How I did it: Had been wanting to do a portfolio website for my writing for years. Had downloaded Kompozer and Rapidweaver (free web design programs) but had read iWeb was the simplest to learn, and it was already on my computer. It was very intuitive and easy to get going. Instead of using the templates, I used the blank page and designed my own. Spent a lot of time on picking fonts, colors, and photos and also a lot of time researching (via Google) how to make the site look good and load quicker. Took me a little over three weeks to get the site designed and my article links up. There were some glitches (the site appeared different on different browsers), but overall, things looked good. If I had more time to spend, I may have chosen to use Wordpress (another free program) instead because iWeb is limited when it comes to more advanced features (though in many cases, there are ways to work around these limitations with a little resourcefulness), but all in all, am very happy with the results and to have done it myself. And am happy to have this goal completed!

Lessons & tips: Do a lot of research and think about exactly how you'd like your site to look before you start assembling it. Test how it looks on different browsers before you make it live. 

Resources: iWeb, GoDaddy, Google, stock photo sites. 

Feb 12, 2011, 12:06AM PST | 0 comments