How to Build a Free Website

1. Locate a free website hosting company on the Internet. Take the time to read and compare services from different providers. Wordpress is a wonderful host for creating a personal website to share with friends and family (see Resources below). It is easy to use and has a variety of templates for you to use. You can easily add pages to your main page and it looks great. You can't, however, place adsense or commercial products on these free sites.
2. Consider Squidoo if you wish to promote your work on the Web or want to feature commercial products (see Resources below). Squidoo will provide you with adsense, which enables you to earn money according to the number of people who click on your adsense ads or make purchases through those ads, and access to Amazon and eBay auctions, again allowing you to earn money if others purchase the items through your link. You are allowed to add links anywhere you wish and you can advertise commercial products. The templates feature a number of modules that you can arrange in any order you choose. The downside is that a Squidoo site contains all information on one long page that readers must scroll to read. Sign-up is quick and easy and does not require a credit card or incur any fees.

3. Check out Bravenet for another host that allows commercial endeavors and is easy to use (see Resources below). You can create multiple pages that can be accessed from the main page. Bravenet offers a variety of ad-ons like adsense and access to commercial products. Signup for this site is completely free; however, you can purchase a service that provides more options, if you choose.
4. Consider blogging sites if you just want to communicate with the world. These range from social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook to a wide variety of other blogging communities (see Resources below). These sites provide templates, so creating the look and feel you want is fairly easy. Both sites provide easy access to groups and make it easy to keep in contact with large groups of people. Most also have the added feature of creating either a public or private blog to limit access to those who you personally invite. Sign-up for their services is generally quick and easy and is free.
5. Be sure the host you choose meets your individual needs and always follow the guidelines for that particular host. If commercial use is prohibited, trying to run a commercial site will only get you banned from their service. Read the user agreement thoroughly and review other sites hosted by them prior to choosing a host.