Best Free Stuff Online

Best Free Web Services

Electronic Soapbox, Part 1

Got something to say? GeoCities will give you a free Web site (up to 3MB of space) to speak your mind in one of over 25 themed "communities," including Entertainment, Government, and Science. Setting up your site is a little tricky, but this is one of the Web's best free offers. GeoCities makes its money by populating its free sites with ads. www.geocities.com

Electronic Soapbox, Part 2

Tripod's free Web site service is similar to GeoCities', but it's a more inviting habitat for first-time Web creators. While Tripod gives you less space (2MB versus GeoCities' 3MB), it provides a friendlier lineup of authoring tools, including one that lets you construct a basic site without knowing HTML. Like GeoCities, Tripod puts ads on your pages. www.tripod.com

Chatter Away for Free

Okay, so you've created your Web site. Now what? Spiff it up with a free chat room. ParaChat lets you add chat to any site--no special software required. True, your room will sport banner ads and won't be big on options, but it's still a great deal. ParaChat also offers ad-free and more feature-rich chat services starting at a thrifty $60 per year. www.parachat.com

Get Your Site Noticed

Once you have your Web site looking good, you'll want the world to know about it. For some quick publicity, stop by Register-It. The free service registers your site with 16 search engines and directories, including HotBot, Infoseek, and WebCrawler. For other search sites, you'll need to either register with those sites yourself or opt for Register-It's $39.99 service, which covers 100 engines and directories. www.register-it.com