What if I forget my member name or password?

If you forget your member name or password, please fill out the 'forgot password' form, and we will send your login information to your registered e-mail address. To find the forgot password form, select 'forgot password' from the 'help' menu on the left side of the screen.

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Can I rename or delete a Site?

Not currently.

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Why is there text overlap when I view my page on the Web?

The problem may be a function of the font settings on your computer. In this context, font size refers not to the size of the fonts that you put in your Site, but to a setting that you can change on your computer. You can set your computer so that text on the screen, like the word 'Start' in the lower left corner of the screen, is displayed in large fonts. If your computer is set to display large fonts, your pages will look strange when you try to view it.

To set your computer to display small fonts:

1. Click the Start button in the lower left corner of your screen. (A menu should appear.)
2. Move the mouse over Settings. (A sub-menu should appear.)
3. Click Control Panel. (The Control Panel window should appear.)
4. Double-click Display. (The Display Properties dialog box should appear.)
5. Click the Settings tab to bring it to the front.
6. From the Font Size drop-down box, choose Small Fonts.

You may need to restart your computer before the new font size will go into effect.

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What if it's just not working?

A full cache can eat up memory and impede a number of functions, including editing your page! Don't worry - clearing your cache is easy, and something you should make a regular habit. Below are some instructions for clearing the cache of the most common types of Web browsers. Please choose the one for your browser and take a minute to follow these steps.

  • First, close all applications that are open on your desktop and clear your cache before accepting the Homestead service.
To clear your cache in Internet Explorer 5.0:
  1. From the 'Tools' menu, choose 'Internet Options'. (The Internet Options dialog box should appear.)
  2. If the 'General' tab is not already in front, click it.
  3. Click the 'Delete Files' button. (The Delete Files dialog box should appear.)
  4. Click OK, then click OK again.
To clear your cache in Internet Explorer 4.0:
  1. From the 'View' menu, choose 'Internet Options'. (The Internet Options dialog box should appear.)
  2. If the 'General' tab is not already in front, click it.
  3. Click the 'Delete Files' button. (The Delete Files dialog box should appear.)
  4. Click OK, then click OK again.
To clear your cache in Netscape 4:
  1. From the 'Edit' menu, choose 'Preferences'. (A dialog box should appear.)
  2. In the menu on the left side of the dialog box, double click the word 'Advanced'. (A list of options should appear.)
  3. From the list of options, click the word 'Cache'.
  4. On the right side of the dialog box, click the 'Clear Memory Cache' button, and then click 'OK'.
  5. Click the 'Clear Disk Cache' button, and then click 'OK'.
  6. Click the OK button at the bottom of the window.
To clear your cache in Netscape 3:
  1. Go to the Netscape Options menu.
  2. Select Network Preferences.
  3. Hit the "Clear Memory Cache" and "Clear Disk Cache" buttons.

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