STARTING A NEW WEBRING
Some pointers if you are new to Webrings.
How do I get started on my webring? Where do I put it?
I would like to know the same thing... I tried to start one but it confused me so I erased it... I subscribed to this to see if maybe I would get a few ideas of how to get started and stuff, but so far it's not working too good...
The very best way to learn about Webrings is to join an existing ring (eg. Find a ring that you like , go to their Webring page, join it, and put the code for their ring on your Web site page).
By joining an existing ring, you can see how the whole system works, and what you will need to start your own ring.
For your own Webring, you will need:
A WEBRING HOME PAGE, which includes
- A description of what a Webring is
- Why you should join a Webring
- A Logo, or at least, a name for your Webring.
- The submission form for joining
- The HTML Frag(ment) for their Web page
- Describe what happens when you click on a webring button
You can also customize the e-mails generated by Webring.org to include the HTML code fragment. (see more below about e-mail customization)
Please re-read this portion of what Webring.org has to say on their first page about creating a *New* ring.
"Managing your own Webring is not easy. If you have your own web
page and want to become involved with Webrings, the easiest way
to do so is to join an existing ring. To find a Webring that might be
appropriate for your page, take a look at Ring World, our online
catalog of the Webrings."
If you're pretty sure you don't want to join an existing ring, there are a few things that you should keep in mind:
1.Getting a ring started can be time consuming. Finding sites
to join, e-mailling them, and convincing them to do so takes
time, and can be a bit frustrating.
2.Being a ringmaster/ringmistress can be a lot of work,
particularly when your ring starts to grow.
3.Creating a good Webring requires a pretty solid
understanding and ability to use HTML. If you're just starting
out on the web, creating a ring now is probably not the best
plan; it would probably be better to first join an existing ring
to gain an understanding of how the system works.
-- Morgan Smith
Regarding your HTML frag(ment), it is a good idea to join your own ring several times with bogus URL's just so you can check the E-mails sent by Webring.org and that everything else works fine. You can always delete the bogus sites later.
Instructions for formatting the E-mails can be found on our "Main Menu" pages. Click on "HTML basic code".
Additional detailed instructions on placing the "Frag(ment) in the Webring.com e-mails can be found here:
Web Ring Fragment Instructions (by Suzanne Bucciarelli)
and
Angelea Kelly's "Frag" Instructions
-- Morgan Smith
I new at being a Ringmaster, but I just jump in and I doing fine.
It's
easy to make a webring. What you have to do first is join an existing webring, and see how it works, then hopefully you know what the HTML code is trying to do.
Then if there is something from one webring that you like and something from another one also, then just borrow those ideas and play around until up get what you want.
For instance I took two Jeff Gordon Webrings, I took one half from one, and the another half from the other one, and a little playing around till I got what I wanted and, bingo, I made my very first webring.
-- Dwayne Washington
Since there are a lot of new people asking general questions thought I
should post this again. Here are my steps to creating a webring you can
be proud of.
#1) The Idea. If you are going to form a ring, it should be about
something. There should be a reason for people to want to look at all
the different sites on the ring. Recognize the scope of your subject,
if it is too general, it may not serve anyone's needs (the ring of
webpages), if it is too specific you may have trouble getting very many
sites to sign up, or visitors to your ring (The ring of Facial moles of
18th Century Dressmakers), so you should try to determine that there are
a fair number of webpages on your subject. Also determine if your topic
already has a ring devoted to it. Search the webring entries and look
on prospective members pages to see if one already exists. If one does
exist already, you may want to consider joining the existing ring, or
changing the subject to make it more useful to surfers.
#2) Assuming that you have a great idea that nobody else is doing, and
you know some sites that would be likely to join your ring... now you
want to create it, its main page, and its ring fragment. My advice is
simple, steal from the best, and then make it your own. Look through a
lot of rings and their homepages, and take the one who's layout you like
the most, and use their layout. Take the three best descriptions of
what a webring is, and combine them to make your own description. Take
the signup form that fits best with your page, and change the ringid to
your own. When I created my ring fragment, I used a template from the
FAQ, but pick the one you like best as your template, whether from the
FAQ, or someone's site.
#3) Create some graphics. You can get someone to make them for you, or
use a program to create some. Keep them relatively small, under 10K or
preferably under 8K. Some of your ring members may be on slow servers
and the smaller the graphic files size, the more likely it will load up
before the surfer gets bored and goes elsewhere. Ways to keep it
small... keep its dimensions down to a manageable size, if you can make
it a GIF file with a small color palette, that is best, if you need a
wide color range, make it a JPEG file. (in general Logo like graphics
work well in GIF, Photo type graphics are best as JPEGS). I kept mine
real simple, creating a simple black and white logo, and using a simple
next button that I got from a CD of images (but you can find them for
free on free graphic websites as well). Remember that most company
logos are simple because simple color contrasts draw the eye more than
fancy images (plus they save on printing costs).
#4) Setup your webring administration options. Try to understand what
they mean, and use those --id-- things. When you think you've got them
right, submit a test site, and check all the e-mails and pages that come
up to see that they are what you want. Make sure the right id number is
coming up, put it on a test page, and make sure that it works. You
should test as many aspects of your ring as possible before you
advertise to your first outside member. If they join your ring, and it
has problems and doesn't work correctly, they will probably leave and
never come back.
#5) After you have nice graphics, and the home page you want, and have
tested your rings operations, start getting members. Remember that the
first few members are going to be the hardest to get, because no one
wants to join a club with no members. It's when the cool people join
that everyone wants to get in, so go ahead and engage in long dialogues
with those people who have the best sites in your subject area, if you
can convince them to join you have eliminated a major roadblock to your
ring's growth.
#6) Remind your ring members that it is in their best interest to
encourage other people to join the ring, so that everyone can share in
the traffic. Try not to advertise that they will get a lot of traffic,
because they may not, emphasize the quality of traffic (fresh traffic
coming from like minded sites) and the community that you are forming.
Once your ring gets large enough, you won't even have to advertise to
see it grow, since people will see your fragment on other people's sites
and want to join just from knowing that they have.
Finally, the most important thing to running a webring in my opinion is
to keep three things in mind, the needs of the surfer, the needs of the
ring member and the needs of the ring as a whole. The surfer wants to
be able to go through the ring until they find a site that they want to
check out, and then get back on the ring after they have checked it
out. They want sites with interesting and varied content that sticks
with the subject matter. The ring member wants to get good traffic
coming to their site, and ideally, have more people come to their site
than leave it. (unless they are leaving by clicking on a paid banner, or
have bookmarked the site first) They want to make sure that they are
getting a fair deal in other words, but will sometimes try and make the
deal more in their favor if you let them. The ring as a whole is served
by a lack of dead sites, all its members being satisfied and having
members, surfers and visitors feeling good about the ring and the
benefits of joining it.
You can't please all of the people all of the
time, but if you can satisfy as many as possible you will be a
successful ringmaster.
All of the above is, of course, my humble opinion.
-- Eric Stokien
Also visit Virginia Blalock's MAKING A WEB PAGE for some good pointers
and if you want to learn HTML, go to KISS HTML on this website.
Other very helpful Web sites are by Laura Anne Seabrook. The first explains "WEB SITE DESIGN":
http://members.forfree.at/~seabrook/
and the second explains "HOW A WEBRING WORKS":
http://www.nettaxi.com/citizens/Seabrook/hwrw.htm
