Planting Your Family Tree Online: How To Create Your Own Family History Web Site

Front Cover - Planting Your Family Tree Online: How To Create Your Own Family History Web Site

Reference $19.99 U.S. ISBN 1-4016-0022-0

Rutledge Hill Press®
P.O. Box 141000 Nashville, Tennessee 37214 www. rutledgehillpress. com
A Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. www.ThomasNelson.com
Image on computer screen on front cover courtesy of The Hatcher Families Genealogy Center and Robert E. Hatcher, John C. Nichols Jr., Roy S. Hatcher, and Danny R. Hatcher.
COVER, DESIGN BT SETTINGPACE

From the Back Cover

Back Cover - Planting Your Family Tree Online: How To Create Your Own Family History Web Site

Genealogy is a puzzle . . . a treasure huntchallenging pursuit
You have researched your family's history . . .
You have found fascinating photographs and documents .. .
You still have unanswered questions about certain ancestors . ..

Share the story of your ancestors on your own family history Web site.

Planting Your Family Tree Online, written by the creator of "one of the best genealogy sites on the Web" (Smithsonian Magazine), takes you step by step through the process of creating your own Web site to honor the memory of your ancestors. This is not a technical manual on computers or the Internet. But it will tell you . . .

  • Why a family history Web site will enhance your research and bring your family closer together
  • How to find the right Web hosting service
  • How to plan, create, and personalize your family history Web site
  • How to evaluate, test, and maintain your family history Web site
  • How to publicize your family history Web site
  • All the things Cyndi Howells learned the hard way

About the Author

Cyndi Howells is owner and Webmaster of Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet, a categorized index to more than 200,000 online resources that receives more than 3 million visits each month and has been featured on ABC News and NBC News and in USA Today, Time, Newsweek, Parade, Wired, Yahoo!, Internet Life, Family Chronicle, and Home PC magazines. She has been a genealogist for more than twenty years, is a member of the board of directors of the National Genealogical Society, and is author of Netting Your Ancestors and Cyndi's List, a printed version of her Web site.

Contents

  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction: Who Should Read This Book?
  • Chapter 1. Why You Need a Genealogy Web Site
    • Publishing in Pixels versus Publishing in Ink
    • Always a Work in Progress
    • Leave a Trail for Your Cousins to Follow
    • Help Fellow Genealogists and Set an Example for Others
  • Chapter 2. Find a Home for Your Web Site
    • What to Look For
    • Where to Look
    • Domain Name Registration and Hosting
    • Extra Tools and Features
    • What Is the Best Choice for You?
  • Chapter 3. Plan Ahead for a Successful Genealogy Web Site
    • Who Will Visit Your Site?
    • How Should Your Site Look and Behave?
    • What Is the Purpose of Your Site?
    • Types of Genealogy Web Sites
  • Chapter 4. Structure Your Genealogy Web Site
    • Folders and Directories
    • A Model for Web Site Structure
    • Let Your Ancestor Chart Be Your Guide
    • Duplicate the Organization on Your Computers Hard Drive
    • Plan Ahead—Avoid Broken Links and Lost Cousins
  • Chapter 5. Select the Contents for Your Genealogy Web Site
    • The Title
    • What You Should Include
    • What You Should Not Include
    • Food for Thought: NGS Standards and Guidelines
  • Chapter 6. Create the Basic Web Pages
    • Using Genealogy Software
    • GEDCOM Web Page Conversion Software
    • Customizing the Softwares Output
    • Displaying the Data without Genealogy Software
    • Using HTML Editors
    • Using a Text Editor to Write HTML Code Yourself
    • The Home Page and Index Pages
    • Checking Your Work
    • Getting Help from Friends and Professionals
  • Chapter 7. Personalize Your Web Site with Color and Style
    • Remember Your Mission and Audience
    • Colors in Backgrounds, Text, and Links
    • Fonts and Formatting
    • Graphics: Backgrounds, Bullets, and More
  • Chapter 8. Customize Your Web Site
    • Navigation Tools
    • The Common Footer
    • Disclaimers
    • Getting Search Engines to Notice Your Site
  • Chapter 9. Enhance Your Web Site with Extras
    • Links and Bibliographies
    • Photographs and Scanned Documents
    • Downloadable Files
    • Multimedia
    • Automated Features and Forms
  • Chapter 10. Guarantee Success: Common Web Site Dos and Don'ts
    • Web Site Title Follies
    • Purpose or Mission Statement
    • Contact Information
    • Grammar, Spelling, and Punctuation
    • Location, Location, Location!
    • Broken Links
    • Background Graphics
    • Colors That Blind or Hypnotize
    • Anything That Moves
    • It Really Isn’t Music to My Ears
    • Frames Are Evil
    • Things-That Make My Browser Crash
  • Chapter 11. Check Your Work and Give Your Site a Trial Run
    • Proofread and Review the Site
    • Validate Your HTML for Accuracy and Usability
    • Upload the Pages to the Web Server
    • Check Navigation, Verify Links, and Confirm Accessibility
    • Test Your Site in Various Web Browsers
    • Back Up and Archive Your Web Site
  • Chapter 12. Make It Official: Publicize Your New Web Site
    • Strategies for Making Your Site Known to Other Genealogists
    • Genealogy Mailing Lists and Message Boards
    • E-mailing Other Family Historians
    • Online Genealogy Columnists and Editors
    • Genealogy Web Indexes and Search Engines
    • Surname Registry Sites
    • Internet Search Engines
    • Offline Announcements
    • Last, but Not Least: Stationery
  • Chapter 13. Keep Your Web Site Alive and Kicking: Give It a Checkup
    • Why You Should Check and Update Your Site
    • Create a Maintenance Routine
    • Whats New
    • Annual Maintenance
    • Share New Things You Have Learned
    • Reevaluate Your Research and the Purpose of Your Site
  • Appendixes
    • National Genealogical Society Standards and Guidelines
    • Standards for Sound Genealogical Research
    • Guidelines for Using Records, Repositories, and Libraries
    • Standards for Use of Technology in Genealogical Research
    • Guidelines for Genealogical Self-Improvement and Growth
  • Glossary
  • Index

Library of Congress Catalog Listing

Personal name Howells, Cyndi.
Main title Planting your family tree online : how to create your own family history web site / Cyndi Howells.
Published/Created Nashville : Rutledge Hill Press, c2003.
Description ix, 259 p. : ill.; 23 cm.
ISBN 1401600220 (pbk.)
LC classification (full) CS21 .H76 2003
LC classification (partial) CS21
Subjects
  • Web sites.
  • Genealogy--Computer network resources.
Notes Includes index.
Series National Genealogical Society guides
LCCN 2003020410
Dewey class no. 929/.1/028567
Type of material Book
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