Do you want to build your own website? What stops you? Some people believe that making websites is a complex process that can be done only by experienced professionals. However, with the advent of advanced web tools introduced by many companies like Google anyone can build their own website for free!
The simplest way to make a site without spending a single cent is to take advantage of numerous online services that offer some form of free hosting, pre-determined layouts, and web editors. It is a perfect choice if this is your first website ever and you don’t know anything about HTML or CMS.
Using web tools, you can create your own site and tell about your family, friends, pets, hobbies and interests. It will save you the costs of hiring a developer – why spend hundreds of dollars for posting 10 pictures of your sweet doggy?
Your website can even be commercial or related to a business that you want to advertise. For example, if you are a freelance writer or translator, you can make a page with the examples of your works and add its URL to your resume.
Online services will let you create web pages with simple and easy steps. You need to register your account, choose a template you want and add your content. Using an easy design editor, you will be able to add links or change the fonts, pictures, background and colors.
You can build your own website with clicks and type or drag and drop. There is no coding required. It saves you from the hassles caused by inexperience or lack of money. Why hire professional website designers when you can use their works for free?
Of course, having your own website built with free online tools has several downsides. First of all, free domains may have restriction on domain space capacity while paid domains provide vast space for usage. So you will not be able to upload a lot of content.
Then, a free website often has very limited consumer support. When a server crashes you will not get any compensation. You are not paying any money for their services, so why should they care?
Keep in mind that free websites are typically linked to using a sub-domain. For example, if you have your own web domain, you website URL will look like www.mysite.com. If you have a free domain, you website URL will look like www.mysite.webdomain.com.
Free web hosting companies often provide free accounts with very little functions and control. The idea behind this form of marketing is to get you to upgrade to a paid hosting account since you will probably find the features and options of their free account to be far less than what you need.
In addition, free domains can be considered as “less serious.” Unlike paid web host that primarily earn revenues through web hosting fees, free web hosting companies are advertisement-oriented. If they do offer you enough features to get your website working, then chances are that they are going to include advertisements at the top of your website. Of course, it doesn't look too appealing.
There are many free places on the Internet where you can create your own site and use server space for free. It doesn’t require too much technical knowledge. You will have your own personal website in minutes! Consider one of the follow services:
• Weebly.com
Weebly offers free domain hosting and dozens of professional designs. Using the easy web editor, you can create a free website or blog. Content elements, such as videos, pictures, maps, and text are added to your website by simply dragging them from the Weebly bar to your webpage. No technical skills are required. One of the biggest advantages of Weebly is that it doesn’t display any commercial ads.• Google Sites
Google sites offer an easy way to build your own webpage. There is no need to be a professional coder. A simple interface and a short educational video will help you create a website in minutes!• Yahoo! Geocities
If you want to feel that your website is part of a large community then this is the place for you. Yahoo! Geocities hosting service offers you 15MB disk space, 3GB data transfer and all sorts of themed templates and extras - guest books, maps, search boxes, etc. You can create your Yahoo! Geocities website with the easy site builder. The web address will look like this: www.geocities.com/your-Yahoo!-ID.• Yola.com
Yola offers a plenty of various tools and options to build a website for free. Take advantage of Picnik image editor, drag and drop options and HTML editor.• Webnode.com
Webnode is an interactive drag-and-drop website builder. It allows visitors to create, design, develop and run websites and web application from start to finish. Webnode offers users to add plenty of various components - polls, articles, forums, lists, FAQ forms, etc. There is no need to download or install anything.• Angelfire.lycos.com
Angelfire is a free web host for blogs, photo albums and Planet Builders. Using their cut and paste template tool, you can create your own free website with 20mb space. The service offers additional tools and options (domain name, POP/IMAP email and webmail tools, etc.) with an Angelfire Elements subscription, starting from $4.95 per month.• Tripod.lycos.com
Tripod works similar to the previous site-building resource. There are two types of plans: free and paid. Free plan includes 20 MB of disk space, 1 GB of monthly bandwidth, easy to use building tools, page design templates and free images.• Ucoz.com
Ucoz is a SaaS platform that includes hosting and a website management system. It allows users to create the most complicated projects with extraordinary simplicity and speed. You can host unlimited disk space, get a domain in any zone, add videos, etc.• Bappy.com
This service provides both free and paid web hosting solutions. Free websites have limited functionality and include banners. You can create your custom domain such as www.yoursite.bappy.com and take advantage of 50 MB Space, 1 GB bandwidth, 0.25 MB file size, statistics and management tools.• Batcave.net
Batcave hosting service offers you to create your website online. Using free plan, you can get 150 MB disk space and 4 GB data transfer. Other advantages include advanced control panel, traffic statistics, web based file manager and friendly support.
Free site-building resources are an excellent way to start on the Internet. It is a great feeling to have your own website and know that you built it yourself! However, keep in mind that these types of websites are actually more of a profile or blogs than a website.
If you just want to write up some information and share it with other people, than you can use any web-building tools you like. But if you intend to make money online, you might need to consider other options.
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