How to Use GoDaddy to Build a Website on a Macintosh

GoDaddy is an Internet services company you sign up with online. It provides domain registration, web hosting, email and other Internet business-related products, including website services, which work the same for Macintosh and Windows systems. If you are new to websites, WebSite Tonight, a web-based click and type application, can guide you through building a website using just your browser. It offers many templates to get you started and gives you the ability to add photo albums, music, video, and forms without any HTML experience.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Web browser

Getting Started

1. Go to the GoDaddy.com website and click on the Domains menu on the homepage.

2. 
    
   Domain Registration Window

   Select "Register Domain" and follow the prompts to find an available domain name for your website. Click the "Add and Proceed to Checkout" button when you find a domain to register.

3. Follow the online prompts from GoDaddy to complete your domain registration purchase. The more years you register a domain for, the less expensive the per year rate will be.

4. Login at the GoDaddy home page with your new GoDaddy username and password that is set up during the checkout process.

5. Click the Site Builders menu on the GoDaddy home page and "My Web Site Account" to start using Website Tonight. With your domain registration you receive one free credit for a WebSite Tonight account with a maximum of five webpages.

6. 
    
   WebSite Tonight Credit

   Click the "Use Credit" link at top of the WebSite Tonight webpage and follow the prompts to set up the account.

Using Website Tonight

7. 
    
   Products in Your Account

   Go to the GoDaddy homepage and login to your GoDaddy account if you aren't already logged in. Click WebSite Tonight under My Products on the left side of the screen.

8. 
    
   Launch Button for WebSite Tonight

   Click the "Launch" link next to your domain name.

9. 
    
   Getting Started Buttons

   Click the "Design Your Pages" button on the WebSite Tonight page under the Get Started section.

10. Click the "Templates" tab at the top of the screen if you want to start with one of GoDaddy's predesigned templates. After you choose a template, click the "Apply to My Site" button.

11. Click the "Site" tab at the top of the screen to begin working on your site.

12. 
     
    WebSite Tonight Interface

    Use the Page, Insert and Options tabs at the top right of the WebSite Tonight interface to work on your site.

13. 
     
    WebSite Tonight Insert Tab

    Click Insert tab, then Block to add spaces for text to go. Use the Insert tab, then Image to add graphics to the website.

14. 
     
    WebSite Tonight Design/HTML and Save/Cancel Buttons

    Click into a block of text to access the editing mode. It automatically edits in "Design" mode, but you can click the HTML button in the lower left if you know HTML and prefer to work directly with the code.

15. Click the save icon (small diskette) in the lower right to save your changes, or use the "do not" icon (red circle with slash) next to it to cancel changes you've made.

16. Click the "Preview" button in the upper right corner to test your web page in the browser. A new browser window will open. Close the window when you are done checking the results. Click the "Publish" button when you are ready to put the pages on the web for everyone to see.

Tips & Warnings

• For those more familiar with website construction, a standard web hosting account from GoDaddy allows you to FTP your web pages to the server through web editing software. Another service GoDaddy offers for a small monthly fee is SmartSpace . This service gives you an a la carte method for instantly creating an Internet presence with components such as a blog, a chat room, podcasts, photo albums, email or social space, which is a portal page that pulls in information from other social sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Flickr. A Help button is available in all pages in the GoDaddy site if you have any questions about using its services. It also provides 24/7 technical support. GoDaddy also offers a professional website design service, but expect to pay premium prices for its talent.
• You cannot have a Website Tonight account and a Web Hosting account for the same domain. It's either/or. Read the screen carefully during the registration and checkout process to make sure you understand what you are purchasing and don't purchase services you don't need or won't use. Also, remember that you must pre-pay for the length of service you choose. If you choose five years of web hosting at $4.99/month, that's $299 you pay at checkout.

References

• WebSite Tonight Description
• Setting Up a Website Tonight Account

Resources

• GoDaddy Home Page
• Building a Free Web Site with WebSite Tonight
• WebSite Tonight FAQ