Item 7d in the computer MB requirements is to build a webpage. I thought I would take a minute to let you know about this website. Just about everything you see here (other than the content posted) was put together in one weekend by someone who knows very very little about computers. Someone mentioned to me that I should try using Wordpress.com as the blog/content management software – so I surfed over, found it, followed the very easy instructions and built everything you see here. Webpage design has become very simple – and totally free.

Supplemental note: Because this site grew to the point where the free hosting did not offer enough storage space, I took the next step by registering a domain name and purchasing hosting space on a server. I then moved all of the content that I created on my original free site to this new server. It was somewhat time consuming to move the data over, so I recommend that you try creating a site using the free hosting first, then once you understand how to use it, just go out and setup your own domain.

There are many hosting services out there with extremely reasonable pricing, but what you really want to find is one that will install web applications for you for free, such as the Wordpress software. An experienced web designer pointed me over to dreamhost.com and so far, I am very pleased with the service. They offer free domain name registration, unlimited emails, a huge amount of storage space, free software installation and best of all the cost is only around $8  a month. They also run a promotion so if you type in a promo code, you get $97 dollars off of your first year’s cost. Your first year’s expense will only be around $22.  Here is a promo code I set up for anyone interested: 97PLUM. Once you setup your site, you can also create your own promo code and be able to pass on the discounts to others.

On teaching the merit badge program, this person put together an introductory presentation. Maybe it can help somehow when you teach it…

computer.ppt