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Are you thinking about starting your own website for your personal interest? Whether you are looking at a topic related creative outlet or a site designed to promote a product or service, the first thing you should consider is the tools available to you.

Did you know there are many ways to build a website? You can have simple html or php pages, but you either need to know how to code them. You can use Microsoft Word to write and publish some simple web pages, but this option has pros and cons.

You can also purchase a program designed to create web pages. These programs give you more control over the design of your web pages. You will find options such as using CSS files, a common file that contains all your website formatting. With a CSS file it is easier to make global changes to your website, and all the pages linked to this file will automatically change with those simple changes to the font sizes or text formatting.

There is another direction you can take, and that is choosing a content management system. These systems are integrated web site design and pubishing programs that give your website a foundation. Themes and add on features are always available for these systems.

A couple of the popular Content Management Systems, or CMS or short, are Joomla and Wordpress. Both of these CMSs are build with Open Source, meaning that the code is provided to help others to build supporting components. This shared environment makes open source programs an amazing creative collective that has resulted in a wide array of features. Some of these features are fee based, while many are given freely or by donation.

Joomla is an content management system with many available features. A good start with Joomla is to visit their website. You can see what add on features are available, down load the base software as well as templates and plugins, and read the forums.

Wordpress is another popular choice for a content management system. There are three options with Wordpress. The first is Wordpress hosted at the Wordpress site. This option limits the templates and features of your website, but is free hosting. The next level is to install Wordpress at your own hosting, which gives you more control over the inner workings of your site.

Speaking of Wordpress, there is also Wordpress MU, which stands for multi user. Multi user opens the door to hosting multiple sites build on the same domain, with one installation of wordpress at the core.

Building a website takes time and a lot of thought. When you build from scratch you need to know both languages for the html or php code that gives your site form and structure. Using a content management system will save you a lot of time by providing structure, freeing you for the more creative aspects of your website.

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