Guestbooks for web pages are a great way to receive feedback from website visitors. If you have a site, you probably understand the importance of finding new ways to improve it and thus attract more visitors.
Although most guestbooks do not require visitors to create an account, they can collect both e-mail addresses and IP addresses, letting the webmaster know the geographical whereabouts of most of their visitors.
Online guestbooks can vary in looks, price, and features, but their purpose typically remains the same in that they strive to:
1. Provide feedback for the webmaster so he can make improvements in content, design or usefulness of the site;
2. Display geographical locations of website guestbook visitors;
3. Enhance your site with an interactive feature, which many visitors appreciate.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Add a free online guest book to your website
If you just want a simple guestbook to enhance your site and provide feedback opportunities, go with one of the many free guestbooks available online. While many of them look plain and will fit in with any site design, there are some unique-looking books out there. Most are easy to add to your website, as you simply enter the website guestbook code provided, making Internet guestbooks easy to obtain.
I recommend: True to its name,
Website Goodies offers many free features, such as a free embeddable guestbook, and even includes minimal customization, much like
a-free-guestbook.com provides. Its custom features include emoticons, different design templates and background colors, and the ability to play music while people sign the guestbook.
Buy a customized guestbook from a web design company
If you desire a custom guestbook and are willing to pay, many web design companies offer a uniquely designed book. Usually, you can either purchase an entire new design, or buy just the guestbook a la carte.
I recommend: Purchase a new site design with a customized guestbook included from
Veinotte.com or
Webflo Studios, or just buy a custom guestbook separately from
Novel Website Design.
Use the guestbook for your website as a visual resource
Recently developed guestbooks offer the ability to see where your guests are coming from geographically. Such books are often called a guestmap, and many web site guest books are spiced up by such a gadget. Make your site a little more fun and unique by offering this customized guestbook for a website.
I recommend: MyGuestmap offers a free map to those who sign up, as does
Bravenet. Such maps include customizable images and the ability to zoom in and out of the map at will.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- Be sure to make your guestbook immediately visible and accessible to visitors to your site. Many guestbooks for web pages go unnoticed because there is no direct link to them on the homepage, rendering them useless.
- Take advantage of the custom options of free guestbooks, as personalized guestbooks are more likely to catch the attention of visitors. Even subtle changes such as different font or background colors can set your guestbook apart from others.
The official source of Web Site Guest Books is the Web Site Guest Books page at Business.com
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