Writer – Editor – Blogger
Posts tagged Free websites
Free Web Sites Revisited
Apr 5th
Last fall, I posted my evaluations of free Web site services, Tripod, Freewebs, and Blinkweb. You might want to review those posts before continuing this one:
Free Website Offerings, Part One
Free Website Offerings, Part Two
Since then, I’ve worked with Tripod, Freewebs, and Blinkweb to the point that I’m ready to make a recommendation on which one I think is the best choice for a freelance writer wanting a brochure-style site with a blog attached. But, first I have to tell you about a new one I encountered.
Recently, I learned about Viviti, which offers a no-ad trial period. After two weeks, though, you either sign up to pay the monthly fee or live with the ads. I set up my own experimental free site and have fiddled with it a bit. Take a look: http://emilyakin.viviti.com/. The templates are creative and colorful, but I found the sitebuilder hard to manage. I became frustrated all too easily while trying to set up my simple experimental posts. The design choices are acceptable, but I just don’t think a novice website builder will find this one user-friendly.
So—back to the others I previously evaluated. I’ve totally ruled out Tripod, because the ads are just too intrusive. Here’s my test site: http://emilyakin.tripod.com/. I really like the design templates in Blinkweb, which features no ads. However, I found the site-builder even more frustrating than Viviti’s. I could not figure out how to do a bulleted list on the blog page. Take a look at my Blinkweb site: http://emilyakin.blinkweb.com/.
Drum roll, please! Now we come to my final recommendation. For someone wanting a simple site with plenty of design choices, a blog, and an intuitive sitebuilder, Freewebs is the way to go. Actually, the name has been changed to simply Webs.com. I’ve worked more with Freewebs, because I have my own experimental site at http://www.freewebs.com/emilyakin/ and another site for my music club at http://www.freewebs.com/philharmonicmusicguild/.
The Freewebs text editor works much like a word processor and has more design features than the other free sites mentioned above. Also, you can now have a blog with Freewebs. The Freewebs ads are less intrusive than Tripod, and you can get rid of them entirely if you want to go upgrade to paid plan, about $10 a month, as is the case with all of the free sites.
Keep in mind that you do get more features and benefits with a paid plan, but, for a freelance writer establishing his or her first Web site, Freewebs is the way to go. Play around with it and be creative, but keep it business-like. Choose a design with no graphics or with graphics that suggest you are a serious writer. Pass up the cutesy designs and any add-ons that distract from your message.
If you’re a writer aspiring to publication, you need a Web site, so go on over to Freewebs right now and get started. It’s free, and nobody knows it’s there unless you tell them. Keep it under wraps until you’re ready for your grand opening.
Free Web Site Offerings: Part Two
Sep 4th
I had more to say than on this subject that I originally thought, so I divided the free site evaluations into two posts. See last post.
Blinkweb: Visit http://business.blinkweb.com/ and try out the Demo first. You’ll get to set up a trial site without setting up username and password. However, if you want to publish your trial site to the Web, you’ll have to set up the username and password at the end of the process. It’s free, and you can set up as many sites as you want. I love the design of the site I created. Check it out at . There’s a blog feature, also free, explained on this page, http://blog.blinkweb.com/. There are NO ads, if you noticed when you visited my Blinkweb site.
EZ-Christian Hosting/Highpowersites.com: I’ve mentioned this company in previous posts, but I’m repeating myself because I was so impressed with it. There is no free plan with this company, but they do offer a free 10-day trial of the website builder. No obligation, no credit card required, no setup fee. The designs are very professional, and the web-builder is easy to use, although there are layout limitations that come with any online web-design package. The deal-breaker for most people will be the cost of this plan, about $17 a month. It does, however, offer many features that the free sites (and cheaper plans) don’t offer.
Decision Time
I think a writer who wants to be taken seriously by publishers should have a well-designed site with NO ads. The content of your site depends on what you want to do with your writing, but the design and appearance of your site is what comprises that critical first impression. You have about 20 seconds to catch your visitor’s attention and make him/her want to stay around to find out what you have to say. A gaggle of ads and an amateurish design will announce that you don’t take your work seriously enough to invest in a professional-looking site.
Blinkweb is the only free plan that does not mention upgrades to a paid plan. That means you’ll always be limited to what they offer for free, or you’ll have to go to another company. The upgrades on Tripod and Freewebs are very affordable. I suggest you try one or more for yourself. Only you can decide what’s best for you.
Bonus link:
Tiffany Amber Miller offers three articles on websites for writers on the Christian Authors Network blog:
http://canblog.typepad.com/canbookmarketing/tiffany_amber_miller_stockton/
