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• Introduction
• Hosting and publishing your site
• Link checkers
• Promoting your site
• Evaluation and site statistics
• Database-driven sites
• Content management systems
• Legal issues
• General

Introduction

Before you leap into creating a Web site, it is essential that you spend some time thinking about your goals and what resources you have available. It's never too early to begin to manage expectations and create a realistic workplan for yourself and your colleagues.

A Web site is the product of the entire organization and requires integrating the knowledge and skills of all staff - not just those in a communications or technology department. Therefore, a Web site can communicate effectively with the world outside your organization only if you have good communication and co-ordination within your organization.

Some important questions to ask yourself include:

• Why do I need a site?
• What do I know about my audience?
• What staff do I need to create and to maintain it?
• What equipment do I need to have access to?
• Where will content for the site come from?
• What organizational communications policies might facilitate work on the site?
• What resources have been set aside for ongoing tasks like marketing, evaluation, and maintenance?
• How can I ensure that search engines are able to find and index the site?

Adding a Search Engine to Your Site Is Easier than You Think

Developed by: TechSoup
Type of resource: Web article
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access

"Navigating a Web site without a search engine is like trying to drive a car in the dark without headlights. Though driving sans headlights may be considerably more dangerous, a site without a search engine can leave your visitors in the dark, making it nearly impossible for them to find the information they need." Yann Toledano looks at who needs a search engine, the types of search tools available, and at free and low cost hosted search services.

Dhttp://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/webbuilding
/page4899.cfm

If You Build It, Will They Come?

Developed by: Heather Duggan
Type of resource: Web article
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access

"Rule number one for community builders: If you don't know why people should come to your community, they won't come." This brief article by Heather Duggan takes you through the steps of clarifying your web site's purpose.

Dhttp://www.workz.com/cgi-bin/gt/tpl_page.html,temp
late=1&content=1350&nav1=1&

Monitoring and Evaluating Web Communications

Developed by: Heather Creech, IISD
Type of resource: Web article
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access

Basic tools and techniques for evaluating your web site.

Dhttp://www.sdcn.org/webworks/monitoring/

Robots.txt Tutorial

Developed by: Search Engine World
Type of resource: Web guide
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access

Using a "robots.txt" file enables you to prevent search engines from indexing particular pages or directories on your web site. This Search Engine World guide explains the basics of robots.txt files.

Dhttp://www.searchengineworld.com/robots/robots_tut
orial.htm

Web Site Management - Link checkers

Xenu's Link Sleuth

Developed by: Tilman Hausherr
Type of resource: Software
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access

Free link checker programme for finding broken links on web sites.

Dhttp://home.snafu.de/tilman/xenulink.html

Web Site Management - Promoting your site

Marketing Your Organization's Web Site

Developed by: Coyote Communications
Type of resource: Web article
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access

Short guide with annotated resources on marketing your web site.

Dhttp://www.coyotecom.com/webdevo/webmrkt.html

Promoting Your Site on the Web

Developed by: Gisele Glosser/Wise-Women
Type of resource: Web guide
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access

Short guide including a site promotion checklist.

Dhttp://www.wise-women.org/tutorials/promotion/

11 Search Engine Optimization Tips

Developed by: Gerry McGovern
Type of resource: website
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access

This article gives helpful hints to improve search engine results for your site. In addition to examining tags - the importance of title, description, and alt tags - the article examines other website design elements such as frames or Java that can limit search engines' ability to index your site.

Dhttp://www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/2005/nt_2005_04_11
-11-SEO-tips.htm

Search Engine Optimization and Spam Discussion

Developed by: Bruce Clay
Type of resource: website
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access

Though geared to consultants, the information in this article is helpful to understand key principles around Search Engine
Optimization (SEO). In addition to giving the basic guidelines common in SEO articles, it explains "players", "processes" and
"methodology", so that one can see how different tips might work in different ways. It also clearly spells out spam practices and how sites might get de-indexed unintentionally due to what different search engines perceive as spam.

Dhttp://www.bruceclay.com/EmergingStandards.htm

Web Site Management - Evaluation and site statistics

Intranet Review Toolkit

Developed by: Step Two Designs
Type of resource: Web site, MS Word document
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access

"This intranet review toolkit provides intranet managers and designers with an easy-to-use method of assessing the strengths and weaknesses of their intranet. It contains a substantial set of heuristics (guidelines or criteria), allowing a detailed intranet review to be conducted that focuses on a wide range of functionality, design and strategy."

Dhttp://www.intranetreviewtoolkit.org/

Reading Web Statistics

Developed by: Lasa Information Systems Team
Type of resource: Web article
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access

This article by the Lasa Information Systems Team will help you understand your web site's usage statistics.

Dhttp://www.icthubknowledgebase.org.uk/webanalytics

A Few Good Web Analytics Tools

Developed by: TechSoup
Type of resource: Web article
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access

"How many people visit our Web site every day? What are visitors doing when they get there? Which features are most popular? Was that big redesign worth the money? If these types of questions keep you awake at night, you may need a good Web analytics tool". This article will help you decide what to consider when choosing a web analytics package, and will also introduce you to some of the options available.

Dhttp://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/pa
ge6760.cfm

Web Log Analysis Tools

Developed by: About.com
Type of resource: Web site
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access

Articles and links to tools and resources on analysing web site traffic. Topics covered include "How to Use Web Analytics Effectively", "Web Analytics Basics" and "Tracking Web Page Views".

Dhttp://webdesign.about.com/od/loganalysis/

Web Site Management - Legal issues

Copyright, Intellectual Property, Video & Multimedia: A Selected Bibliography

Developed by: UC Berkeley
Type of resource: Web page
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access

Listing of journal articles, web sites, books and videos about online copyright issues.

Dhttp://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/copyrightbib.html

Web Site Management - General

Visual Learner's Guide to Managing Web Projects

Developed by: Visibooks
Type of resource: PDF (130 p)
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access

The Visual Learner's Guide to Managing Web Projects shows executives, managers, and everyone else involved with an organisation's Web site how best to build and maintain it. It describes how to plan a site, train staff, conduct site construction and implement maintenance procedures so the site is effective and stays that way. It contains numerous graphics, photographs, and screen shots that illustrate site-building concepts, i.e. aiming to 'show' rather than 'tell'.

Dhttp://www.cit.cornell.edu/training/materials/facs
taff/manwebprj/managingwebprojects.pdf