Summer Tech Challenge 9 - Build a Website

382: Summer Tech Challenge 9 – Build a Website

Creating a website may sound intimidating, but today’s free tools make it surprisingly simple. This challenge gives you and your children a low-pressure opportunity to experiment with website design and discover how useful this skill can be.

Why should teens learn to build websites?

A simple website can be useful for:

• Promoting a teen’s small business, such as photography, babysitting, tutoring, or lawn care
• Sharing information for a Scout troop, 4-H club, sports team, or community organization
• Creating a portfolio of artwork, writing, photography, coding projects, or other accomplishments
• Providing additional evidence of a teen’s skills on college, scholarship, internship, or job applications
• Collecting information about a family hobby, favorite books, movies, or summer experiences

The goal of this challenge is not to produce a professional website. It is to become comfortable enough with the process that you and your children will be willing to create one when a real need arises.

Website-building tools to try

Canva

Canva is my first recommendation for this challenge because it is easy to use and will host your website for free. You can design the pages visually and publish the finished website with a Canva link.

Strikingly

Strikingly is another free option that makes it easy to create modern-looking websites.

Google Sites

Google Sites takes slightly more time to learn, but it is free and works well for simple websites, portfolios, and collaborative projects.

When you get stuck, begin with the tool’s help section. You can also ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, or another AI assistant to walk you through the specific problem.

This week’s challenge

Work alone or with your children to create a simple website about something you enjoy. Possible topics include:

• A family hobby
• Favorite books or movies
• Places you visited this summer
• A collection of artwork or photographs
• A small business or service
• A club, team, or community project