If you use free server space, you may think that your Web
site can't contain server-programmed features such as discussion
forums, chat rooms and guestbooks. Not so! The Web's full of
third-party servers which provide these kind of capabilities,
allowing you to link them in to your pages so that they appear to be
part of your site. Even better, they do it for free, in return for
displaying banner ads on your visitors' screens.
From hit counters to the slightly bizarre electronic postcards, the list of add-on site services is long, and growing all the time. You can even offer keyword searches to your site's contents, and run realtime opinion polls!
Click the headings below for an online version of this month's Web Workshop, complete with links to the service providers we've mentioned. Paul Stephens
See how many people have visited your site, where they came
from and what browsers they were using!
Let your visitors tell the world what they think of your site
(hopefully they'll like it!)
Your own newsgroup-style discussion forums, on whatever
subjects you choose.
Offer a keyword search to the contents of your site - just
like they do at www.microsoft.com!
Invite your friends round for a live discussion, courtesy of
your web page.
Make your website the place where the people have their say
on today's key issues (or just ask fun questions!)
Capture data from on-screen forms, and have it emailed direct
to you.
Including directory sites that tell you where to find more
free resources.