The Library has recently purchased two copies of an excellent book entitled "Making Family Websites: fun and easy ways to share memories" by Jenni Bidner. This book is a great introduction to getting started on your own family web site.

Making Family Websites focuses on what to include in your web site and how to set out your web site. It begins by offering some good advice on how to get your family web page started and covers different hosting options, design considerations, privacy and security, maintaining your web site, web design software, and more.

Bidner's book includes a great deal of information on taking, choosing, and editing photographs. As family web sites often have photos as their focus, this is to be expected, and the advice given is very valuable. Ms Bidner points out that one or two great pictures on your family web site are better than half-a-dozen or so 'okay' pictures. You may need to shoot several rolls of film to get a couple of perfect shots.

The book also includes advice on how to frame the shot to get a more interesting photo. Once the photo has been taken and chosen for inclusion on your site, the tips on editing the photo to crop out unnecessary elements, reduce red-eye, and so on, will prove very useful and ensure that your photos, and thus your site, are as professional-looking as possible.

The book includes many great ideas on family sites with various themes including holidays, sports, weddings, genealogy, reunions, a new baby, pets, hobbies, and the kids. Many different great layouts and design ideas are featured to help give you ideas for your own site and to help you avoid many of the pitfalls of web page design.

Of course, one thing to keep in mind when creating a family, or any personal, web page is that web pages are accessible to anyone on the Web. If information is private and you don't want just anyone to read it, then it is best not to include it on your site. If you are worried about the safety or security of your family then it is best not to include your surname, the name of your child's school or sporting teams, and your city of residence.

It is unlikely that a great majority of web users will accidentally find your site unless they know your site's address or are searching for something similar. Some software will give you the option of including a member's only area accessible by password and this will keep most people out. The more web savvy, however, could circumvent this, although the likelihood of someone wanting to is pretty slim.

If you only include information you are comfortable with others (including complete strangers) seeing, then you can feel happy that your family and friends are able to keep up with your news, and that complete strangers won't be able to invade your privacy or security.

Such web sites are a fun and modern way of keeping family and friends up to date with your life and are a great project for the whole family. Even the kids can get involved by designing their own page/s within the family's site.