Web Hosting
On this page FREE HOSTS What they do and don't offer.
This can be a time of trial and error while you decide who to use to host your site. There are many companies who will Free Host your site and this will allow you to put up pages but they will have limitations. Your ISP (Internet Service Provider) may provide web hosting, so check to see if they do and follow their instructions for getting you up and running. Free Hosting does come at a cost, and that is advertising! That is how you pay for your site - generally banner adverts are automatically inserted at the top of each of your pages (whether you like it or not!). And, of course when you register, you have to provide a good deal of information about yourself, so be prepared for adverts and "special offers" to arrive in your mailbox!

If you are new to website creation and are planning to put up a genealogical or personal site, then you might like to look at Yahoo's Geocities site. which is a very easy and Beginner Friendly place to start out. Or you might like to check out Rootsweb Freepages. Another possibility is tripod. Like with all Free Hosts there are always limitations and the dreaded advertising. However a Host such as Yahoo! does also provide you with the means to upload your pages to the Net as well as providing you with web page editors.

If you are more experienced and would like to be independent, there numerous FreeHosts available - just use Google and search for FREEHOST.

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WIZARDS, TEMPLATES OR HTML
Many of the FreeHosts such as Yahoo! are well prepared to cater for Beginners. Even if you do not know one piece of HTML code you can still make your web pages and get them up on to Net. Wizards are pre-designed pages into which you slot your information; you just choose your option and follow the instructions and the pages are made for you. You can choose colours and designs. Then later if you want to change them you can, quite easily. There are many to choose from.

Templates These too are pre-designed pages of layouts - they are colourful and easily changed later. Yahoo! also has a feature called Page Builder which will allow you to create your own pages without knowing any HTML.

HTML If there are all these wizards and templates, why use HTML? The use of HTML allows you to create the pages exactly as you wish. It means that you have design control and you can make your pages unique. Wizards and Templates have limitations of design and choice. However if the idea of spending heaps of time keying in code is not appealing then the use of such a tool as Yahoo's Page Builder will suit you well and will produce good looking, user friendly webpages that you will be happy with.

Web Page Editors
If you wish to learn about HTML then you will need an HTML editor.

The most popular Web design programs are those which are known as WYSIWYG (What You See is What You Get). The benefit of these types of program is that you can visually design good Web sites by simply dragging different elements onto your page.

There are many programs available - some expensive such as Macromedia's Dreamweaver which many professionals use, or Microsoft FrontPage 2002 which is simple and easy to use for beginners. Microsoft also has WORD which you can use as a web page editor. It has lots of features and templates, but while it is has an easy "drag and drop" capability it does create lots of code and files.

There are however, many free and shareware programs available on the Web. Try this website for a start WebDevelopersJournal which lists many useful tools - some you will have to pay for, some are free. These pages have been created with 1st Page 2000 (a Dreamweaver look-alike - and it is free).

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HOW DO I GET MY PAGES UP ON THE NET??
If you have chosen a Host such as Yahoo! or Rootsweb, then Uploading tools are provided and you will not have to worry about any other software.

If you are using a Host who does not provide Uploading tools, then you will need FTP (File Transfer Protocol) software to upload your pages to the Net. You can get a free copy of WS_FTP LE from Download.com . It is easy to use - just follow the instructions.

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Now for the fun of creating Web Pages!

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