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Friday, June 13th, 2008...11:52 am

Getting a Website (Part 2)

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Last week we talked about the fast and free choice of a hosted blog from Wordpress or Blogger. We take a step up in complexity and possibly price this week, addressing free hosted sites and paid hosting and domains.

Free, Hosted SitesGoogle Pages and Synthasite

This is a fairly broad option with many
possibilities, so I will focus on two specific sites, Synthasite and Google Pages, which offer free hosting and easy design options. Sites
that offer ad-based hosting or “Pay Nothing Now” plans should be avoided. Synthasite and Google Pages offer similar features and are perfect for the web design novice. Since both are free your domain will be listed as yoursite.synthasite.com or yoursite.googlepages.com.

Synthasite’s web-based site editor allows you to update your site wherever you are. It has many template options for you to choose from and new pages can be added with just the click of a button. For more advanced users, you can click the html widget and the spot on your site you want to edit for code-based editing. Also, you can visually see the hierarchy of your site, which can be changed just by dragging the listed pages.

Google Pages has a simpler layout to it and similar options, just addressed differently. Editing a pages html can be done by clicking the small link at the bottom of the editor. New pages and site organization are on the Site Manager, a separate page. Like Synthasite, there are many site themes and templates to choose from.

With both options, you can have your site up and running in just minutes. I personally prefer Synthasite’s editor. However, the googlepages.com domain is easier to remember. You can always buy a domain, such as www.yoursite.com and have it redirect to your free hosted site.

To get a website using one of these services, click one of the links at the top. When you get to the page you have to sign-up for their service and create a login and username. Once you are logged in, follow their directions to create your own site.

If you are getting a site for the first time, be sure to update your Artist Directory listing with your new site. This way customers can learn more about your business online.

Next Week

Next week I will conclude the series with paid domain and hosting and finally professionally made sites. Have questions about Google Pages or Synthasite? Send us a comment.

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Alex, Software and Technology

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