Making A Website

Ever since the debut of mrHeyer.com, students, parents, and teachers have asked me, “How do you make a website?”

There are many, many ways to answer this depending on cost and complexity.

My Websites: I have in the past written the HTML of my sites from scratch, used a WYSIWYG HTML editor, and used CMS software. I currently pay for hosting (online storage) from DreamHost, register domains (dot-com names) at a variety of registrars, and run the open source, free WordPress blogging software to create and edit my pages.

Simplest Free Website: There are many ways to create a simple website, but these are a few of the best ways. One free and easy way to create a website is to create a Facebook Page or a Facebook Group (What’s the Difference?). These are most useful to visitors who have Facebook accounts, but can be made very public, so anyone can get the info they need from them. If you do a search for free website, you get many options to create a website for free. If you plan to update it regularly, then I suggest creating a WordPress.com account.

Simplest Pay Website: Use an all-in-one service like SquareSpace.

Definitions:

  • Hosting: Renting a place to keep files on a server attached to the web.
  • Domain Registration: Paying a yearly fee to keep control of the dot-com, dot-org, or dot-whatever name you’ve managed to register. Make sure to use an accredited registrar.
  • (please ask me if there are other terms I don’t realize I should have defined here)