I am able to offer free web sites to friends and family.  The only catch is that you have to think of a domain name and register it.  Instructions are provided below to help you do this.

I use Web Hosting Pad as my web host and they allow addon domains.  What this means for you is that the hosting is already paid for by me.  I can add your domain without paying any more for hosting more sites

Web Hosting Pad also offers unlimited space and bandwidth so it can host any web site you have in mind.  Just make sure it does not violate their guidelines of inappropriate web sites. Now here is what you need to get your free web site:

1.  Decide on your domain name

Think of a domain name that will encompass the content of your site or one that is unique.  Domain names ending in .com are the best ones.  Unfortunately, there are not many of these left to register so you will have to be creative to come up with a good one.

Some tips to keep in mind when choosing a domain name are:

• keep it simple
• keep it short
• make it easy to remember
• do not include dashes
• try using other languages for the name if the English version is not available (Hmong, Latin, Greek are good ones to start with)

2.  Register your domain name

Go to a domain registration site and register your domain name.  I personally use mydomain.com but you can use any of these:

• godaddy.com
• networksolutions.com
• register.com
• domain.com

This part requires payment, usually ranging from $7 to $12 per year for a .com domain.

3.  Point your domain to Web Hosting Pad server

Once you have registered your domain, send me a request to add it to the hosting.  You also need to change your Name Servers to:
NS1.WEBHOSTINGPAD.COM
NS2.WEBHOSTINGPAD.COM

Your domain registration site should allow you to change these settings easily.  Let me know if you have run into problems.

4.  Set up your web site

At this point your web site is ready to be set up.  You have several options on how to set it up.  You can use web site creation programs, templates, content management systems, or bulletin boards.  Web Hosting Pad has cPanel to easily manage your web site.  You will have a lot of questions on this part so let me know what you want and we'll find a solution for it.

5.  Set up email addresses and read your mail

With cPanel you will be able to set up email accounts that end with your domain name such as This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  This is more professional than a business which has their email addresses ending in @aol.com or @yahoo.com.  You can access your email by logging onto the web mail section of your site such as www.fangbytes.com/webmail, or you can set Outlook to read your mail.