How to Start a Book Group Web site

Hectic lifestyles can make it difficult to get everyone in your book group together in the same place and at the same time on a regular basis. However, it's possible for you to allow members of your book group to attend and participate in group discussions at their convenience and without ever setting foot in a formal meeting. How? By learning how to start a book group Web site on the Internet.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Web site authoring software
• Web hosting account
• Valid email address

Learn How To Start A Book Group website

1. Start by choosing a company to host your Web site. Your Web hosting company will provide space on their servers for you to publish and store the pages of your Web site so that they are accessible on the Internet. Tiger Technologies is one company that offers hosting services at very affordable prices, as well as providing email addresses for your book group Web site and domain registration (see Resources below).
2. Decide on your domain name. A domain name is the "meaty" part of a Web site address (or URL). Try to choose a domain name that makes sense and will be remembered by your book club members. Also, consider whether your Web site will be a 'dot' "com," "net" or "org." Note that "com" is most commonly used.
3. Check for domain name availability. Believe it or not, this may be the most challenging part of the process, depending on how unique the name of your book group is. However, if you find the domain name of your choice is already taken with a "com" following it, see if "org" or "net" is available instead.
4. Register the available domain name you have selected (instructions are provided on the domain search page). Your domain name will then be "parked." It will be ready to publish your book group Web site pages, usually within 24 hours.
5. Start creating your Web site with a web authoring tool, such as DreamWeaver or FrontPage. Web site authoring programs are available at computer and office supply stores.
6. Follow the instructions given by your Web hosting company to publish (upload) your new Website pages from your local hard drive to the host's server.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep your Web pages streamlined with plenty of 'white space' for ease of reading and navigation.

Who Can Help:

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