Intuit Websites - Positives and Negatives



Posted: Wednesday, November 25, 2009

by Kyle Bardot
Engine Media Group

There are upsides and downsides to Intuit websites. If you have a small business that wants a very bare bones website than Intuit may be a good option for you. Rememer that you get what you pay for. Your Intuit website will have a top banner, an area for content, and a menu with your internal links. They aren't the prettiest, but for $4.99/month what do you expect?

The downsides to Intuit websites are that they are not impressive, lack uniqueness and customizability, and are simply boring. You cannot put a blog on your site, polls, social media links, etc. They limit interactivity. One of the reasons why they keep showing a bakery in their commercials is because a bakery does not need an impressive website; it simply needs a website that displays its location and basic information. If you own a gourmet bakery that needs a more eye appealing website, don't waste your time with Intuit.

My recommendation would be that if you need a website immediately, Intuit sites are a good temporary solution until you get your real site finished.

Also, Intuit will show you on their site that Google and other search engines will find and list your site in search results. This is somewhat true. It is easy to get your site listed when a search is performed for your business name. What is more difficult is getting your site listed for related search terms such as 'bakery in St. Louis'. Intuit makes it sound like a site purchased from them will show up easily for related search terms. This is NOT TRUE. Intuit websites have to be search engine optimized just like every other website and according to the same rules.

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More comments
» left by Mark Dilworth from Neptune Beach, Florida 2 years 87 days ago.
Hey Sam,
 
Thanks for the heads-up. I'll continue you on my end looking for that low cost soluton. I'll keep you in the loop!
» left by Martha B from Athens, Al 2 years 86 days ago.
Not being all that computer savvy, I went with a web designer. After 6 1/2 weeks for a 20 hour job and $750 out of pocket and a bill for another $665, I still didn't get a website. So I'm giving Intuit a shot, sure ain't as easy as they make it look on T.V. I think they make the choices limited so you'll pay $500 or more and have them design it for you. I soon found out $19.99 a month will get you a DIY website template, hosting, domain name and email address, but it's an additional $15.00 a month for web listings. They really push the $500+ design plan with an additional $150 a month for the optimization package. I own a bakery and I need picture galleries because people want to see what you can do before they waste time with an appointment. Don't know what to do....giving myself a migraine here. Any advice?
» left by Renee from Colorado 2 years 15 days ago.
So you can even add a picture gallery on the basic? I was hoping this offer was actually usable, but it sounds like not so much...
» left by Ed
from Oklahoma
2 years 73 days ago.
I figured intuit would be good because my needs are simple. I can write some html but I thought I would give my brain a rest and use their downloadable Sitebuilder. Slow and cumbersome and extremely limited on options. I can't even change names to tabs. I don't know, guess I will figure out how to do it myself
» left by Bill D. from Chicago 2 years 12 days ago.
I've been using Quick Books 2004 since I bought it new. I only use the REGISTER for 3 rental houses I own. The OS system has been Windows 98 & XP. I also use Quicken 2003 for my household accounts. Just bought a new PC with Windows 7(64 bit). I was able to save the Quicken data and download it into the Quicken software on the new computor but the Quick Book data won't download. Will the saved data from QB 2004 download into the 2010 version of Quick Books?
» left by bc3908
from Nashville, TN
1 year 272 days ago.
This is very helpful...it causes me to continue to shop options before making a commitment.
» left by Anonymous
1 year 93 days ago.
Totally agree. Do they give the customer the option to edit elements that make search engine optimization possible? even if they do, will a business owner know how to optomized his/her website?
» left by dizzle
from So. Cal
207 days 23 hours ago.
Lot's of critisizm with no solutions? I want a website with bells and whistles and original but, don't have the time or the desire to be html savy. So what is the solution? I hear lot's of talk but, no one is telling me what is the best option, intuit is limited doesn't really help. Any one?Thanks
» left by C from NC 150 days 21 hours ago.
The best option depends on what you are looking to have done. What bells and whistles are you looking for? This will greatly affect your options and how much it will cost.
» left by C
from NC
150 days 21 hours ago.
It gives very little information about their system, but what was given is dead on.

It is not possible using the online system to do any optimization for SEO.

It is very easy to mess things up.

I have been doing websites for 15 years and still have not seen an online system that was worth a hoot to be effective for getting good results in the search engines.
» left by L 71 days 20 hours ago.
Initially, I was very satisfied with the sitebuilder. I found it very user friendly for my purpose. However, tor a month now - every time I try to get into the sitebuilder to make changes, I get the message "You have experienced an unexpected server error....Please try again later" I have tried later and later and later and still the same message. WHAT IS GOING ON!!!! Does anyone have the answer?
» left by tED
66 days 23 hours ago.
I started my business package yesterday and I already am having problems. They failed to register my domain, and they gave a link that says "Contact us for further instructions". The link sends me to Homestead, where I enter my Intuit login, which partially transfers me to the page where I presumably would be able to request help, but then, at the last second it sends me back to the login page. If this is a preview of how frustrating and fundamentally difficult my experience will be with Intuit, I'm done. I don't need the added stress of this unnecessary complication. How can you provide me with a quality website service when YOUR OWN WEBSITE IS SO UN-"INTUIT"-IVE??

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