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These days it is no longer necessary to learn computer code to build your own family website. A myriad of software products allows busy parents to make an original site without any confusing scripts or jargon. Some products are offered via subscription but many entail a one-time purchase and the software can be easily loaded onto your computer. Once you decide which product is right for you, you will need to organize your materials for the site and you may also want to plan a schedule for updates. The following text is filled with tips to help you build your family website.
Before delving into the content of your website, the following software products may be worth checking out as they have solid reputations in their field: WebEasy, Photo.web, Macromedia Homesite 5, Macromedia Dreamweaver MX, Microsoft FrontPage or NetObjects Fusion MX. Certainly there are others, but by putting a good amount of time into this purchase, you can find a product that suits your ability and lifestyle. The next step is finding a host for your website. Frequently internet providers (like AOL or Earthlink) offer such services (at minimal or no charge) to their customers), but an internet service provider is a necessity for getting your page on the net.
The content and organization of your webpage can also be adapted to taste, but generally, family websites include some of the following inclusions: family news, achievements, school projects, genealogy research (family trees), photos, artwork, vacations, trips, activities, sports, reunion planning or similar events, calendars, tributes or memorials to other family members, information about pets or hobbies, etc...Some family websites include local information about what is happening in their locale, church, work, etc…
For security reasons, it may be a consideration to check into password protection access for your site (only friends and family may access your page). Another security measure may be simply to eliminate surnames, addresses or anything you do not want the general public to know. For children's websites, the extra security measures are suggested. You can even register your domain name by proxy giving you an extra layer of anonymity that is important in such cases.
When deciding on page layout, try to keep your pages short. The most essential information—your upcoming trip to Catalina Island—should be conveyed near the top. It helps to treat your page like a newspaper. The most important or newsworthy items up front. It's also a good idea to keep the page looking neat and well-organized. A page that is filled up with clutter can be off putting.
Your main page may be similar to an elaborate table of contents. For instance—Katie's wedding (as a headline) and one picture of the lovely bride should be enough to lure your readers into a page specifically about the event. Each subsequent headline may serve as a link to more expanded information: David's Promotion, Lorraine's Prize-Winning Quilt, Our Church Picnic, Snoopy's 1st Day of Obedience Class, Granny's Class Reunion, Rachael's Tennis Season, Luke's Matchbox Car Collection and so on.
Pictures add so much to a website, but place them with care. Your main page may feature a header of the family faces and each item in your “table of contents” may feature a thumbnail or small photo associated with the headline. You want to prepare your photos before uploading them. Many photos need to be resized as they may contain too many pixels for a website. Your software will address this issue. You can add photos via scanner, digital camera or even a disk where photos have been stored.
Besides photographs of people and events consider photographing other items of interest like children's artwork, paintings, your home, your garden, letters, school notes, newspaper clips, event programs, report cards, sentimental items, etc…Many family websites also offer family films or recordings as well. Take time editing your pictures and use only those that truly capture the event or provide a clear shot of the person.
Playing with your photo-editing software is good practice—most pictures require lots of editing before upload. Consider using design features like black and white or sepia tone pictures for old-fashioned charm. Don't forget to add captions for your pictures! Grandma wants to know if that's Bill or Bob under all that hockey gear. Part of the photo-editing process might even entail captions placed within the photograph.
Once you have your items for inclusion, be sure to upload them to their own special niche in the website. Avoid lock blocks of text. Add snazzy headlines and various colors for font. You can add absolutely anything you like to your site, but be sure it is placed in its appropriate space so it may be easily found by your readers. Family websites are celebrations of family life—tailor your site to match your family's collective personality and be sure to give each family member adequate space in your arrangement.
In this day and age, there are plenty of ways for families to stay connected in spite of distances. The Internet, for one, has made it possible for many families to continue communicating with each other regardless of where family members located, whether they are in another town, state or country. There are practically millions of websites today. A good number of them are websites specifically designed to keep families together. If you don't have your own family website yet, you need to consider having one as the benefits are many.
If you do decide to have a family website, you need to make your objectives clear. You need to know exactly what you want your family website to do for your family. Do you want it to serve as your family's online meeting place? Do you want it to have a listing of all your family members and relatives, including their addresses and contact numbers? Do you want it to have interactive features like chat rooms so your family can communicate online? How much time and money are you willing to invest in such an undertaking?
There are a number of ways you can create a family website, but the top two ways are (1) building the family website yourself and (2) buying a pre-built family website.
Building Your Family Website Yourself
A great number of people have chosen to build their own family website. It is actually fairly simple to create webpages for a family website since many website building tools are freely available and are easy to use. There are software programs such as FrontPage that write the HTML code for you. FrontPage is included in Microsoft Office, but you might have to install this first. You can also check out tutorials that abound online to help you design and work on your family website. However, you still have other concerns besides creating webpages.
When you build your family website, one of the difficulties you will deal with is setting it up with a web host. Look for a reliable web hosting company that can meet your requirements. You will also have to purchase a domain name (e.g. smith-family.com) and then link your domain to the web server of your hosting company. There is actually a lot to learn about the whole process, so do set aside some time to understand the intricacies before building your own family website.
Moreover, before you finally decide to build your family website on your own, plan on how you are going to maintain your site. If you are devoting so much time and effort into creating your family website, be prepared to add content to it regularly. Otherwise, you might end up with a family website that your relatives are going to rarely visit because there isn't anything new for them to view regularly.
The Advantages of Building Your Own Family Website
• Building your family website yourself gives you absolute control of the design, look and feel of the site.
• You have total control of the content that goes into your family website.
• You can delete, modify or add new webpages anytime.
The Disadvantages of Building Your Own Family Website
• You may incur more costs (e.g., domain name registration and renewal, web hosting fees, etc.) by building your family website yourself.
• If you are not a techie, you may get intimidated (and even be discouraged from) implementing more robust features for your family website -- blogs, forums, guestbooks, chat rooms, online calendars and other interactive features.
• Much of the work needed to be done to maintain the family website has high chances of resting one person only -- you. A family website should be a collective work, not just that of one person. This means family members should be able to add and update website content such as files, profiles, photos, forum comments and the like.
Buying a Pre-Made Family Website
Your other choice is to buy a pre-built family website and pay a monthly or annual fee. This option may not sound appealing at first, but you really have to be clear as to what you want to achieve with a family website. Keep in mind that it takes more than a few attractive webpages to have a fully functional family website.
Online companies offer family website packages with many interactive features to allow your family members to actively participate in adding content to the family website. Family members should be able to share pictures and files, post messages to the online forum, exchange important dates like birthdays and anniversaries through an online calendar, have access to address books, hold online chat sessions and such. With this capability, you can be sure that family website always has fresh content and that it can truly serve as your family's virtual central hub.
The Advantages of Buying a Pre-Built Family Website
• By buying a pre-built family website, you can avail of higher-end solutions that include a full scope of features like a customized home page, online gallery with photo uploading, file sharing, forums and blogs, address books, online calendar and chat room.
• With a pre-built family website, you can take advantage of online solutions such as privacy options and password protection of specific sections of the family website o that only family members or friends that you invite are able to log in.
• Buying a pre-built family website may cost considerably less, depending on the size of disk space and bandwidth allowance although there are high quality solutions available for less than $40 annually.
• Most sellers of pre-built family websites will let you test their service for free for 30 days before you have to pay their monthly or yearly fee.
The Disadvantages of Buying a Pre-Built Family Website
• Opting to go with buying a pre-built family website can involve considerable costs. However, if you do find a company offering free family websites, be very cautions. Read and understand th fine print. Having a family website for free can actually cost you. Your e-mail address may be sold to third parties or your free family website will actually display banner advertisements that you cannot remove.
• Buying a pre-built family website limits your ability to customize the look and feel of your family website. There are, however, family website packages that allow customization to some level, but may be priced highr.
All things considered, building a family website yourself is not advisable. For $30 to $40 annually, you can immediately launch your family website and spend your more precious time adding content and getting the family connected. You will be pleasantly surprised at how your family website can draw your family together, especially if you rarely see each other. Your family website can facilitate planning of reunions, getting everyone updated on each other's lives, and sharing information regarding your family history.