DCs would like to try to set up their own website

[BalloonSlayer]

I have a book called Boredom Busters which suggests creating a web site, so when DS1 said he'd like to try I had a look at the relevant section.

It recommends using geocities.yahoo.com/home/ but this no longer provides a free web hosting service.

I googled free web hosting and quite a few sites popped up. Many look too good to be true.

What would you recommend? We would need something that's pretty easy and helps you to create it as - can you guess? - I am fairly clueless

Or would you recommend paying?

Or not bothering at all?

try webeden.co.uk

you can do a free website and it's got humdreds of templates and stuff.

it's really user friendly.

you can have a free domain name if it ends .webeden.co.uk , or you can buy one.

Thank you nickelbabe. I have had a look at that and it looks good. Are there any snags?

The DCs are well excited and I must now spend a few days curbing their deranged yet paradoxically boring odd ideas of what to put on it before we start anything.

Wish me luck...!

If you do decide to go down the 'buy a domain' route, I'd suggest you not spend more than (say) a tenner for a .co.uk / .org.uk (and as it's a personal / family site, the should be an option you can choose to 'Hide the WHOIS details' ie name and address, so your family privacy is protected).

If you went for a .com / .org / .info then it is possible to get 'anonymous whois' as a service, but many firms charge a fee. name.com makes no charge for that option.

Whether to go for some other firm for hosting depends on what you eventually end up having on your website. If you choose to build pages with a few photos etc (eg places you've visited, rather than a family album!) then most any of the free services should be OK.

Some may plaster pages with ads, or do pop-up ads, but there have been people using free site building setups with no problem, so not all are 'too good to be true' - a few might make their money by offering domains but for higher prices, for example.

slayer: you get a free trial then if you continue to have it free, you have to have adverts. but they tailor the adverts to the type of site, so if it's obvious it's a kids' site, they'll be adverts on child friendly stuff. afaik that's the only snag i've ever found.

Wix www.wix.com/and Webs www.webs.com/are free.

Free services have limitations, but might be worth seeing if they are sufficient for your needs. Some free services add their own advertising to your site.

If you are thinking of creating a blog (for the purposes of expressing yourself) you might prefer Wordpress which is also free. wordpress.com/.

These are all in one packages and you may find them a good place to dip your toe in web waters.

It might also be worth finding out if your ISP gives you any space for web pages, you're paying for it you might as well use it. There'll also be no adverts popping up.

You will however need something to actually make the web site. Your computer might already have something on it, for example on Macs you get the iWeb application.

There's also lots of other free HTML editors out there.

You can also practice making the web site on your home computer and then you can check it out and upload it the internet if you think it's all OK.

However this will be more technical and involved than using some click and type free web site thing on the internet. So it depends how old your children are and how interested in all of this they are.