Why Might I Want a Website?
There are many reasons you may want to have a presence on the internet. Everyone has their own reason, but we will give you some suggestions on the benefits of owning a website. For business websites please see our business website article.
Personal Sites
You may want a website just to keep in touch with family and friends. You could update your circle of friends on your plans, your travel experiences, your successes, or just have a place air your beefs. You may also password protect your site so that only those you wish will be able to access it.
Benefits of a Personal Site
- Photo gallery – no more sending huge files by email or expensive prints by regular mail. Let everyone see how the kids are growing, or pictures of your vacation, new house, pets etc.
- Personal email addresses – no cheesy free accounts with small mailbox sizes. Much better to be me@mysite.com than me@freebiecheap.com . You can give an email address to your kids and friends as well. Some hosting providers (including 24-7webs) will even give you web based email which means you can pick it up from any computer in the world that has internet access through a browser.
- One popular use of personal sites is for online storage of all your thoughts and plans. When you start creating a website you soon realize that at lot of things you have problems keeping track of on paper can easily be put on a web page. Phone numbers, addresses, birthdays, favourite internet links, recipes and friends websites are common. They’re all available to you anytime you have access to an internet enabled computer…worldwide. Visiting Aunt Martha? Forgot the recipe? Just sign on and pick it up.
- Many people are creating websites using their own personal names so that other people don’t do it. It’s a kind of self protection mentality and allows you to control your image, unlike many social networking sites.
- Hobbies. It’s great to be able to share information with other people who share the same passions. Users of specific software sometimes do this. How about gardening, astronomy, model building, photography, cooking, ham radio, cars, woodworking, genealogy or art collection? The possibilities are endless and you can share a lot of your hard earned knowledge with other like-minded people. Having a website can really take a hobby to a whole new level.
- Creativity – Express your creativity publicly. Whether you are a master of the spoken word, graphics arts, music, film, or any other medium, having your own website gives you a place to publish.
- Resumes – Looking for that perfect job? Post your resume online.
- Directions and Maps – Make it easy for your friends to find you. Post your trip itinerary online or publish a map to your home.
- Marriage Proposals – Yes some people will create a website and invite their intended to visit the site. Imagine how flattering it would be to have someone who loves you create a site dedicated to you.
- Interactive School Projects – Invite your teachers to review your progress on line. No more coffee stained paper to worry about. Using a tool like an online design program like WordPress even allows you to cut and paste the same way you would in a word processor, plus the research links are live.
- Selling Personal Items – When running a classified ad to get rid of your ’57 Chevy or the too-big refrigerator your uncle gave you, put your website address in the ad. You can do a lot of promotion and include photographs online for a lot less than taking out a photo ad in the newspaper, and it’s available worldwide, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.