Signing Up

1.  First go to http://www.JimDo.com (link will open in a new window) and in the big orange box, enter your desired user name (this will be your website title) and email address. Click the "Create My Page" button. If your desired user name is already taken, you will be prompted to choose a different one.

2.  You will then receive an email that contains your login information and password (highlight and copy the password to your clipboard). In the email, you will see a link to your new website. Click on your website link and then follow the big red arrow and click the "Login" link. You must check the box to accept the terms of service, then paste your password in the password box and click the "Login" button.

3.  Once logged in, you will see the big red arrow again. Just click the arrow and you will now see a web page text editor. Highlight all the text in the box (to remove it) and just start typing away. You may alter the text by making it bold, italic or change the color by using the toolbar at the top of the editor. When you are done typing, make sure to click the "save" button at the bottom.
     To log back into your page after you have been gone awhile, just go to your website and look for the little "login" link at the bottom of the page.

Adding a Link

4. You can add a link (hyperlink) to another page or website within your text by clicking "HTML" at the far right of the toolbar. This will give you direct access to the html code. There are lots of things you can do with the html editor as you get more experience.  If you are not familiar with using html, you can learn a couple easy tips HERE. Make sure to click the "Update" button when you are done editing the html code. You will then be returned to the regular text editor.

Adding Photos

5. It is very simple to add a photo or image to your page. Click the "Edit Image" tab above the editor's toolbar. You will now be able to browse your computer for your desired image or photo. You may also add a subtitle, alter the size, placement and link your image to another page or website. Click the "Upload photo" button and then SAVE your work.

Adding New Elements

6.  Each time you save your work, it is saved as an "element". It can be your text with photo etc. You can edit any element just by clicking on it. At any time you may add a new element. New elements can be a new block of text, text and photo, a widget, rss feed and more (see photo below). To add an element, hover over an existing element and you will see a small box appear on the left that contains 2 arrows, a trashcan and a plus sign. Click the plus sign and the box will open for you to choose an element. Click on your desired element and it will appear in your editor as before.

Changing The Overall Layout

7.  Once you are logged in, a gray vertical toolbar will appear to the far right of the page. The top icon will allow you to change the layout and web page template. Also valuable in the far right toolbar is the "settings" icon. With this you can edit your search engine information to get you listed on Google etc. You can also change your password and edit the header section of your website.

8.  Your website was set up by default to include several pages that you may or may not need. You can edit the existing pages just by clicking on the title of the page in the navigation menu. Depending on your layout template, this may be on the right or left side of your page. To add / remove / rename a page, hover your mouse over the navigation menu and then you will see a "Edit navigation" tab. Click that tab and you will see your navigation tree. you can change the names of the pages, move it up or down on the list using the up/down arrows or use the trash can icon to delete it completely. You can add a page by clicking the in the nav bar .

9.  As you can see JimDo.com is a very extensive website builder and it may take some practice to get your free website just right. You may also want to visit the following pages to assist you in building your free web site. HELP, HELP FORUM.