Now it is time for my first website to be published on the internet

I have always fancied about what kinds of website that I will build once I enter into a graduate school. The reason that I decided to hold on until I come to graduate school is that I don't have a good justification to actually work on the website as an undergraduate student. However, as I have attended more talks, lectures, workshops and conferences, I found myself quickly looking up some graduate student online when they gave their presentations, so that I could be informed about who they are and what they are working on. Subsequently, it helped me realize that I aspire to have my personal website as early as I can get into a graduate school.

Fast forward a bit, I am currently a first-year graduate student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the physics department. I have been in graduate school for almost a semester and have been working on my website for a few months. I think now it is the time for my website to be live online. Here is the link if you are interested.

The first version of my personal website

And here is the tip for those who are thinking to make their own website for the first time.

1. Web Creating Tools: the tool that I used for making this website and my first website is Weebly. I found Weebly easier to use than other similar tools such as Wix and WordPress as you can simply drag and drop any elements such as images, text, empty space (and yes! empty space is pretty important to help make a nice looking website). More importantly, you can use a lot of stuffs for free on Weebly and also have lots of options for more advanced features such as a search box, audio, site passwords and a shopping cart. You will be able to start working on your website in a short time.

2. Examples: I found it super helpful to look up different examples of the website that you want it to be. It could be from your academic advisor, other classmates in the department and also other scientists. Looking at these examples will help you understand what the website should look like and so on.

The page about my academic interests

3. Tracking Tools: The most interesting about the website is tracking how many people and who have visited your website. And my favorite tracking tool since my first blog and several websites is Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tool. Google Analytics will help with tracking the number of people who have visited the website and also give you a quick report of their behaviors and other information. Whereas, Google Webmaster Tool will help you understand and improve your site in Google Search. 

Lastly, you can find lots of resources and materials online that will help you make your first successful website. I learned about everything that I used to make the website from the internet. You just need to have the time and motivation to make it happen.

PS. "Your website, taweewat.weebly.com, was born at 7:36pm PST on Saturday, November 28, 2015."