You want to have your own personal website, but you don’t know where to begin. All this Internet stuff just seems like a black box to you. You don’t want to bother with complicated technical stuff. You just want your website to work. Is this that much to ask?
No.
This tutorial1 will get your own website up and running from scratch in under 1.5 hours. At the end you’ll be able to type “myownwebsite.com” into your browser to see a website you own and receive e-mail at “firstname@myownwebsite.com”. You’ll learn how the Internet works on a basic level, what domain name servers (DNS) are, and how to link your website to Google’s free apps.
Read my explanation of how the Internet’s Domain Name System works
Register an available URL (or multiple ones) from a domain registrar like name.com2.
Create a Tumblr blog.
Setup DNS records with this Tumblr guide.
Setup free Google Apps to use Gmail, calendar, docs, etc with your new domain.
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There are many ways to setup a basic personal website. My method balances cost, ease, and control. You can also try out [about.me][6] to create a basic landing page or [Squarespace][7] to create a more extensive site.↩
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I don’t take money for blog posts and wasn’t asked to write this by Tumblr or name.com. I recommend them because I they’re services I’ve personally used and like.↩