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You, or someone you know, has probably had a similar experience: you make something cool for someone and suddenly everyone and their brother wants one too. It happens to my grandmother every time she comes up with a neat new crochet pattern, or knits a scarf using a fancy kind of yarn.

In my case, it happened when a former co-worker started a new venture. She needed a website, and as someone who loves to putter around with HTML, I signed up for the job. Soon all kinds of requests for web design help were coming in, from her friends, my family, you name it. It seems nobody has all their eggs in one basket these days: your dentist is writing a book of golf tips and wants to blog about it, the pee-wee team you coach want to sell t-shirts online as a fundraiser, your mom is also a talented sculptor and needs somewhere to showcase her stuff. I wanted to help everyone that came to me, but with a full-time job and several labor-intensive hobbies of my own, what I didn’t have was time. The most frustrating thing of all was that I knew most of these people didn’t even need me. There were tools and means already available that they could use themselves to get up and running, but I didn’t even have the time to explain what they were.

Back to my grandmother: I don’t think she ever really turns down someone who asks her for a hat, or a scarf, or a miniature crocheted doll bed that doubles as a purse. But what she does do, in addition, is share everything she knows with her knitting club. Now her friends can knit their own versions of her work for themselves and their families, and she can give her hands and eyes a break once in a while. With this in mind I decided to take a page out of her book, and put everything I know about creating a website down on paper.

There are so many possibilities when it comes to making your first website, it can be overwhelming. Whether you want to learn the foundations of HTML and CSS and get started down the path to building sites on your own, or are looking for a more ready-made solution, this guide is designed to help you sort through some of the best options. I also think that the best way to learn is by doing, so there are lots of step-by-step instructions throughout.

One last thing. The title of this book should really be “Help, my mom/brother/hairdresser/boss needs a website.” (But I think we can all agree that’s a little long!) This book is for anyone who needs to carve out a little space for themselves on the web, and wants to learn how. This guide is for you, and I hope you find it helpful.