In our last article we looked easy ways that you can get involved with ‘Web 2.0’, the latest Internet buzz word. You don’t need to be a programming genius to do this thanks to the professional free website builder from webeden.co.uk. The ‘What You See Is What You Get’ WYSIWYG editor allows all comers to build a website, even if its their first time on the Internet. The latest release has a host of Web 2.0 features so that even though you’re using a free tool, you can still make a cutting edge website.

Webeden.co.uk – lets recap

With Webeden.co.uk, the free website builder – any person connected to the Internet can build a website that ranks up there with the professionals. Getting going is as easy as a few clicks of your mouse, and then boom – your new website is launched. Once the site is launched the fun bit starts – redesigning and editing your website. Thanks to webeden.co.uk’s simple point and click interface, its as easy as clicking on an object and dragging it to the location you desire. Adding text is just a matter of double clicking on the text box and then deleting the pre-filled text. Adding photos takes place with just two clicks of a mouse. So you want a photo of you and the hockey team on the top right? No problem, click ‘add photo’ and then click on the photo you want to add; then just click on it with your mouse and drag it to the top right of the screen. All done!

What is Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is a catch all term applied to websites where the exchange of information between website and website visitor is reciprocal. ‘Old’ websites (lets call it Web 1.0!) simply disseminated information from the website owner to the website visitor, and were usually all about a product, service or idea. With Web 2.0 website visitors can contribute to the content of the website, by either leaving comments, posting suggestions, or exchanging information with other website visitors. This can also be called website ‘user generated content’ or UCG.

How can Webeden.co.uk help me with Web 2.0

To put this simply, the website builder from Webeden.co.uk includes a whole host of widgets and gizmos that built into the control panel. All that the website owner need to do is add these to their site, with a click of the mouse. These widgets allow website visitors interact with the website, and exchange information with other website visitors. You’ve probably seen all these tools at some point before – there’s nothing particularly new or exciting about them. However the key difference here is that they are all included in the Webeden.co.uk website building tool – website owners can add them by just clicking on a button. Previously you needed to be a technical wizard to set them up on your website. Part 1 of this article showed you some of them - here’s some more to keep you happy.

Memberships

One of the best ways that you can encourage a close relationship between your website and the people visiting it is invite membership of your website. People who become members of websites are far more likely to trust the information they find there, come back more frequently, and most importantly tell their friends how great your site is. Webeden.co.uk allows you to enable membership and have people 'join' your site, creating their own username and password. The only thing you need to decide is what your visitors get in return for becoming members. It might be they get exclusive access to unique articles, advice or photos, or become a member of your ‘club’.

Forums

Forums have been around since the early days of the Internet, and are one of the best ways to allow your users to interact with each other. For your visitors, they’re very simple to use, and often a good source of advice. You can add a forum to your website with just two clicks of your website builder – the only thing you need to do then is encourage your users to start making posts. The best way to do that is to start a few topic threads yourself. When others post questions or comments make sure you respond to them. And the more people comment, the more people are going to comment! With the webeden.co.uk forum you can

• set subjects, topics & posts views for many different threads of discussion

• set permissions, e.g. guests, or members only

• set edit rights for moderators (e.g. members or a group of members)

• lock subjects

• set posts as 'sticky'

• search all subjects/posts

With the Webeden.co.uk forum tool all topics have their own RSS feed, so your visitors can keep up with the latest threads. All posts can contain rich text formatting, e.g. bold, and can contain links. And one of the best liked features, all posts have emoticons, to add a bit of personality to your forum!