Linking Websites to Webrings
What Webrings Are, How They Work and the Benefits of Joining One
Jan 5, 2009
A webring is a collection of related Internet web sites which are linked together in a circular format. Each webring is controlled by a ring master and contains a hub, or home page, which identifies the purpose of the ring and lists all of the websites which form the ring.
Some webrings may contain only two or three related websites while others may contain several hundred. Webring topics can range from fairly generic ones, such as the genealogy ring GenRing, to those with a more focused topic such as the automobile restoration webring DeLorean Restoration.
How Webrings Work
Linked websites may be accessed through a navigation bar, which provide buttons or controls that allow Internet surfers to move either direction through the webring. Starting from the first website on the ring, a ring surfer can move forward or backward until returning to the first website again.
Besides providing the ability to move forward or backward through the ring, navigation bars also allow one to jump to random webring sites, go to the ring hub, list the sites in the webring, rate the ring or give interested website owners an opportunity to join the webring.
Once a website owner applies to join a webring and is accepted, a block of code must be placed somewhere on the website, usually on the home page or a special webring page. This code creates the navigation bar and contains a site ID, which identifies the website to the webring. The site ID enables the navigation bar to know how the websites are sequenced and allows the navigation bar buttons to work properly.
Benefits of Joining a Webring
There are several benefits for adding a website to a webring.
- More Precise Searches. A search engine query could list thousands or even millions of sites, many of which may contain nothing but links to other sites. Since websites on a webring share a common topic or theme, people searching for data on a webring will generally find pertinent data more efficiently than searching blindly through countless entries on a search engine query.
- Live Sites. Many sites displayed by search engines are dead sites which no longer exist or contain old information. Most webrings are small enough that the ringmaster can remove dead sites and allow the rings to operate efficiently.
- Increased Traffic. While a website may get a large number of hits from normal search engine queries, joining a webring helps increase traffic to a website since surfers on the ring already have an interest in the topic or focus of each of the ring’s websites. According to Webring.com, their 40,000 webrings are visited by over three million people monthly.
- Social Networking. Since the website owners on the ring share a common passion, hobby or business, the opportunity for social networking is strong. Members may join a mailing list, swap ideas, discuss related issues or provide advice or support when needed.
After joining a webring, an owner may later decide to take over management of a webring or even create their own which provides more networking opportunities as well as the opportunity to learn how to manage webrings.
Deciding Which Webring to Join
There are several Internet webring systems one may join such as Webring.com, RingSurf.com, RingLink.com and Webringworld.org. When a decision has been made to join a webring, the website owner should take time to examine which ones to join by visiting the different systems, checking out the webrings that relate to their website, determining which ones are well-run and which ones aren’t and deciding if his or her website fits in with the selected webring.
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