So you want to create a website...well maybe you do...okay, so the thought has crossed your mind. Whatever the case, creating a website is easy and if you have any interest in doing it, I say go for it. In the last month I have created two websites (TravisHellstrom.com and LynchUnited.com) which, while basic and free, have been very fun and easy to do. If you want to create your own website, or one for your dog or whoever, I have written this for you. I hope it is helpful.
For starters, there are lots of ways to make a website: some are free, some are not, some are hard, and some are easy. I preferred to make a free and easy one (using GooglePages). To do this yourself, here are some instructions:
First, to make a free website through GooglePages you have to have a Gmail account. If you don't have one, just sign up for one. Next, sign in to your Gmail account and then visit GooglePages.com. From here it couldn't get a whole lot easier. To create a new page click on "Create a New Page." To change your page look or page layout click on "Change Look" or "Change Layout." The step by step instructions available in the help section and the easy layout of the entire site make all of these changes very easy. Now, I know there are only a select group of templates available for your pages (this is the one downside to GooglePages right now) but they are still pretty nice. I hope you like one of them. Create as many pages as you want, link them together however you want, and upload 100 mb of anything you want to your site. Now you can embed YouTube videos (using YouTube's embedding link), upload your own pictures, documents or music and create links to other websites. There is no limit to the amount of webpages you can make, and your imagination is your only limitation. In fact, if you want to make more than one website, that's fine too. You can have five different websites per e-mail address, all with their own web addresses (suchandsuch.googlepages.com). Although your first website will be your e-mailaddress.googlepages.com, each address after that will be customizable. Congratulations! This is all you need to get started! I hope you enjoy making your own website. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message.
*Also, here's a neat option too: you could really make your website a Dot Com by buying your own domain and sending that domain to your website. This is called Domain Forwarding. Basically, you can buy a domain name (like LynchUnited.com) and then have people who type that address in forwarded to your real website (lynchunited.googlepages.com). If you've always wanted a domain name like YourName.com, it's easy. It will cost about $9 (through GoDaddy.com) and all you have to do is type in the domain on their homepage in the open box. They will search for it and tell you if it's available for purchase. If it is you can buy it right then. Next, just set up your new domain name to forward to your GooglePages website. Log into My Account at GoDaddy.com, scroll down to All Products and click on Manage Domain Forwarding. Click on the domain name you wish to forward. Select Enable and then type in your Googlepages website address here (e.g. http://lynchunited.googlepages.com). Select 301 Moved Permanently. Now the next part is optional. Domain Masking is a way of hiding that you are actually on a different site. For example, LynchUnited.com and TravisHellstrom.com are both masked. You can't tell you've been forwarded to another site. Depending on what you want, select Mask Domain or just forget about it. That's your choice. Click Okay and you're done! Wait a few minutes and now you have your own website and your own Dot Com. Congratulations! I hope you like it!
First, to make a free website through GooglePages you have to have a Gmail account. If you don't have one, just sign up for one. Next, sign in to your Gmail account and then visit GooglePages.com. From here it couldn't get a whole lot easier. To create a new page click on "Create a New Page." To change your page look or page layout click on "Change Look" or "Change Layout." The step by step instructions available in the help section and the easy layout of the entire site make all of these changes very easy. Now, I know there are only a select group of templates available for your pages (this is the one downside to GooglePages right now) but they are still pretty nice. I hope you like one of them. Create as many pages as you want, link them together however you want, and upload 100 mb of anything you want to your site. Now you can embed YouTube videos (using YouTube's embedding link), upload your own pictures, documents or music and create links to other websites. There is no limit to the amount of webpages you can make, and your imagination is your only limitation. In fact, if you want to make more than one website, that's fine too. You can have five different websites per e-mail address, all with their own web addresses (suchandsuch.googlepages.com). Although your first website will be your e-mailaddress.googlepages.com, each address after that will be customizable. Congratulations! This is all you need to get started! I hope you enjoy making your own website. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message.
*Also, here's a neat option too: you could really make your website a Dot Com by buying your own domain and sending that domain to your website. This is called Domain Forwarding. Basically, you can buy a domain name (like LynchUnited.com) and then have people who type that address in forwarded to your real website (lynchunited.googlepages.com). If you've always wanted a domain name like YourName.com, it's easy. It will cost about $9 (through GoDaddy.com) and all you have to do is type in the domain on their homepage in the open box. They will search for it and tell you if it's available for purchase. If it is you can buy it right then. Next, just set up your new domain name to forward to your GooglePages website. Log into My Account at GoDaddy.com, scroll down to All Products and click on Manage Domain Forwarding. Click on the domain name you wish to forward. Select Enable and then type in your Googlepages website address here (e.g. http://lynchunited.googlepages.com). Select 301 Moved Permanently. Now the next part is optional. Domain Masking is a way of hiding that you are actually on a different site. For example, LynchUnited.com and TravisHellstrom.com are both masked. You can't tell you've been forwarded to another site. Depending on what you want, select Mask Domain or just forget about it. That's your choice. Click Okay and you're done! Wait a few minutes and now you have your own website and your own Dot Com. Congratulations! I hope you like it!
On a lighter note, "It's Dot Com!" is a reference to HomestarRunner's Welcome Speech. Check it out, you might like it.
