Family Web Site or Family Network?

That's a great question. To set up a family web site, you can either host one on your own server or sign up with a family networking site. Creating a family web site requires some time and money on your end. You'd have to look for a host that can provide you with the tools you need such as a forum, photo sharing software, and calendars. This isn't hard to do, but do you really want to be the only one responsible for setting up and maintaining the family web site?

I personally recommend joining a family social network since this will encourage the entire family to collaborate in the project. Most family networks are still in beta, which means you and your family get to try them out for free. There is that slim chance that those companies will eventually charge a small fee for their service once they go public, but most of the time they just give you an opportunity to upgrade to an account that offers you more space.

Others might just add some sort of advertisement just so they can keep offering their service for free. The advantages of a family network are great. They provide you with most of the tools tailored towards family sharing so each account comes with photo albums, profiles, blogging tools, calendars, and even Wikis, most of the time at no cost. Here are a few suggestions:

Photosharing and Blogging sites

Amiglia is a well-rounded site where you can upload videos, family photos, and connect with other family members that sign up for the service. They have a nice set of features including family maps, interactive family trees, calendars, games and recipes. This is a paid service, with a 30 day free trial.

Famoodle: Membership is currently free, and the site offers photo sharing, family boards, blogs, and news.

Familyroutes: Currently in beta, the site offers photo sharing, e-cards, blogs, and a way to stay in touch with family.

Geneology and Wikis

Ourstory is a beautiful site that allows you to document every moment of your loved ones' life with video, pictures, and storytelling to create a visual timeline. The site also offers ways to backup these memories on CD, DVD and books.

Myheritage.com is loaded with genealogy tools such as face recognition and family trees. I love their fun features like the face recognition demos that do celebrity morphing.

Family Organizers and Community Blogging

Famundo has both free and paid accounts. They offer families a way to stay organized with calendars, message boards, address books, and list managers. Check out their demo to try it out.

Families.com a large community where families can share photos, find deals, share recipes and even find friends.

Cingo is a free site that provides a shared organizer for families with calendars, grocery shopping lists, to-do lists, and news.

Minti is a community full of parenting advice.

See what our advisor think about family networking sites:

Are Moms Ready for A MySpace of Their Own?
Urge for Storytelling Keeps Growing
Nickelodeon Creates a Social Network for Parents

Starting a website? Check out My First Website Series:
How to Choose a Domain Name
What You Should Know About Domain Registration
What Your Webhost Won't Tell You
Free vs. Paid Web Hosting
Eliminate Spam: Mask Your Email Address
Family Website or Family Network?