How to Start Your Own Internet Web Ring

Can't find a Web ring that covers your topic? Create your own through Ringworld, a Web ring manager site.

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Internet Access
• Computers
• Web Browsers
• Web Design Software
• Web Sites

1. Visit WebRing at dir.webring.com/rw. This Web site maintains an exhaustive directory of more than 80,000 Web rings, sorted by category and alphabetically.

2. Click on the category that best fits your page's category description. Read the descriptions of each Web ring, making sure your new ring won't fit in any of the existing rings. Conduct a search using Ringworld's search feature.

3. Decide on a name, purpose and statement for your Web ring. This information should be brief and concise; the title should be clear and relevant to your topic.

4. Contact and enlist at least five sites to join your Web ring. A ring must have at least five participating sites before it will be listed in the Ringworld directory.

5. Return to the WebRing home page and click on Create a New Ring. You must agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Statement before continuing. Read the introduction and click on the I Agree text link.

6. Follow the remaining steps. An e-mail message containing your ring name, ID, password and ring home page will be sent to you, along with information on how to manage your ring and solicit sites to join.

Tips & Warnings

• A Web ring can be time-consuming and difficult to manage. If you're unfamiliar with Web rings, participate in one and gain experience before managing your own.
• Communicate with other ringmasters to get tips on how to effectively manage a Web ring.
• Define the acceptable content for Web pages allowed in your ring. For example, a ring geared toward children should clearly state on the home page that only children's sites will be allowed.
• Define the rules and submission guidelines for your Web ring on the ring's home page. Not only will this help users decide which ring to join, it will also reduce the number of requests from pages that don't belong in your ring.