Get Inspired by These Fabulous
Family Web Sites and Blogs
Looking for ideas and inspiration? Check out some of our favorite family Web sites and blogs. You'll find brief descriptions and links below.
Want to discover the many ways you an build your own site? Visit our Web design section.
A Unique Design for Every Family Member
When Manuela Torgler set out to design a Web site for her family, she didn't stop with just one, she created a different design for every member of the team.
You'll find them all linked from www.torgler.com. Most of the text on the Torgler site is in German, but even if you don't speakt he language you can appreciate her design approach and the way she's created a distinct look and feel for each site.
Baby Blogs to Make You Smile
One of the most impressive baby blogs on the Internet is The Trixie Update, at www.trixieupdate.com, which chronicles the life and times of Beatrix MacNeill, born July 31, 2003.
The site is astonishing in its detail, seemingly covering every moment of Trixie's daily routine, including every diaper change (you can even buy a program on the site that will help you keep track of such details). The Trixie Update is maintained by her dad, Ben. He started the blog because Trixie's mom, Jennifer, had to go back to work and wanted to stay connected during the day.
The MoriCentral Web site at www.moricentral.com features photos and stories from everyone in the Mori family, but there's no question that the children are the stars of the show.
In addition to a photo gallery and guest book, you'll find a section called Jared's Anecdotes, filled with fun stories about their son.
Visit the site to see a great example of a clean, simple design with lots of adorable photos and clever stories about the kids.
Wedding Sites You Can Learn From
We think it's grand, fabuloso, fantastique, that Hugo made his wedding Web site with one of the templates and the instructions in Creating Family Web Sites For Dummies. Whether you want to create a Web site in four languages like he did, or you have a simpler affair in mind, get your copy today and learn how to make your own custom wedding site.
Many thanks to Hugo and his lovely fiance for sending us the link to their site (hint, you'll find links to the English, Spanish, and French versions in the bottom left corner of the front page).
Jonathan and Joanne's destination wedding site included travel info, links to the couple's gift registries, a countdown to the wedding day, and information about everyone in the wedding party. wedding.studio2f.com.
If you're planning a destination wedding, make sure you create a Web site where you can keep family and friends informed with local weather information and even such travel tips as bring your passport and scuba gear!
You'll find many more wedding sites online at www.topweddingsites.com.
A Busy Mom's Blog
Busymom.net is a great example of a blog that keeps friends and family up-to-date on all the family news, from first days at school to the different grocery shopping strategies of Busy Mom and Busy Dad.
Busy Mom's blog, at Busymom.net, dates back to April 2003. She posts frequently, usually multiple times a day. As Busy Mom demonstrates well, the best use of a blog is not to write long-winded messages, it's to keep everyone up to date with frequent posts, fun observations, and messages that matter.
Travel Sites from Around the World
When family members travel, individually or together, an extended group of people usually want to know all about the trip. If you're a college student preparing for a semester abroad, a young couple going around the world, or a family taking an unusual vacation, consider starting a blog so your friends and family can track your progress. It's cheaper than postcards, and your messages are sure to get home before you do!
The Fleming family, Sarah and Ray and their two young daughters, left home, career, and school behind in the U.K. to pursue a trip around the world in July 2003. The Flemings decided to chronicle their trip with a blog. To produce their travel site, called The Fleming Family Travel Tales, they brought along a computer, two digital cameras, and a digital video camera.
Visit the site at www.rfleming.net to read about their stops in such places as Canada, the United States, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and France.
The Mansz and McKerral family Web site at www.mansz.com is more than just a place to share photos of friends and family. They've created a site that's a showcase of bird photos from their travels and a great resource for other birders.
Whatever your hobby or passion, a family Web site can provide a great place to share your expertise and even make new friends.
Showcase Your Family Web Site
If you want to submit a Web site or design to be considered in a contest or included in our featured Web sites section, please send the URL and a brief description to janine@digitalfamily.com.
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