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As the Web grows, and it does so dazzlingly fast, the need for a web presence is becoming more pressing. In many parts of the world, you simply must build your own website in order to succeed, market yourself and make yourself known.

For some people this is easy, they just go and build themselves a beautiful website. But what about the rest of us? Those who can’t code and don’t know how to build a fetching web page from scratch? You can always go for a plain WordPress blog with a ready-made theme, but wouldn’t it be fantastic to have your own unique web-presence? If you’ve been craving a beautiful personal website, one you can build yourself, for free, without any coding skills, you’ve been looking for Sidengo.

Getting Started Building Your Own Website

Sidengo is by no means the only available option. Sites such as About.me and Flavors.meare strong players, and also offer gorgeous websites without requiring any coding. So what makes Sidengo different?

First, your Sidengo website can include multiple pages, where you can tell your audience about your product, share photos and videos, let them follow your social accounts and more. Second, Sidengo websites are mobile-optimized and can be shared and embedded in multiple different ways.

Getting started with Sidengo is super easy – all you have to do is sign up for an account, and you’re good to go. When signing up for the free account, you get to choose the URL of your website. Sidengo will automatically check and tell you whether the URL you’ve chosen is available or not.

Once you sign up, you can start designing your page immediately. The site builder is divided into sections, and each section is divided into tabs. The interface is very simple to use, and you will get the hang of it quickly, even if you’ve never done anything like this before.

Start from the basics: give your site a title, a slogan and choose the site’s category. You can also upload an image logo, or simply write your logo in text form.

It’s now time to choose your background. Your background can be static – just one image – or a slideshow of 2-3 different backgrounds. Don’t worry about the slideshow being too flashy, it’s actually very gradual and soothing. You can also choose to have your backgrounds straight up, or with an overlay which makes the text a bit easier to read.

That’s it, you’re done with the basics. It’s time to fill your website with content.

Setting Up Pages & Apps

Now it’s time to set up those pages I described above. Sidengo comes with 3 content sections, which you can fill up with whatever your heart desires. You can describe your products, your mission, yourself, your dog or whatever else you want to promote on your website. Each section includes a title, media such as an image or a video, and of course, content. Sidengo automatically places a link with the title on the main page for each content section.

After you’re done with your content pages, you can move on to media. Sidengo lets you include a Flickr slideshow or a video from YouTube or Vimeo. Note that you don’t have to sign in with Flickr, you can simply paste in a URL. When you paste your Flickr URL, Sidengo creates a beautiful slideshow with all your images. If you paste in a video link, the video becomes embedded into your site. Now give the inserted media a title, and Sidengo will automatically place a link for it on the main site.

You can now set up your contact information. You can enter any information you choose, including phone number, e-mail and website. If you choose to enter an address, Sidengo will automatically find your location on the embedded Google Map so your customers can find you easily. You can also use a contact form, if you’d rather not provide your e-mail address so glaringly.

In the apps section, you can add your Twitter or Facebook feed, simply by providing a username. Note that the Facebook option only works with Facebook Pages, not individual accounts. Here too, you can insert a video or a Slideshare slideshow.

Some Sidengo Perks

On the top right side of your website you will find a link to your personal dashboard, which includes some really useful things. For example, Sidengo provides an option for you to add your website, as it is, to your Facebook Page. This only works if you’re not using Timeline for your page yet.

Sidengo websites are mobile-optimized and on iOS,  can even be downloaded and viewed in full screen outside the browser. For this purpose, Sidengo lets you create custom icons for your website which can be placed on the device’s desktop. You can also create a QR code for your website, and of course, move it to a custom domain, if you own one.

Another nice feature is the ability to embed your whole website as a widget anywhere you want. This is a nice way to promote your website, and is available in 3 different sizes.

So there you have it! This is a Sidengo website I built in exactly 5 minutes. I do wish there was more control over font size and color, but I guess you can’t have everything!

Sidengo is an excellent solution for anyone who wants and needs a compelling website, but can’t or doesn’t want to put too much effort into it. With Sidengo, you can be done in minutes and still have a presentable website to show your customers and friends.