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Putting up a personal Web page accomplishes a lot of things. For one, it's fun. Many personal Web pages that initially start out quite simple evolve into large and popular Web sites focused on topics of every imaginable sort. As the number of Web users continues to increase, more and more of your colleagues, family, and friends can see your Web page, as can (of course) millions and millions of complete strangers. Creating a personal Web page is also very valuable in helping you find out how to publish on the Web. The initial success of getting up your personal Web page will spill over into all your future Web efforts.
Now, you may feel that you should start out with a business Web site, a home page for a nonprofit organization, or something similarly serious. But the business or serious approach has a couple of problems:
- The "barriers to entry" for a site that represents an organization are much higher because you're taking on a more complex task, and many people need to be involved.
- For a more serious site, the quality of your work has much more impact because you're representing a larger cause than just your personal interests. So your fear of failure is greater. And you're undertaking this important task with little experience, which can make getting anything worthwhile done hard.
- Finally, Web space for business sites usually costs money. So you have a buying decision to make before you can even get started — yet another barrier.
 | So get on the Web first with a simple, personal Web page. Discover something new, have some fun, and prepare now for more ambitious endeavors later. And GeoCities is just the place to do it. |
Begin building your Web site
You'll need a Yahoo! user ID before you can create a GeoCities Web page. If you don't have a Yahoo! user ID, go to Yahoo.com to sign up.
After you register and sign in to your Yahoo! account, follow these steps to get started with GeoCities:
1. Go to the GeoCities Web page at geocities.yahoo.com.
2. In the GeoCities Free area of the page, click the Sign Up Now link.
The Free Web Site option gives you a free home page with the URL www.geocities.com /yourname, where yourname is your Yahoo! User ID. You may want to use one of the paid options later, but you probably want to begin with a free Web site to use for practice in any case.
3. Choose a topic for your Web page.
Yahoo! displays advertising relating to this topic on your Web page, so choose carefully.
4. Click one or more check boxes to describe how you found out about GeoCities Free.
5. Verify your registration by entering the code shown in graphical form.
6. Click the Submit button.
A Welcome to Yahoo! GeoCities Web page appears.
7. Write down your Yahoo! ID and password and your new home page's Web address.
8. Click the Build Your Web Site Now! link.
The GeoCities control panel appears. This is where you always start from and come back to when modifying your page.
Using the PageWizards
GeoCities has developed Yahoo! PageWizards for creating an initial Web page quickly and easily. Wizards are an easy way to get your Web page off the ground. Unlike other Web page tools, you cannot enter HTML tags in the text within Yahoo! PageWizards. However, you can edit your Web page later and add HTML tags.
Use the Yahoo! PageWizards to quickly create your initial Web page:
1. From the GeoCities control panel, click the Create & Update tab.
2. Click Yahoo! PageWizards.
Getting the right wizard can save you a lot of time, so looking at as much information as possible before choosing is worth your time.
3. Select the wizard that describes the type of Web page you want to create.
4. Click the Launch Yahoo! PageWizard link.
5. Click the Begin button and follow the remaining steps.
The wizard guides you through the entire process.
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