Want to research your family history but don’t know how? In fact, there are a lot of great online resources for you to run an ancestry search and map your family tree easily (and even for free). You may be able to delve into where you came from and also uncover all the pedigree puzzles and mysteries of each generation.

The best genealogy websites to trace your family tree

A genealogy website is a good starting point for you to conduct a family tree search. They crawl a trove of historical records and ancestral facts and figures that you hardly find by yourself. You may find copies of your grandparents’ marriage certificates or even a newspaper article about your great-grandfather’s business.

Below we’ve put together 4 best genealogy websites you can give a try:

1. Ancestry

Ancestry is leading online genealogy website. Boasting an expansive database of 30 billion records and 100 million family trees, it leads you to trace your family tree dating back centuries and explore every piece of ancestors’ info. It can include birth, death, marriage certificates, military records, immigration papers and more.

It’s simple and intuitive to use: enter basic information of yourself (name, dates, and places) and then of your parents/grandparents. It will scan the database, suggest potential matches to grow the tree, and present interesting hints about each ancestor. They appear as a leaf and show relevant documents and photos about the person.

If you want to dig deep to learn about your ethnicity and ancestral roots, the cutting-edge AncestryDNA test will help. You order a DNA kit (now with 40% off), send back your cheek swab or saliva sample and wait for your unique & complete genetic picture. Don’t miss out on its 14-day free trial to have a test drive.

2. MyHeritage

MyHeritage is best known for DNA testing and matching and also offers a free (and downloadable) family tree builder. It has a large database of over 6.3 billion records, only next to Ancestry, and could perfectly satisfy in-depth ancestry research.

If you subscribe to the premium ($149 for the first year), you’ll enjoy the Instant Discoveries feature based on a powerful algorithm, which can find you up to 40-50 new individuals to your tree, along with valuable facts and events. You’ll also view more photos of your ancestors that haven’t been seen.

3. FamilySearch – Completely free service

FamilySearch is a completely free website dedicated to building a collaborative family tree. Founded in 1894 as a non-profit organization, it has collected over 6 billion records that span the globe. As with most genealogy websites, you start by adding the basic information of your parents, living or deceased relatives as far as you can, then search for possible matches from the database, and check abundant hints of your ancestors’ history.

As a free service, FamilySearch may not equal paid services like Ancestry or MyHeritage in the breadth and depth of the database. Some users also complained about duplicate profiles, erroneous information and the search inefficiency. Moreover, there is no DNA test on offer, but still, it’s worth a shot.

4. National Archives

If you’re in the U.S., National Archives is a great free and robust public resource. It’s considered America’s record keeper, home to millions of historical and government documents, and has been the source of most genealogy websites. Try navigating the homepage to look up information you need:

• census records
• military service records
• immigration records
• naturalization records

You need to spend some time browsing the categories and acquiring helpful information manually, so it may not fit beginners starting in genealogy.

So these are the tools to trace your family tree for free online. Hopefully this post helped. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment below.