Family Christmas Website Instead of a Newsletter

A Christmas website can bring your family into the new age of technology-powered lives. E-mail communication is quicker than snail mail, and an online blog is more fun than a traditional Christmas newsletter. The family website can help you keep in touch with friends and family, even if they live thousands of miles away. A newsletter can cover only so much information but other exciting events happen after you mail it out. Updating the family website can help keep everyone up to date, with posts as frequent as you'd like. Websites can also be interactive with photo galleries and social media, something a paper newsletter cannot provide.

How do you create a family website? Start by buying a family-related domain name, buying a hosting plan and build a website. You can find free alternatives to web hosting, but a domain name and blog will allow you to do so much more with your website. Add a dash of Christmas spirit to your family's website by using a winter layout. You do not have to be a web designer to do this, free Christmas templates and themes are available for your enjoyment.

Domain name is the first part of starting the family's Christmas website. Pick a domain name that will relate to the family and all seasons, just in case you decide to use the website after the holidays.
Ask everyone in the family to help pick the domain name. It can be as simple as thesmithfamily.com or based on the family's favorite activity. Get as creative as you'd like, it is after all the foundation of your website.

Where do you buy family-related domain names? GoDaddy.com is always a popular choice for registering domain names. A disadvantage of buying a domain name from their service is the ordering system's attempt to sell you other unnecessary products. You can also buy a domain name from the same web hosting company that will be hosting your website. Web hosting companies always run specials and promotions around the holidays, offering savings particularly on domain and hosting packages. It also helps to keep two products on one bill, making it easier to remember renewal dates. Another benefit of purchasing the domain and hosting together is the support from your web hosting company. They can assist you in configuring the two, so that the family's website is available as soon as possible.

Web hosting is what will host the files, pictures and any script you use for the blogging part. Webhostinggeeks.com is an excellent resource of web hosting company reviews, allowing you to research a company before deciding to give them your monies. For this tutorial we will be looking for web hosting companies that offer Fantastico DeLuxe on their packages. AxisHost.com is a reputable web hosting company that offer free blogging tools, file management and Fantastico DeLuxe.

Why do you need Fantastico DeLuxe for your family's Christmas website? Wordpress is a free blogging tool that can be installed on your family's website. The Wordpress script allows you to upload a free Christmas theme and blog about all the fun family adventures. We mention words like installing and uploading, but Fantastico DeLuxe is extremely user-friendly, allowing installation of Wordpress with just a click. In the Fantastico DeLuxe administrator panel, select Wordpress and pick the administrator username. You can add other family members as administrators later on. Click on install and your blog is ready to go!

The family's website will serve as a Christmas newsletter, so you will need a beautiful WordPress Christmas theme. FileZilla.com offers a free FTP program that you can use for uploading files, pictures and Wordpress themes. You will need it in order to transfer the files of the Christmas Wordpress theme you've chosen to use for the website.

There are literally hundreds of free Christmas Wordpress themes available. Some of the best resources for Christmas themes are:

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/.../christmas-wordpress-theme/

http://www.developerfox.com/15-interesting-christmas-free-wordpress-themes/638

http://www.themegrrl.com/2008/12/06/20-free-christmas-wordpress-themes/
Pick the WordPress Christmas theme you will be using, and download the zip file. Unzip the file using Winzip.com or Winrar.com to your desktop. Follow installation instructions provided in the ReadMe file, although they should be as simple as uploading the theme files to /wp_content/themes/.

Login to the WordPress Dashboard and click on Appearance. A list will show all the currently available themes, you can add as many as you'd like at any time. Click on the theme screenshot you have installed and choose Activate. Your family's Christmas website is officially ready to go!

Free Christmas WordPress themes are already designed with beautiful graphics. You can add your own design addition or icons. DryIcons.com is an excellent resource for free Christmas graphics and vectors. Click on http://dryicons.com/free-icons/ or use their search function by typing in "Christmas". The graphics are free for personal use, and all you have to do is download then upload to your website.

Start blogging by clicking on New Entry inside the WordPress Dashboard. The first post can be a welcome to friends and family, letting them know the website is now live and that you will be posting the Christmas newsletter. Let them know what is new, and what to except.

Configure the About page inside of WordPress dashboard by talking about the family. List all characters of your family, including the pets! You can also add a family photo through the WordPress "Insert Image" photo.

WordPress plugins are free to install and can be done so with a couple of clicks through the dashboard. Plugins can help make your website more interactive, such as adding a Flickr.com photo stream of the family's photograph collection. You can even add a contact form using the "Contact Form 7" plugin. Family and friends can fill out the form and send you a short note or a Christmas letter of their own.

Pictures can be inserted into WordPress post, and their usage is strongly recommended. Remember, you can use your family's website even after the holiday season. Post pictures of your baby's first Christmas outfit, or your husband's reaction to his Christmas gift. You can even dress dogs and cats in Christmas outfit, giving family belly aches from laughing.

Family's Christmas Newsletter can be typed in in a single blog post or it can be a collection of blog posts per family member. For example, you can have a newsletter blog post about your daughter's school activities and a separate blog post about your son's excellent soccer skills. Don't forget to include a blog post about yourself, letting everyone know about what you are looking forward to on Christmas or how you plant to stay sane during Christmas shopping.

Now that you have a website for the family, remember that you can use it during this holiday season but you can continue updating it long after Christmas. Install a free WordPress theme for Spring and continue blogging about the family life. Family and friends will enjoy visiting, reading about your milestone and they will love having a laugh or two.

Sources:

axishost.com
webhostinggeeks.com
wordpress.org
dryicons.com