How to Create a Free Website
Everyone has a website these days. Your neighbor’s dog probably has its own website. So how can you join in on the fun, and maybe even make a buck or two? Free website hosting will allow you to create a website quickly and have it live on the web in just a few minutes. Follow this guide and you’ll soon have a site that can put that neighbor dog to shame.
1
Ask yourself what kind of website you want to have. The needs of your website will dictate what kind of hosting service you should be looking for. If you intend to do business through your website, you’ll need to make sure that the host supports online stores. If you want to create a wiki, there are a variety of free wiki hosts that specialize in creating and maintaining wikis. If you want a blog, blogging sites can get you set up in just a few minutes.
2
Find a free web host. There are a lot of choices out there when it comes to free webhosting, so you’ll want to spend some time comparing features. Most hosts offer limited services for free sites and typically place advertisements for the host on your site. Your website will most likely also be a subdomain of the host site instead of its own site (e.g. yoursite.host.com instead of yoursite.com). Some of the more popular free hosting sites include:
- Wordpress
- Google Sites
- Angelfire
- Webs
- Webnode
- Wikia (Wiki host)
3
Compare features. Each host will offer different services at the free level. Most hosts have a limit on how much data you can upload for your webpage, and this is typically very limited. This means that if you intend to have a media-rich site with images and video, you may not be able to effectively use a free site.
- Most free hosts have low bandwidth caps as well. This means they don’t work very well as filehosts, as downloading files can quickly max your data allowance.
- Check to see if the host allows you to upload your own websites. Most free hosts have web page creation tools and don’t allow you to upload your own custom code. This works for most basic needs, but if you want to be able to create your own site, make sure that the host allows it.
4
Browse the templates that are available. If you can, check out the options that each hosts’ web page creation tools boast. Rifle through the premade templates to see if there’s one that fits your style with a particular host.
- Many hosts have specialized designs for their sites that help maintain a brand identity with that host. Find the design that fits your website’s needs the most.
5
Check uptime claims. Hosting companies should be able to tell how much uptime they guarantee. While no webhost can promise 100% uptime, you’ll want to find one that has at least 99%. Even with 99% uptime, that still means that the website will be unavailable about 3 days out of a year!
6
Create an account. All free website hosts will require that you create an account. Depending on the hosting company, you most likely will not need to add any billing information unless you plan on upgrading to a paid account.
7
Pick a domain name. Free websites typically allow you to create a subdomain on the host’s domain for free, and offer regular domains for a fee. Some free hosts allow you to connect a domain you already own to their free host.
8
Create your webpage. Almost all free website hosts have web site construction programs available through their website. These programs allow you to choose from premade templates, and some allow you to customize elements such as CSS.
- Web page construction programs allow you to add your text and images with minimal fuss and have a functioning website up in a very short amount of time. Most require little to no coding experience.
- If your web host allow it, you can upload your own HTML files to truly create your own custom website. To learn more about HTML coding, check out this guide.
9
Publish your site. Once you’re happy with the layout and content of your site, it’s time to open up for business! If you have a blog or announcement area, it’s a good idea to create a welcome/introduction post, explaining the purpose of the site and introducing yourself. This will help make readers feel more welcome when they visit the site, and give them a quick breakdown of what the site is for.
10
Continue to create content. Websites that consistently put out new and useful content will get visited much more often than sites that stagnate. Do your best to produce engaging content that brings the reader back for more. Stick to an update schedule so readers can get used to when new content will be available.
11
Place advertising on your site. Check with your host to see if this is allowed, because many free hosts do not support ad revenue going to you when you are using free services. Placing ads on your site can help you monetize it, but may also deter people from reading your content if the ads are too intruisive.
12
Market your site. Once you have a complete website and are adding content on a regular basis, you can start advertising your site. You can choose to pay to have your site advertised on other websites through programs like Google AdSense, or you can promote your site on your own through social media such as Facebook or Twitter.
13
Submit your site to search engines. Search engines crawl the web, matching content on websites with users’ searches. To really start attracting large numbers of people to your site, you’ll want to submit it to all the major search engines. The process varies depending on the search engine, but almost all will require you to create a sitemap of your website first.
Tips
- Design your website with a free WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) or learn how to create a simple web page from scratch using HTML. You can also search for free templates online.
- Use a small, easy website name so people will easily remember it.
- Try to get your site submitted to Google, Yahoo or any other major search engine. This will make your site more popular.
- Look at the web host's Frequently Asked Questions which will provide further information on the products and services of the host.
- Search for lists of free web hosts and visit them. Read what they can provide for you and choose the best one that fits your needs. For example, if you are planning on uploading lots of pictures and videos, make sure you choose a web host that provides enough hosting space for the files.
- If you have too much web traffic, your web host may disable your website for a period of time or require reactivation. If you are planning a website that will generate a lot of traffic free hosting is not for you.
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