Today, educating students requires the use of technology, and having a teacher website is another tool a teacher has available to increase learning. According to the U.S. Department of Education, "education---'e-learning'---can improve how students learn, can improve what students learn, and can deliver high-quality learning opportunities"

Many software companies and websites are aware of the need for teachers and students to have convenient access to online materials for their classes. Thus, a variety of free website options are available for teachers who want to create a website for student and class use.

Steps in the Process:

Assess its intended use.
Teachers can design a website to serve a number of purposes for their students.
Examine how you will be using the website by considering what you intend to do with it. Will it be a place where you post information about yourself, the class, and the class assignments? Or will it be a site that asks for or allows participation from students? As author and educational researcher Doug Johnson notes, be aware of the variety of purposes your site could serve: a general class description, an outline of units, project information and "real-time information about the progress of individual students."

Know your school policy.
Most schools have an Internet policy about websites that teachers should know.
Read your school policy about teacher website use to make sure you will be following it when you create the website. Some schools do not allow teachers to set up websites where they network with their students, unless it is a school-sponsored website. Most schools do not, however, have restrictions against setting up a website that serves as an informational tool.

Explore the website options.
A variety of free website builders are available for teachers.
Find the free website services that are available and pick the one that will work best for your purposes. For posting information that repeats or is in addition to the classroom assignments, free website programs like Webs.com or Google have platforms that are relatively ad-free and easy to build and maintain. You have the option of allowing students to comment or blocking the comment function. Students can also build their own pages on these and other sites and link them to yours. Other programs, such as Classjump.com, Teacherweb.com or EducatorPages.com, are designed for teacher-student use and have specifically education-based applications.

Confirm the use of the specific website.
Administrators and technology support people can help pick a reliable website service.
Check with your school's administration or technology coordinator after you have picked out a program and confirm if it is an acceptable, reliable one to use. Some schools have licensing agreements with companies like Saywire.com that allow you to build a website with their school-approved system.

Follow website directions for setup.
Many free website builders are made just for teachers.
After you choose and sign up for a specific program, follow the directions for uploading information about your classes. In general, teacher website builders do not require knowledge of programming or HTML. They give step-by-step information and provide tutorials explaining how to build pages, edit them and arrange them on the website.