WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF YOUR WEBSITE?

• A website just for your use -- to keep/organize information, journal, etc.
• A personal portfolio/resume to occasionally refer others to
• An individual website related to the Classics (can be entered into NCJCL's website contest)
• A website for your JCL Chapter (can be entered into NCJCL's website contest) or some other club or organization 
  • Will a website meet your needs? 
    • Websites need to be always up-to-date to really be useful
    • Your audience needs to deliberately check your website
    • If you are looking for a way to send out quick update that members will see, an Instagram or remind may be a better way to communicate.
    • Websites are useful for organizing resources, lots of information, & long posts
• If you are building a website that you hope will grow and be noticed by the general public

CHOOSING A WEBSITE BUILDER

Weebly

• the simplest website builder I have seen
• I used Weebly to build the NCJCL website & this website

Wix

• Has more options, layouts & features than Weebly
• Much more customizable
• Also very easy to use

Other

• Wordpress, GoogleSites, Squarespace, etc.
• Unless you are going to put in a lot of time keeping up with your website and learning web design, I'd recommend just going with the free versions.

CHOOSING A THEME

• Going with a pre-made theme makes things A LOT easier, but if you have time & energy and would like to start from scratch, props to you!

Things to consider:

• How many pictures do you have/want to include?
• Would you like to keep things simple and minimalist or vibrant and colorful?
• Choose a couple overarching colors & fonts from the very beginning -- it'll make things easier and more coherent.

CONSIDER CREATING A BIT.LY OR TINYURL TO SHORTEN THE WEBSITE URL

• This can make the web URL easier to type in, especially for free websites with subdomain names
• In order to customize the end of the URL, you need to make a bit.ly or tinyurl account, but it is free :)

JCL-SPECIFIC