Ask in game

After just handing in a enthusiastic essay on the need for games researchers to be transparent and accessible online, I figured I should live up to that argument. I already had a blog on blogspot, but I wanted something more. I wanted to have pictures, information about myself and my work easily accessible – and most of all: I wanted it to look professional.I wanted my own website.

I approached the problem like I approach most others: I google it. Searching with keywords such as “how to make homepage”, “how to make website” or “design own webpage” I was stunned at my results. My expectation was to find many sites that would host for free (or have you pay to remove ad-banners etc.), have a simple “beginner proof” tool with “insert title here, choose theme here, text goes over there and boom – here is your website”. After setting up several forums, blogs and mail accounts – I figured it would be kinda the same. Instead I was met with an archaic world of html and a series of really badly designed webpages.

The first hit was this beauty “How To Create A Web Page” Not that there is anything wrong with html (or that the information on this website is wrong), but when presented with websites which look like they were made with windows 3.11- it doesnt really inspire my creative cyber-self.  And if the best I am going to do with this website as tutor, is to make a website that looks like that- then I think I got better things to spend my time on. Like sort my grated cheese by size.

Second hit was “How to Create a Website – Free Tutorial”. This page is atleast updated. If you can find the facts between the advertising, and have the guts to download something from a random webpage without any certificates – I am sure it has something to offer. I guess I am bit old fashioned, as I kinda wish for my tutor to be good at webdesign (as that is what I am looking for, someone who can teach me or provide good webdesign), not at making money or doing ab crunches. The creator of this service clearly feels different:

I used SBI! to create my site Flat Stomach Exercises and made my investment back in 3 months.

The biggest disappointment when trying to find information on how to do this, was that so much information was outdated. Especially when using the phrase “homepage” I seem to get lots of results from old webzines tell me that a homepage is a place where I can talk about my hobbies and family, as well as explaining phrases such as “www”. I even found a guy that according to his own website, would design a homepage for me for a bargain of NOK 20 000 (about 2250€)!

All in all it was quite discouraging. Atleast I knew what kind of service I was looking for, I just didnt know where to find it. I dread thinking about someone being new to the Internet and putting in those same key phrases…

The solution was rather simple in the end. Just get a domain and upload Wordpress to it. It does the job, and after much swearing its almost where I want it to be. Not as cool or professional as I initially hoped, but atleast its not lines of text on a pale yellow background.