If your child wants to have his or her own website, that is great! You should encourage them to be creative and have fun with it. While having a website on the Internet is not a bad thing, you do need to safeguard your children and make sure that they are only posting things relevant to the topic of their website. This means that they should keep ALL personal information private at all times and be cautious of spam and viruses.
With that said, a website can be a way for your child to express himself or herself. Below, we will go over some ways to create a website for kids.
Choose a Website Platform
Unfortunately, there are not too many, if any, actual website builders just for kids. In fact, you may be hard-pressed to find any that work well or do what they say. Since this is the case, most of the website platforms that you and your child will have to work with include WordPress, Wix, Weebly, and some others.
Before you make a final decision, think about your child’s needs and what it is that he or she wants to do. For instance, if you will be heavily involved in building the site, WordPress is a good idea, but if your child wants to build the website on their own, Weebly or Wix will be better because they have a drag and drop interface.
Ideas for the Website
Ask your child what his or her goal is for the website. Maybe your child wants to make items and sell them for a couple bucks to make some extra money. Or, maybe your child wants to simply document their travels this summer.
The goal of the website will dictate the theme you choose and how the website is laid out. For example, if your child chooses to cook and then showcase their dishes, you would want to have a photography based site that has a lot of galleries and options for instructional videos.
Professional or for Fun?
Lastly, decide on whether or not the website will be professionally done or if it will be for fun. If the site is for fun, then you do not necessarily have to worry about a bunch of social buttons and blog posts, but if it is professional, you want to make sure you do add some social button and blog on a regular basis.
In addition, you could allow your child to use the platform for the website as a learning tool. In this sense, your child will be able to play around on the site and learn how to build their own. From here, they can practice and even create something unique.
Designing a website for kids is easy and fun, especially when your child and you are involved in it. With adequate supervision and a free place to be creative, your child will be able to demonstrate their abilities and hone in on their web design skills.