Setting up family/childrens own website - HOW??

VixxAnn

Although I am an internet addict (& obviously MSE!!) I have never set up a site. My older children (9 & 11) keep asking if we can set up a family site or really they would like their own sites. We have family living abroad so I think it would be nice to have somewhere to put our news and photos rather than keep emailing pics as and when.

BUT...
I haven't got a bleeping clue where to start. Did a google search and there are LOADS of companies that sell you designer programs and hosting etc but what am I looking for - and in the spirit of MSE - what should I be paying??

I really think we need some kind of a program as I am NOT a techie and would be very lost to start from scratch:o
ANY HELP???

Browntoa

the answers you need are in this thread

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=25785

and more here

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=25780



a good free one is www.tripod.com that also includes a free site builder

criminal_smile

If you are really stuck....pm me with details of what you want. I might do a small site for you as a project.......gratis of course.

Fran

I use https://www.freewebs.com and my kids do too... very easy to use.

m00nie

plenty of free sites that have templates for a first website, where as you just upload your pictures,type in you text, pick the colours of the pages etc, all the main work is done for you.

THIS ONE is a free one.

criminal_smile

m00nie.....just where DID you get that avatar????

lipidicman

I could watch that all day!

Norman-B

I have been wanting to do this for ages! I have a 6 year old grandson and want him to have his own site.
Questions,

Can he/I include photos on his site?

What do these companies gain by offering this free service? (Is there a sting in the tail?)

How do you advertise (correct word?) the site on the web?

Anyone help?

T4i

Norman-B wrote:

Can he/I include photos on his site?

Yes, you can add anything.....within reason!

Norman-B wrote:

What do these companies gain by offering this free service? (Is there a sting in the tail?)

Hosting the website? You may have some webspace through your ISP, you can also 'rent' webspace from comapnies.

Norman-B wrote:

How do you advertise (correct word?) the site on the web?

I think you need to look at meta tags. Not quite sure as I've never done it.

Norman-B

Many thanks for the reply.
Norm

criminal_smile

Norman-B wrote:

What do these companies gain by offering this free service? (Is there a sting in the tail?)

How do you advertise (correct word?) the site on the web?

Anyone help?

You will be able to get a free site from somewhere like NETFIRMS. They will give give you free space to host a website, and in return they get to place a small advertising banner on the top of each of your webpages.

Advertising a site? If you mean making the site acessible to the worldwide web, you can indeed construct you metatags to show what the site contains, and when the search engines trawl the net, they will use those references to show your webpage relevant to what people search for. This is called Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Some people work very hard at perfecting their site so that it is search engine friendly, only to find that there are still thousands of results in front of theirs in a search.
If this is a website to show family, friends etc. what is happening in your / your family's life, then you can email everyone with the web address (URL), and ask them to spread the word. To be honest, your site is very unlikely to figure highly in any search, unless someone uses all your keywords, and even then, you still have to compete with all the 'paid for' sites.