Create Your Own Website With iWeb

I'm fairly savvy as far as building my own webpages, etc. but still impressed when I see excellent design templates that are easy to use. Apple recently announced iWeb, a web creation program that helps you make your own website with almost no hassles. This is perfect if you want your own website but don't know where to start or what to do.

I previously wrote about creating your own website or blog through services such as Blogger, but iWeb is even easier since you don't have to worry about registering and paying for a domain name. iWeb is integrated with .Mac, Apple's web hosting service, so long as you're a subscriber to .Mac, you're set to go.

You can also use iWeb to create, manage and publish your own website or publish a site to a .Mac group. If you want to keep your website private, you can password protect it and only give it out to your select few to ensure privacy. Since Apple hosts everything you publish, there are no configuration hassles to worry about either.

With just a few clicks, and without having to spend a million dollars on a graphic designer, make your own website or blog with Apple's eye-catching templates. Choose the right one for your style or mood, then you edit the placeholder text and use the iLife Media Browser to add in your photos, movies, podcasts and songs. You can tweak the graphics you drag into your template and resize, rotate, layer, etc., similar to what you would do in iPhoto. In addition, you can mix and match templates within a site or create different sites with different themes.

In addition to the handsome web templates to choose from, you can also use Apple's .Mac to host your photos, albums and movies. If you're interested in creating your own podcast, using iWeb's templates is an easy and excellent way to do it in conjunction with GarageBand. iWeb takes care of making an RSS feed out of it and allows you to submit it to the iTunes Music Store where anyone can listen to you and subscribe to your podcast.

iWeb comes as a part of the iLife '06 software package you receive with your new iMac or MacBook Pro. If you're not upgrading to a new Mac anytime soon, iLife '06 sells for $79 and includes iPhoto 6, iMovie HD 6, iDVD 6 and GarageBand 3. In addition, a .Mac account is $99.95 a year, but you can start off with a 60-day free trial. Check out www.apple.com or visit the Apple Store in Ala Moana Center for a test drive. No HTML skills required, I promise.