How to Create a Free Teen Website

Websites draw in the worldwide market.

Are you contemplating delivering a message or product to teens? If you want to tap into the worldwide teen market, having them come to you, a website might be the answer. Save big dollars by performing your own market research, developing content and designing your pages. Post pictures and video clips to draw in viewers. Launch a dynamic new teen site without paying hefty fees to Web gurus.

Things You'll Need

• Website address
• Website host
• File transfer program (FTP)
• Images
• Content

Instructions

Culture Immersion

1. Immerse yourself in teens' lifestyle. Visit malls and find trendy hip stores that attract your demographic. Watch television shows designed for teen audiences. Read teen fiction authors and top-selling books, search "teen trends" on the Internet. Read their magazines from cover to cover. Pay special attention to ads that are designed to lure a teen shopping response.

2. Know the purpose of your site. Focus in on a select area of teens' lifestyle. Your theme or purpose should draw site visitors. Content and design must keep the purpose or theme in mind. Celebrity watch, action sports, college prep, study abroad, fashion and style, or a career focus are all ideas to consider.
   Select a domain address. Convey the purpose of the site in the address. Your address must appeal to your market, so use terminology they will relate to. Site names are better short. Names that are easy to spell and remember are preferable to quirky spellings that will confuse your audience. Memorable domain addresses are ideal.

3. Select a Web host. The host, in part, will be the company to renew your domain address every few years. Additionally, they register the owner of the site for public record. To find a host, search the term "domain host." Click links. Select your host service based upon prices, ease of uploading site material, annual renewal fees and services offered.

4. Search your proposed name on the domain host search engine. Buy the rights to the name if it is available. If not, back to the drawing board. Find acceptable alternate names until one is available. Use an appropriate extension. Dot com refers to commercial sites, dot edu designates educational sites, dot org is used in the nonprofit community and dot gov sites are reserved for governmental offices.

5. Create and then assemble proposed content. Make certain you have rights to the pictures you use. Choose both pictures and copy to complement the site theme. Based on your market research, use copy, pictures and video clips that have market appeal. They must speak to teens.

   Once content is assembled, follow the domain server's directions for uploading content to the site using an FTP program. By updating content, using key words that attract the teen market, and loading an appropriate video clip, you will rank higher in the search engines. If drawing visitors to your site is a goal, work the ranking system with these techniques.

Tips & Warnings

• Include jargon and key phrases popular with the teen market in your copy.

• Take an SEO ("Search Engine Optimization") class to learn how to drive viewers to the site.

• Never use "stolen content." Taking copy and pictures from other websites is piracy.

References

• Marketing Terms:Internet marketing reference and index of the best sites & articles