ISPs

• Before checking anywhere else, start with your own Internet service provider (ISP). As part of a monthly fee, many provide a free website. For example, Verizon provides 10 megabytes of space for its broadband customers. However, coupled with a lack of storage, ISPs may offer primitive tools, if any, for creating a website. You would then have to buy a software program to create a credible page offline and then upload the results in a cumbersome process.
  
  

Social Networking Sites

• Social sites attract not only with the promise of online friendships but with your own customizable page featuring your photos, ideas, writings and personality. Though you can easily involve other site participants in your page and control some of its appearance, your website looks like every other. In addition, many social networking providers restrict viewing to other members, limiting its usefulness to the outside world.
  
  

Blogs

• A blog is an online journal whose owner can write daily entries on which readers can comment. (Blogger is a typical blog site.) These websites can also contain pictures, links and almost anything available on a typical Internet page. You can confine your musings to a few select readers or have them accessible by everyone. Most blogs feature easy-to-use templates that are often expanded on by third parties. Thus, a site template can run the gamut from simple to sophisticated. However, by definition, all blog sites follow the same format of a title and a dated entry, surrounded by other options. This format may not meet the needs, for example, of a business website.
  
  

Dedicated Free Sites

• Free website providers such as Weebly offer the greatest flexibility by boasting features of paid provider. You choose from several basic templates, and then drag and drop elements like titles, columns, photos and multimedia. You can add several pages that differ from each other in appearance and function. For example, one page might show two-column text, another might feature pictures while a third displays a map. You can control the site further by adding your own HTML code.