Frequently Asked Questions
How does Openherd work?
Simply enter your farm, animal, and product information using our easy-to-use system specifically built for farmers, and we take care of transforming it into a stunning website. No other website company offers you an easy way to build animal sales lists so you can focus on your animal information rather than trying to build your listings from scratch.
Our all-inclusive plans include a complete website (unlimited pages), website hosting, security (SSL), and connecting your own domain. In addition, you get time- and money-saving tools you'll only find on Openherd, such as our animal sales list Print Center, My Herd Health for securely recording your animals' health records, and other marketing resources that will help your business grow.
Simply join and our awesome customer service will help you with every step to getting your new website live. You'll be surprised with how well we take care of you!
Can I join for free?
Yes. You can get started with a Free account and upgrade later if you wish. See our Plan Features above for what's included.
How does Openherd help me sell my animals?
Many farms have tried social platforms or other website companies and had disappointing results and wasted money. The problem is that they don't give you all the pieces you need in the right order to get effective results.
Openherd transforms your farm information into a stunning website that should be the heart of your marketing. Then we automatically advertise your farm, animals, and products on our busy national marketplace, where qualified customers can find you and be directed to your website, where you can effectively engage them.
Openherd is easy, affordable, and is a complete marketing system designed to get you results.
How is Openherd better than other website companies?
No other website company provides you with the tools you need to easily build your animal sales lists. In addition, while other companies will simply put your information online, Openherd goes further by advertising you nationally to drive qualified customers to your website.
And if you're tired of getting slow, indifferent support, you'll be pleasantly surprised with Openherd's customer support. We're pretty old-fashioned in that regard. So give us a try!
What's the difference between Openherd.com and my own website?
Your own website should be the place you send customers. Openherd is a great place to FIND customers but not the best place to SEND customers. You want to send them to your own website (i.e. www.myfarmwebsite.com) where they won't be distracted or click away and will get a full experience of all that you're about. We also provide you with a free profile on Openherd.com so site visitors can get information about you and what you offer and get in touch with you.
Can I use my own domain with my website?
Yes. You can either use your existing website domain (i.e. www.myfarmwebsite.com) and point it to your new Openherd-hosted website or we can help you register a new domain. Contact our Support for details.
Does Openherd offer email?
Yes. See Plan Features above for details.
How does Openherd advertise my farm nationally?
Openherd.com is a national livestock and farm products marketplace. We've spent years getting top placement in search engines, bringing in qualified customers who are looking for farm-related things. We automatically advertise your farm, animals, and products on our marketplace so you can focus on your farm and doing what you love while we help direct customers to you!
What is the Affiliate Marketing Program?
Our Affiliate Marketing Program (AMP) is designed to help non-profit regional or breed associations provide an effective marketing component to their website. Rather than having to build and maintain their own system for members to input their farm information and provide search pages, Openherd automatically syncs member farm information to the participating association's site where visitors can search and browse member farms. Learn more.
What kind of customer support does Openherd offer?
Our awesome customer service is the kind you thought was long gone. Our US-based phone and email support is here to help you be successful with your online marketing. You'll be surprised with how well we take care of you and respond to your feedback!
Do I need to enter my payment details to sign up?
No. You can join Openherd for free and upgrade later. We do not require any credit card information if you're joining at the Free level.
What if I want to cancel?
We hope that if we didn't meet your expectations or could have done something better, that you'll let us know so we can try to make things right.
In the event that you need to cancel, simply contact our Support team and we'll make sure you aren't billed further. For annual plans, your account will downgrade to Free once your plan expires. For monthly recurring plans, contact us before your monthly billing date (usually the same date as your original purchase). If you want to completely delete your account, just let us know.
What's Openherd going to do with my farm contact information?
Openherd does not share, sell, or in any other way supply your contact information to another party. Your farm information is used to help visitors find you in searches, know where you're located, and get in touch with you. If you need to omit your street address for privacy/security reasons, you may enter a single space in this input.
Openherd uses your contact information to send you periodic account updates, account notifications, and marketing/promotional emails.
Is my information secure with Openherd?
Yes. The integrity of your information is a top priority. We do daily backups to multiple, secure cloud locations. Any animal health records you enter are encrypted and stored securely. We do not store any credit card or other financial information so that there is never any risk of this information being compromised.
Your account security is your responsibility, so make sure you create a password that's secure and don't share your account information with other people unless you trust them.
Does Openherd back up my data?
Yes. Openherd conducts daily backups of our sites and database to multiple, secure cloud locations so that your data is never at risk by ransomware or other malicious actors.
Are Openherd websites secure?
Yes. Every Openherd-hosted website comes with an included SSL certificate, which means all data sent to and from our servers is encrypted and protected. Other website companies charge up to $100 or more per year for an SSL certificate. Openherd includes this for free so you don't have the extra cost and hassle.
Are Openherd websites optimized for search engines?
Yes. Our websites are automatically optimized for search engines "out of the box". However, if you want to customize your SEO, our Business and Professional plans include our Custom SEO tool.
Can I add multiple kinds of animals?
Yes! Openherd supports every kind of livestock and other animals you might find on a farm. You can add unlimited animals and they'll be automatically categorized by species, breed, and gender. That way you can sell many kinds of animals all on one site.