How to Build a Free Website With PayPal Integration

By Sandra Parker

i Christopher Robbins/Photodisc/Getty Images

Creating a free website with PayPal integration is not as hard as you may think. There are many solutions available based on your individual skills and tastes. One of the easiest and least expensive solutions for novice website builders is to find a hosting/web building service such as Weebly.com. Weebly allows you to obtain your domain name, create your website using drag-and-drop technology, and post to the Internet completely free.

Step 1

Obtain a domain name. This is the first step of establishing any website. This is what your site will be known as on the Internet. Your domain name can be obtained through a website building solution, such as Weebly.com, for free as long as you don’t mind having the web building solution’s name attached. For example, by choosing a free domain name from Weebly, you agree to use an open name in Weebly’s domain. Your wbsite’s name will look something like this: ABCsite.weebly.com.

Step 2

Start your page design work. It is best to begin designing your site on paper. You should have a good idea of what you want to do with your page before you begin designing it electronically. You should also decide what purpose you want your site to have. Do you simply want to educate individuals when it comes to your area of expertise, or would you rather engage other experts in a discussion board-type of environment? Web building sites will allow you to design your pages however you choose and have a multitude of templates to help you accomplish your goals; the simple walk-through tutorial makes sure that you don’t miss anything critical, such as adding a site description for search engines and keywords.

Step 3

Begin building your pages. After you have decided what you want your site to offer, begin building your pages online. Simply drag and drop individual templates into place and then begin editing the information contained in those templates. Your website will begin to take shape in no time. When you get to the pages that will be used in conjunction with a PayPal buy button or donation button, instead of dragging and dropping a basic template, switch to the revenue option and drag and drop a Product element into your page. You will need to connect your PayPal account to the website you are building. Simply edit your preferences in your account and add your PayPal account information. If you do not have a PayPal account, sign up for a free one at www.paypal.com.

Step 4

Upload photographs of your products. Some site builders allow you to upload photographs of your products and add them to your Product elements. This is an extremely useful function since most customers like to see what they are buying. Take pictures of your products with a digital camera, transfer your pictures to your computer through its USB connection and then upload them to your website through the picture upload utility in the Product element.

Step 5

Keep your content fresh. There is nothing that turns away users faster than stale content. You need to provide new and useful information and products often to keep customers coming back. You can incorporate some of your users’ questions into content if you need ideas for new articles.

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