What to Put In (& What to Leave Out)

It is your website, you choose!

Some people might wish to put everything that they have found onto the website, others might be more conservative. One of the main challenges is to make the website interesting and relevant, or it will get lost amongst the millions of other websites on the Internet. Experience shows that in the main long lists of names does not generate much traffic, people will find them and then move on very quickly.

One essential facility of the website must be to have a contact facility. Simple email links can work, but will also generate unwanted emails (known as spam). A simple spelling of 'at' instead of '@' in the address often stops automatic email collection, and many websites use an image of the email address which cannot be read by a computer. It is often better to have a simple contact form which sends the message without revealing any email address (not unlike the one on this website!).

It is a very good principle never to include personal information about living people unless they specifically wish for it. Concerns over personal data and identity theft is a major issue and it is so easy to put together little bits of innocent information which in the wrong hands can be very dangerous. The amount of personal information for example on Facebook is frightening. Erring on the side of caution is always a good policy.

Without wishing to overstate the case, the Reffell Family History website has a number of policies based on national guidelines, designed to protect users and the website:- Website Policies

Previous: Where to Start Next: Putting the Site Together

Contents

Introduction

How to start your family history website

What to put in your website

Putting the website together

Make the website look good

Putting the website on the Internet

Telling people about your website

If it is all too much and you need help

Contact Us

Acknowledgements