Marc Archambault, Catherine Archambault

Hosting your own website can be a fun and rewarding project and can be as simple or as complex as you wish.

SIMPLE

You can create a personnal blog on Blogger.com at no cost whatsoever. If you are more interested in sharing your photos check out Shutterfly .

 

MORE INVOLVED

Buy your very own .com, .ca, .net ... address (about USD 8-10 per year for the address).

Then, with the help of a web host you can share photos, tell stories, and more.. they usually provide pre-configured software, you just add the content! This usually includes some capacity for email as well.

My favorite provider in this category is NetFirms . Look at their "Plus Personnal" hosting plan.

 

EXPERT

This is where I think my site is situated. I pay a monthly web hosting fee and have installed various pieces of software (all free to use) on the hosted webserver. It requires a little bit knowledge and might be more frustrating to start but the results are ultimately more customizable to your needs, desire and whim.

I'm using Servage as my host, they give you lots of space for your money. If you want to use them, please use my link when registering.

If you're going down this road I'd be more than happy to help you get things up and running.

Although in the past I have done some HTML coding and have used HTML editors, I now prefer to focus my energy on content and not so much on the software application itself.

That's where a content management system comes into play.

The screens you see here are generated automatically, including all the databases and security setup that has to take place in the background.

This software package is called Drupal .

For my photo album I use Gallery . Both are well integrated as you can see for yourself.

With a content mangement system, you install modules based on your needs: recipe manager, blog, writing books, allowing anonymous guests to post comments, creating a discussion board, a reservation system (golf, tennis courts, etc...) a guestbook, etc... For Drupal alone there are hundreds of modules available.

HOW TO BUY A DOMAIN NAME

Some web hosts will include the purchase and annual renewal cost of your domain name in their hosting fees. Others require that you purchase it seperately.

You can also buy a name and simply "park" it, that is just hold on to it until you figure out what to do.

My preferred provider for domain names is GoDaddy. They can help you setup a basic page and to receive your name@yourdomain.com email.

If you need a .ca domain name, check out NetFirms, a long established Toronto company.