These are just a few reminders about the basics of Web site construction that we thought might be of use to new webmasters.

Keep Your Site Up-to-Date - Nothing is more frustrating in this medium than hitting a site where the announcement on the front page is "Coming in 1999!". We know how great the time constraints are for theaters, especially small ones, but remember that the Web is about timeliness. You can lose people if they hit your site and find out-dated information. Even just a quick update to a front page can make all the difference in the world. If you have questions, or need help, let us know.

Use Dates - Okay, so you have a show running November 4, 5, and 6, but of what year? A user can assume that its current, but don't make that assumption. Put in 2000 or 2001 or whatever is appropriate. You have no idea how long it can take to figure out what the dates mean when visiting a site.

Moving? - Leave a Forwarding Address - So you've been running a site on GeoCities or AOL and have decided to register your own domain, you've gotten some great new graphics and all is looking really great. You close down the old site. People who knew where you were visit and find it's no longer there, let them know that you've moved and give them a pointer to the new site. At the same time, if you have an old listing on a local paper or other regional guide, make sure they know about your new address and point toward your new site.

Basic Contact Information - Keep It In the Forefront - Keep It In the Forefront - We do a lot of surfing to theater sites as you can imagine. You have no idea how difficult it is to find basics such as a theater's address or even the city it operates in. Yes, your theatergoers may know you intimately, but remember you're having new visitors from throughout the world. They don't know you as well. Make sure that the basics are easily reachable in the site. This includes area codes and zip codes!

See also:

  Using ATW and Its Features

  Other Promotional Ideas