SHOP PRODUCTS
Houzz Logo Print
edubya

Gardenweb and Houzz - Hello and Heads up!

4 months ago
last modified: 4 months ago


Nantucket Harbor · More Info


**EDIT AGAIN - TEST IS LIVE AGAIN! 9/4/24**


** EDIT - TEST IS PAUSED FOR NOW FOR SOME FIXES. I'LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN IT IS LIVE AGAIN - THANK YOU!! **


Hey all,


As you know, people come to Houzz for lots of different reasons - inspiration, finding pros to work with, managing their own business, writing reviews, shopping, and of course connecting with other members of our community in discussions.


To help people better find what they are looking for when they are searching, we're performing a test hosting all Houzz and Gardenweb discussions on Gardenweb urls. This shouldn't present any changes, other than you may need to sign in to Gardenweb with your usual Houzz log in information and see Gardenweb in your address bar instead of Houzz.


We've done quite a bit of testing, but if you see something strange or if something isn't behaving as you thought it might, please let me know and we will take a look!

Comments (65)

  • 4 months ago

    Hey all - this test is live again. If you see anything that is broken or not behaving as it should, let me know!



  • 4 months ago

    Not broken, just wanted to note that I stay on gardenweb.com, and don't get bumped to houzz.com when I click a link to this forum in my notifications, which is very nice!

    Also saw that embedded links show green now instead of black - another plus 🙂

  • Related Discussions

    Heads up on new forum designs

    Q

    Comments (10)
    we opened a new forum once (actually twice. lol) which is still alive and kicking (several people did..we had this big old forum, lot of changes and fights..) so a) somebody who understands in it can definitely open new forum. lots of work(and some money of course but that can be decided upon) but forums branch out all the time..constantly happening b) older forum might agree to absorb us (and even be happy to do so..who knows) but will need us to fit their needs and us-to fit theirs. more or less. If my forum wasn't in Russian I'd ask admin to check this possiblity..:)
    ...See More

    Heads Up on New forums

    Q

    Comments (8)
    I think that I may be able to help a bit. I generally just have a bookmark to get to the gardenweb appliance forum, so I rarely go to the main houzz page. After the not-very-helpful comment to just “edit my interests”, I finally did find a place to do that. It’s not under any of the profile stuff, btw. if you go to stories and advice menu, you’ll see a drop down with several choices. It isn’t obvious, but you can actually select the green “Houzz Discussions” label, and not just the black text choices that one might think are the only valid choices. Really, who expects that a header is selectable when there are sub-categories listed? At any rate, that took me to a page that had a “Your topics” section on the left. Along with an “edit”button that would allow you to choose the items you want. Note that in my wandering through the website, at some time I ended on the main Houzz page and it popped up a box asking me to choose three topics of interest (of which there really weren’t any that I was interested in). I just chose “kitchen” and left it at that. I’m not sure if somehow selecting that allowed other things to work differently or not, so if the above stuff doesn’t work, try going to the main Houzz page and filling in some interests which you can later remove.
    ...See More

    GardenWeb peeps - if you have contacted me....

    Q

    Comments (70)
    I may have messaged you a few months ago when you first mentioned this brilliant idea - but I'll send another one just in case. I don't have a problem with things as they are but as others have mentioned 'conversations' may be on the way out. Thank you so much for doing this. Maire.
    ...See More

    Anyone having log in problems??????????

    Q

    Comments (6)
    A lot of apps let you sign in using your Facebook or Google credentials. I was just reading that Google just did some security updating over that issue, since it can potentially compromise people's accounts when the app is not sufficiently secure. I had to log in and make a new password on my Android phone earlier, but not on my desktop computer.
    ...See More
  • 4 months ago

    I'm using Safari on a Mac and the web page won't advance to the next (previous) page either with the "next page" button or the numbers on the bottom.

    Emily H thanked yvonnecmartin
  • 4 months ago

    I use Houzz with Safari on a Mac. In the design dilemmas, the program won't move to the previous page either with the numbers on the bottom of the page or the "next page" option.

    Emily H thanked yvonnecmartin
  • 4 months ago
    last modified: 4 months ago

    Emily - Just want to thank-you for your constant support of those of us who hang out here over th e past few years. So appreciated.

    Emily H thanked blfenton
  • 4 months ago
    last modified: 4 months ago

    An unexpected bonus is that some of the formatting on very old posts that has been broken since the Houzz transition is now working again. I have lost track of which old GW posts were still missing their photos so can't tell if any of those have reappeared as a result, but would be curious to know!

  • 4 months ago

    Thank you for working on this. I was on GWebber for many many years but when I changed emails Houzz made me re-sign up with a new email. We switched internet providers and had to change our emails. Houzz would not let me transition everything over keeping both emails. Frustrating as my old name was Boxerpups and now its Boxerpal. And silly that they won't all link to my current user name. Again very annoying.


    Forgive my complaining. I do appreciate all you are doing to try to make this more user friendly to all. I like the unexpected bonus of seeing old posts.


    Boxerpal aka Boxerpups

    Emily H thanked Boxerpal
  • 4 months ago
    last modified: 4 months ago

    I can't sign into the site using the gardenweb url. It keeps telling me to check my username and password.

    I can sign in using a Houzz url but when try to go to gardenweb I get logged out. When I click a link to a gardenweb forum from my notifications, I get logged out.

    The only way I can get into gardenweb is by clicking the "email me link to sign in" option, wait for the email and then click the link on the email. I am immediately signed in to both sites.

    Emily H thanked deegw
  • 4 months ago

    This is the first time I've seen this post but I noticed the font is much larger

    Emily H thanked jck910
  • 4 months ago

    Love the new look and it's easier on the eyes to read!

    Emily H thanked OllieJane
  • 4 months ago

    Hmm, just tried to load more posts on my 'Your Houzz' activity page and the link to do that appears to be broken...

  • 4 months ago

    Hi Carolb! Is it possible to grab a screenshot for me of where you are seeing that? I'm not able to replicate on my end.

  • 4 months ago

    It took multiple attemps to try to sign back in and I ended up with long ago discarded user name rather than the one I had been using for many years. My profile still showed up but I was not able to get a new password for my account. What a mess! Of course, the list of my saved discussions was gone along with my history. I feel like I am in a witness protection program starting with a new identity.

  • PRO
    4 months ago

    The Houzz cookies are not talking to the GW domain. And vice versa. I can surf Houzz signed in, but not travel over to any part of GW and stay logged in. It won’t let me log into GW. I can log into GW with an new account, but then if I move to a Houzz portion of the site, my existing Houzz account is what shows.

  • 4 months ago
    last modified: 4 months ago

    I don’t know if any of this is device related, and/or if it is related to whether people are using the Houzz app or not. I am using an iPhone only, and accessing via the browser, not via the Houzz app; and as much as I would love to join the witness protection program, my identity has not been altered - and I am not having any of the above described issues. :)

    Not having any issues as far as I know. I cleared my Safari history earlier today and had to sign into Houzz again, and I had no issues getting a sign in link. When I link to Houzz via my favorites bookmark, it takes me to gardenweb. My profile page is on gardenweb, and is showing the header picture that I selected when I first joined Houzz (which that header picture has not been visible for years).

    I hope some of this helps. Thank you for all you do, Emily H.

    Emily H thanked freedomplace1
  • 4 months ago

    Testing yet again, removing my name…,,

  • 4 months ago

    Took quite a few trips to the fx-it shop, but it seems to work for now.

  • 4 months ago

    Emily, I just noticed that on new threads the original poster used to be identified on any further posts on that thread as the 'author' but that doesn't seem to be the case now. So many people end up using HU**** and there can be many of them posting on a thread. It's nice to be able to keep track of the original poster farther down in the thread, so we can keep track of her responses.

    Emily H thanked Olychick
  • 4 months ago

    The search function still does not work well, for example, finding images of a house with "blue shutters". Houzz search gives me a bunch of completely random photos instead.


    I use a google search like this: "blue shutters site:houzz.com" instead.

    Emily H thanked apple_pie_order
  • 4 months ago
    last modified: 4 months ago

    This is the link that appears to be inactive. I'm on a Mac desktop, using Chrome


    It's Your Houzz > Activity > Recent Activity

    It doesn't work on any of my other Activity pages either

    Emily H thanked carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
  • 4 months ago

    Thank you!

  • 4 months ago

    For any folks who have two separate accounts they are logged into between Gardenweb and Houzz (like HU-535354181 and freedomplace1 and
    justmyopinion), please reach out to our support team through help.houzz.com. They can not "merge" accounts, but they may be able to help you identify the one you want to use / the one that has the bulk of your saved content.

  • 4 months ago

    @Olychick Are you seeing the "original author" text on this thread? (I am seeing it.)

  • 4 months ago

    Not olychick, but I can see the "original author" on this thread.

    I am experiencing the same issue as carolb - the "show more events" is not working for me. On a PC using chrome.

  • 4 months ago

    Not olychick either but I also can see the ”original author” on this thread.

    I’m on iPad using Safari.

  • 4 months ago

    I see that label too.

  • 4 months ago

    I also see it on this thread, but not on new threads.

  • 4 months ago

    I see it on one from 8 hours ago. Do you have an example of one that is newer that you don't see it?

  • 4 months ago

    I just saw your note Emily. I noticed it on one thread and when I went back to it, I noticed the OP had changed her user name since she posted the thread, or else has 2 accounts and posted her comments from a different one, so her later comments weren't attributed to the OP. I assumed it was the changes being made in-house until I saw she'd done that, but now I can see that it might have been only that one post. Sorry, I should have come here and deleted my comment. I don't think it's a real problem. Thank you!

    Emily H thanked Olychick
  • 4 months ago

    It seems to appear now on a thread where it didn’t a couple of hours ago, so I think whatever was causing the problem has been fixed.

  • 4 months ago

    Not sure what the updated or new features are, but I no longer have a "search" bar for discussions or photos, etc.

    When I go to the menu on the left and start in "Search all discussions" my screen goes to a "not working" pop up and says to try again. (I did it multiple times with the same result.)

    I'm on "Bing".

    Emily H thanked Mary Elizabeth
  • 4 months ago

    Hi Mary, Are you not seeing this at the top of your screen?


  • 4 months ago

    Does the Search function actually work now? Many of us have resorted to using Google to find something on GardenWeb and Houzz.

  • 4 months ago

    I use the Gardenweb search function to search Gardenweb only, which is where I stay. I've heard that the Houzz search doesn't work well, so I don't ever use it.

  • 4 months ago

    @Emily H, well, yes I do see that. But it only works for Gardenweb. It no longer works to search current Houzz discussions (except by topic - which doesn't seem very useful).


  • 4 months ago

    Emily, it seems that you've done something to address the spam issue. Knocking on wood, but I've seen less of it the last couple of weeks. Thank you! It's tiring being the "bad guy" who calls it out, and I thank all the folks who back me up.

    Emily H thanked sushipup2
  • 3 months ago
    last modified: 3 months ago

    Hi Emily, I'm still having the problem where I can't log into Houzz unless I use the email link. The Houzz URL doesn't recognize my password. I can log into gardenweb but when I go to a Houzz URL, I get kicked out.

    Laptop with Chrome

  • 3 months ago

    @deegw (and anyone else having trouble logging in) You should be able to use the same log in information (email and password or username and password) on both Gardenweb and Houzz, but you will have to log into both. You should stay logged in as long as you don't log out.

    If you are not able to do that, please shoot us a note through help.houzz.com and we can look at your accounts in a not-so-public setting since it involves private info.


    For the @ messages - are you seeing improvements? We made a change and it seems to be working better at least for me!

  • 3 months ago

    On another discussion thread, John Liu pointed out the Cooking forum is apparently missing from the directory and I tested it for myself.

    If I'm on the Cooking forum, I can start a post there, but when I'm on another forum and try to start a post and add it to Cooking, nothing comes up in the search box.

  • 3 months ago

    @carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10 Checking it out!

  • 3 months ago
    last modified: 3 months ago

    jayapple21

    9 hours ago

    I posted the following earlier today and several folks suggested that I post it here.

    ********

    This Houzz/gardenweb thing has been so frustrating for me.

    I usually follow Houzz on a desktop computer (iMac) but sometimes I use my iPad. Over time I have bookmarked a number of Houzz 'dilemmas' to follow but the ones at the top of my daily list are lia's, rred's and zaz's. All three of these are pretty long-standing dilemmas with thousands of comments over the years.

    Recently there seems to be a correlation between the sites with 1000s of comments and the amount of time it takes for the site to open. Dilemmas that have perhaps 50-60 comments open immediately for me but with the three that I mentioned earlier it can take a long time and often I have to try and try again to get them to open. Sometimes there is a long pause before a site opens. This is on my desktop and it only began about 2-3 weeks ago when instead of 'houzz.com' showing up as the home site it began to read 'gardenweb.com'.

    I understand the two sites are linked, and apparently 'gardenweb' is much older and has been around for much longer, but my difficulty in getting dilemmas to open only began when the 'gardenweb' address began showing up. It is the most frustrating thing and I have a hunch the webmaster folks at Houzz.com are NOT aware of this change that has occurred.

    I know diddly-squat about computers but since 'gardenweb' is an old site, and the problem I have involves getting threads with huge amounts of comments to open, I wonder if the old 'gardenweb' site just can't handle the storage volume that's been generated over the years even though it's now linked with 'houzz.com'.

  • 3 months ago

    @Emily H ... sorry to hijack but I posted a thread yesterday that isnt appearing on the site. Not sure why it would be flagged for review but can you free it up?


    Title: "What high quality pans would you recommend for ..."


    Thanks!

  • PRO
    3 months ago

    This has completely ruined my "bar/wine" fun of I phone w/SAFARI.

    I am unapologetic in saying I don't want or use the Houzz app.

    The difficulty across platforms, the constant tweaking, the pop ups at the mere and slightest move of a cursor, even on Mac? Annoying as all get out.

    The absolute refusal in a (note) at the bottom of a Houzz /SAFARI/I PHONE PAGE not subtly suggesting "go to APP".........and no way to x it from the screen.

    I HATE IT.

    If you want "discussion/dilemmas" only on Garden Web? That's one thing - do it. You won't because you want the sale of goods...service.

    As of now, for me? Fail.

  • PRO
    2 months ago
    last modified: 2 months ago

    I would note. Two months later, I STILL hate it.

    The look and use is cluttered.....Do a drop down menu, and you can guess by the vivid blue,.......the real Houzz focus.$$$$$

    Screen shot on Mac. The only way I can/ will use it now. The Safari browser option on I phone is ruined. Very unfortunately.

    It should not matter Houzz or Garden Web , or device. These should be seamless.





  • 2 months ago

    So do I, Jan Moyer. It’s almost impossibleimpossible to type here, and why on earth do threads start reposting the same post posts in the middle so it looks like the thread is long but really, it’s just repeating all the posts in the thread? Seems to me if Houzz wanted to foxfix the glitches, it would. nowhere else is it this ridiculous. I’m not going to fox this post for nonsense errors iI Diane make.

  • 2 months ago

    I wonder if this is a "Houzz compatibility with Apple products" issue? Jan's on a Mac. I'm on an iMac.

    The repeating-the-posts thing is unbelievably annoying. You can read down through two or three posts in a thread before it dawns on you that you've already read that and then you realize that it's repeating earlier posts. It might only be doing that on my desktop computer, though, (iMac). Not sure about my iPad.

    ***************

    The thing that is EVEN MORE annoying to me is how difficult it often is (almost every time) to open older threads that have many thousands of comments on them. These posters have become long-time online friends and I don't want to discontinue/drop the threads because of the connection issue. I often have to try over and over to get those threads to FINALLY open. Threads with fewer posts open immediately.

    This seemed to have started when the Houzz site began to read "gardenweb.com" instead of the previous "houzz.com". That may be co-incidental but it seemed to have begun at that time.

    **********

    I have a hunch that nobody at gardenweb/houzz.com is reading these posts/concerns. 😐

  • 2 months ago

    @jayapple21 & @JAN MOYER I’m on iPad & have often seen the “…repeating-the-posts thing is unbelievably annoying. You can read down through two or three posts in a thread before it dawns on you that you've already read that and then…”

    So, maybe it is an incompatibility with Apple products….

  • 2 months ago

    The repeating posts happens on my Microsoft laptop, so not an Apple incompatability.

    Beyond annoying. IT should get their act together. It's really not that difficult.

  • 2 months ago

    I've been getting it for a couple of years now on my laptop. IT is really annoying and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to which threads are affected by it.

  • 2 months ago

    I've found the repeating threads happen when the 'see additional xx replies' message is hit. It just happened to me this morning when reading SueB's thread on travelling alone. If I don't hit the additional replies, then all is good. If I hit the additional replies then about half way down the replies start repeating.

    I'm on a PC, not a MAC.