Create a Family Tree Website
With the ease and convenience offered by genealogy software programs and hosting sites, learning how to create a family tree website is a task now more accessible to the average person than ever. Individuals of all skill levels can create anything from simple name lists to photo-enhanced family journals for genealogy. Follow these simple steps to create a website that your loved ones can share and cherish.
Family Tree Hobbyists
Identify Your Main Purpose. Many new genealogy hobbyists quickly become frustrated with the endless task of tracing and organizing new information for their projects. To avoid this problem, identify the most important task you hope to accomplish first. Is it your goal to trace the family line back to a specific generation? Are you hoping to document living family members only? Will you focus on one side of the family at a time if this is a large project? Prioritizing your documentation goals sharpens your research focus and helps you avoid tempting but distracting side projects.
Gather Primary Materials. Once your priorities have been established, consider gathering as many primary (original) research materials as possible. Your needs may vary, but accessing birth and marriage certificates helps provide reliable documentation, though it’s not required. Genealogy database forms often require maiden names, exact birth and marriage dates, and birth cities as basic information. However, reliable information passed down from family members will often suffice. Consider including photos, journal transcriptions, and legal records, as they impact your choice of a family tree website hosting service.
Family Tree Site Hosting
Choose a Hosting Site or Documentation Source. Choose a family tree host by evaluating your technical skills, project goals, and required features. Upload your GEDCOM file and photos to genealogy software or a major records hosting site if you need a basic family tree. For a more detailed and personal tree, use web host or blogging site templates to build your own website. When choosing a personal site or blog, compare space, bandwidth, template designs, and customer support quality. Before making your final decision, also consider the issues brought forth in the next step.
Determine Privacy/Access Preferences
Major public family tree websites offer tools to connect with others and advanced options to link related family trees. Some services allow users to access and contribute to free public records, helping preserve history through projects like the World Archives Project. Personal blogs and self-made websites offer flexibility, but consider global access options and visibility for distant family members. Registering with a major hosting site or using a personal site affects how easily others can find your project. Determining whether greater creative flexibility or wider access to others is more important will affect your decision in this case.
Design your Family Tree
Personalize. If you decide upon building a family tree website of your own, you may wish to include a chart for mapping out family connections, a bio page for each family member, sub-pages for each person’s main page (to include journal entries, scanned records, more photos, etc.), a forum for family discussions, and perhaps even take advantage of online marketing tool buttons that are often available within web hosts’ free templates (these make it possible for family members to bookmark your page, link it to their social networking profiles, and post it to social news sites). Some of these options are available through major family tree hosting services as well.
Regular Updates to the Website
Set It and (Don’t) Forget It. Remember to check your site often to test links, see if other family members have tried to make contact, freshen its layout and usability (if possible, depending on the host you choose), and to update others on your ongoing research. Regularly updating and maintaining your website keeps your project relevant and sustains interest among those involved.
The time it takes to create a family tree website is worthwhile, whether you’re linking generations or conducting extensive historical research. Genealogy projects preserve heritage and shared experiences, giving future generations the lasting gift of your careful research and dedication.