There are many ways to put your family history online, many of them are free (Ancestry, FMP. FamilySearch etc.), but sometimes people want more options and, possibly, privacy.
The problem with the free solutions is the tree doesn’t actually belong to you. It belongs to the company or website where you created it. These big genealogy companies often use the information you’ve spent hours researching to fill out their own search results and “sell” your info to other users.
If you’re happy with that arrangement, you’ve no need to worry. We’re not here to persuade you otherwise.
But for those of you who want more control over your family tree and who has access to edit or view it, we have some options for you.
Many genealogy software programmes have an option to create a “website” of your work. Some allow you to export this website and host it yourself. Others only let you host it on their hosting. Rootsmagic is one example of that. Mac Family Tree and Family Historian have the option to export the website and host it on your own domain name – smithfamilytree.com for example.
Hosting your own family history online does have its pros and cons. Let’s look at them below: