share a personal story or tell them how you came up with a particular idea for the site. Be genuine.

4) Security (Are you and your visitors protected?) - Have you taken precautions to keep your pages safe from hackers? Are your visitors safe from viruses and other malware? Can they browse or order from your site with confidence? Show them why they can trust you.

5) Contact Information (How can visitors give feedback?) - Allow visitors to communicate. Public questions, suggestions, and comments tell you what is on the public's mind, giving you possibilities for site improvement. Safely post an e-mail, a phone number, or a question poll.

TIP: When publicly posting any personal information, be safe. Some deceitful programmers send out "bots" that automatically look for and capture your e-mail address, adding it to a thief's list. One way to avoid being a victim of this e-mail farming is to replace the "@" in your address with "(at)" or something similar. Any change will lessen the risk. Yes, it's a few more keystrokes for honest people who use your address, but many would agree that your security is worth it.

6) Links (Where can your visitors go to see related subjects?) - Links not only allow your visitors to continue their research and/or fun, but linking with related sites that are not direct competitors increases your chance of a higher Google ranking.

TIP: Please remember to be courteous and professional when asking another site owner to exchange links. Actually browse his/her site beforehand and give a genuine compliment on some aspect that you like. Give at least one valid reason for wanting to trade links and be personable. Also, be sure to include what page you'd like him/her to link to on your site.

Depending on the type of web site you are creating, some additional pages may include:

- Benefits: Online businesses should explain why and how their items/services help visitors.

- Shopping cart: A necessity for web merchants that take electronic customer orders.

- Testimonials: Well-written praise from previous visitors/clients adds credibility to your site.

- Blog: Your personal thoughts (public diary/journal) help make you relatable and interesting.

- Guestbook: Publicly posting visitors' comments, but less formal than testimonials.

- Quotes: These give visitors insight into your inspiration or your taste in humor.

== Overall Web Site Necessities ==

To provide the best web experience for your visitors, and thus maximize their return, make

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