1. I would like to join. How can I become a member of any webring?
A = Before joining any webring, be sure you have a 'Webring' ID and Password. Signing Up is FREE. To sign up, Click Here . After applying for a 'Webring' ID, you may browse through the directory to find webrings that best fit what your website is all about. After finding one, you might like to join it. Each webring has a link on the right hand side for you to click on. Simply click on 'Join This Ring'.

2. How do I copy a webring's navigation code bar?
A = There are 3 ways I've come across getting the navigation code bar. First off, to get the navigation code bar for the website you have entered into the webring you have joined you must be signed in. You can either go to the webring's homepage (that you joined) and to the left you will see 'Member Tools'. One of the links provided is 'Get Navigation Code'. Second, if you have more than one website in a webring, the webring will show the list of website names you have within the webring and you will have to click on the website name that you need the navigation code bar for.

3. What is the SSNB and the HTML Navigation Code?
A = SSNB stands for "Server Side Navigation Bar" and is a javascript code snippet that you install on your website ONCE for each URL/U# (usually there is only one U#, which stands for "URL Number" for each URL, but you can "split" a SSNB "stack" into more than one per URL. Then, the system renders your full navigation "stack" each time your page is loaded. As you join other Rings using that same URL, and are approved, the navigation code for each new Ring appears automatically. You never have to do anything else if you don't want to. The term "stack" refers to the fact that there can be more than one Ring's navigation code in what is rendered by the SSNB. Hence, there can be a "stack" of Ring navigation code.

SSNB Code: You need to place SSNB javascript code on your page ONCE only for each U# (or stack). It needs to go on each U#/URL you have registered with the system. You can see each URL you have by using the View Web Sites link on your My Rings page. Get the SSNB by using the 'Get SSNB Code' link on your View Web Sites page. You can also get the code by editing one of the Sites listed for the U#/URL. It doesn't matter which, it is the same for each. When you click to edit a Site, one of the links on the left side of the page should say "Get Navigation Code". Use that link.

HTML code: You need to place HTML code on your page for EACH Site, and generally speaking it is hard to mix SSNB code and HTML because the SSNB wants to display for all Sites for a given URL. So, if you are using HTML then you probably need to do this for every Site you have.

Get the HTML for a Site by going to edit the Site. There you should see on the left a link "Get Navigation Code". Follow that link. The first page shows SSNB code. Don't use that of course. Instead follow the link to get the HTML code that you'll find at the bottom of the first page. It will take you to a second page where the code is displayed. Paste that onto your page.

4. Why does my navigation say it fails?
A = You must install the navigation code bar on the website you submitted, otherwise it will fail. Some sites, however place the navigation code bar on a "WebRing" link page. A "WebRing" link page is one that is linked to from the registered URL and includes the word WebRing in the link description. The Valid navigation code was not found on the registered URL which may or may not be acceptable to some Ringmasters.

Sites most commonly FAIL for having no code or the wrong code installed for that particular membership or the code not being installed on an approved page. The checker will fail if your navigation code is not on the url registered, or linked to from that URL with the word WebRing in the link title. That is the ONLY url (and link URL) the checker is aware of, or can check. The checker does follow redirections, certain meta-refresh redirects, and will look within frames. But, again, if your code is not on the page checked it will never pass.

5. My site is still pending. When will it be approved?
A = Submitting your Site to a Ring does not ensure that your site will be approved and made active in the Ring. The RingMaster will take some time to review the content of your Site to determine if it meets his/her criteria for being in the Ring. This is subjective and is up to the discretion of the RingMaster. WebRing Support has nothing to do with the activation of your website, so please do not ask Support to perform this operation. If you have questions about your site's activation, please contact the RingMaster.

In order for your Site to be, and remain, active in the Ring two things are necessary:

*** The RingMaster must approve your Site. Sometimes this will also make your Site active temporarily. But the second criteria must be met soon in order to stay active.
*** You must have working navigation code on your registered URL, or in some cases you may have the code on another page if you install a link labelled with the word "WebRing" (or any variation like "webring", "webrings", "web ring", etc.) so that a user can see at a glance where to find the navigation code when they arrive at your site.

6. Why must I place the Navigation Code on my site?
A = A "Ring" is based on the concept of being able to easily "navigate" from one site in the Ring to another. WebRing provides a very simple to install bit of HTML that will cause a "navigation bar" to appear on your page allowing people to navigate all the Rings your web site participates (and is active) in. You install the code once on each page you register with WebRing, regardless of the number of Rings that site is a member of, and WebRing will handle displaying the correct navigation code on your page. We do not use this to show ads, nor do we track the traffic in any other way. All we ever do is display the correct navigation code for your Site.

It is very important for the Ring to operate properly that you place this code where people navigating the Ring can see it easily. In fact, you may want to place it on each page of your site if you have more than one. The size of the navbar is relatively small (usually 250 pixels by 80) and loads quickly, so you should place it in a prominent location on your page(s). The traffic you and other sites return to WebRing is traffic that is more likely to return to your web site. The better each Ring works the more traffic you will see to your site.

Once you have completed the application to join a Ring you can go to your View Web Sites page to get this navigation code. It is commonly called "SSNB code", or Server Side NavBar code. You can place it on your page whether your Site has been approved for a Ring or not. The WebRing system knows whether it is OK to display a navbar for a Ring or not. Also, WebRing is smart enough to show, unless you turn the feature off, the one navbar a person is navigating, even if your web site belongs to many Rings! This way the correct navbar shows and never takes more space than necessary on your page!

Is it OK to use a "links" page to show my navbar(s)? Sure it is. Is that the best experience for users of the Ring? In some cases perhaps it is. For most sites, however, it is best to have a single, prominent, navbar available on the page they want to visit - YOUR page. A links page generally means a person navigating the Ring will either arrive at the links page and have to click a link to get to your content or, they will have to find, and click, a link to get from your content page to the links page. That's more work than many surfers would prefer to go through. If your navigation code is placed where your content is then they can arrive, view your page(s) at their leisure, and then easily continue to the next Site in the Ring. Similarly, they will be arriving from the previous Site (and others) if other members of the Ring do the same.

7. How will I know the status of my site?
A = Your Site will be in one of three states as long as you are a WebRing Member:

*** Pending - Until approved by the RingMaster your Site is pending and will not appear on the Ring's hub page. You can manage your Site, and can even obtain, install, and TEST your navigation code. The SSNB, if you use it, will not work, but you can test to see that it PASSes. Do all of this from Site Management.
*** Active - If your Site is approved and the RingMaster finds your navigation code to be working properly then your Site will be made active and will appear on the Ring's Hub page. The SSNB code will also work (will show the Ring's navigation bar).
*** Suspended - If your Site is approved by the RingMaster but they do not feel your navigation code is working properly (this can be subjective, you must work this out with your RingMaster), then your site may be suspended until the code is working to their satisfaction. Most often this means it PASSes the Site checker, which you can check for yourself. If you are suspended, you should check through Site Maintenance that your code is working properly and fix it if it is not. Once you have resolved any problems you can contact the RingMaster for activation. Note that this can only be done by the RingMaster.