If you are a teacher, you may be considering building a teacher website for your classroom. Teacher websites are a great way for you to easily share test and project scores, reminders, and other important class information instantly with students and their families. These websites also help teacher's and students stay more organized. Building your teacher website takes a bit of time and effort in the beginning, but once it is set up it is easy to maintain and is a useful tool.

Brainstorm in a notebook or word document the type of information you want to include on your teacher website. Write a summary of each separate page you want, such as a "Course Description" page, an "About Me" page with your biography, and "Announcements" or "News" page, a "Calendar" page or a "Homework Tips" page. A teacher website can be as thorough as you want it to be, and entering all of this information will be a snap if you compile it in one place first.

Search on-line through a few different hosts that specifically offer websites for teachers, such as TeacherWeb, EducatorPages and MyTeacherPages. Click through their templates and samples to see which you feel best suits you and the information you have written down.

Click "Create" or "Sign Up" on the website host of your choice. Enter all of your information into the registration form, including your name and preferred user name, a password, your email and an address for the URL. The URL address should be one students can remember easily. However, many teachers have websites, and it is likely that titles such as www.joneshistoryclass.com are already taken. However, you can try a combination of your name and your school's name, along with the subject, for a more unique title that students will still be able to recall easily.

Choose a template for your website once you are logged in. The templates are usually divided into categories so you can choose one specific for your age level and/or subject. Seasonal templates may also be available, so you can change the look of your website when a special holiday is coming up, which will not effect the information provided on your website.

Customize your teacher website by entering the pages you brainstormed. Use the "Categories" or "Pages" feature in your website's dashboard to organize your information. Upload pictures of your students and classroom by clicking the image icon, selecting a photo, and clicking "Open."

Add a class calendar, which is a feature that comes with most teaching web hosts. Parents appreciate being able to see all of the upcoming important dates in their child's class on-line. If your school has an on-line gradebook system, most teaching web hosts also allow you to link to your on-line gradebook, enabling you to share scores with students on the website.