Counters:

Web counters can be very useful tools for finding out how many people are visiting your web site. They are usually put on an index / title page and every time that someone visits the page, the counter increases by 1.

If your webspace provider lets you run cgi scripts (check with them first), you can set up your own counter using free scripts from the Internet (see Matt's Script Archive - http://www.worldwidemart.com/scripts/).

A much simpler way of adding a counter is to use one of the free services such as that provided by Counter.com (http://www.counter.com). After signing up, they will provide you with a code which you need to add to your title page. Then your counter will be activated.

Tracking:

Counters are very useful, but if you would like to know more about the people who are visiting your site, you can set up a tracker. Counter.com (http://www.counter.com) provide tracking information with their counters. Another excellent tracking service is Extreme Tracking (http://www.extreme-dm.com/tracking/). Once you have signed up (for free), they will provide you with all the necessary code which you should add to your title page. Once this is done, they will monitor your visitors and provide lots of interesting information about them (e.g. how many? where do they live? which site / search engine referred them to your site?).

Guestbooks:

A guestbook lets visitors leave comments about your site on a page on the Internet. As with counters, you can install a guestbook script (see Matt's Script Archive - http://www.worldwidemart.com/scripts/) if your web space provider allows it. However, it can be easier to use a free third party service. Lycos (http://www.htmlgear.lycos.com/specs/guest.html) provide free guestbooks which are highly customisable. You can also edit / delete entries if someone posts a rude message, and they will email you each time someone has signed.

Search Engine:

When your site starts to grow, you may want to add a search engine. This will allow your visitors to search your site for specific keywords. Once again, there are a number of companies on the Internet who will provide a search engine for free. Freefind (http://www.freefind.com) is recommended.

The following three 'gadgets' and 'gizmos' are generally used to make sites look more interesting or interactive. However, please be aware that some visitors to your site may have these options turned off in your browser, or (in the case of Flash) they might not have the necessary plug-in for their browser.

Javascript:

Javascript is a scripting language which you can add to your web pages. There are thousands of free Javascripts abailable on the Internet for you to use (see http://www.javascripts.com/ and http://javascript.internet.com/). The scripts have many different uses, ranging from adding the current date to a web page, to adding an interactive game which your visitors can play.

Java:

Although they have similar names, Java and Javascript are very different. Java is a programming language which is used to create 'java applets' which can be run on your web pages. Learning Java can take a lot of time, but there are lots of free java applets on the Internet which you can use (see http://javaboutique.internet.com)

Here is an example of what a Java applet can do: (move your mouse around the fish bowl)

(Created by Mark Wesley - http://www.funkshun.co.uk)

Flash:

Flash is a plug-in to your web browser (i.e. it is software which works within the browser). It can be very useful in educational contexts because Flash "movies" can be highly interactive, very visual and quick to load. Flash movies generally 'stream' content, which means that they play while they are downloading, so you don't have to wait for the whole movie to download before viewing it.