"Cookies: How to Improve Your Website AND Learn From Your Visitors"
Question: How can you improve your visitors' experience of your website AND at
the same time learn how to improve your website (or learn how to increase sales)?
Answer: cookies
Cookies? Yes. Let me explain...
=> COOKIES EXPLAINED
A "cookie" is simply a small piece of text information which a web
server stores temporarily with your web visitor's browser. (Note: cookies are
*not* programs.) This means your visitor's browser remembers some specific information
which the web server can later retrieve.
So cookies simply allow your site to store information on your visitor's computer
for later retrieval.
A basic example of a cookie in action can be found here - http://members.rediff.com/lc/cookies.htm
Another example is the "online shopping mall" that uses cookies to
add items to a user's "shopping cart" as they browse. And I use cookies
on my own website to make sure a pop-up window loads ONCE ONLY ( http://www.shoptour.co.uk/webmaster.shtml
).
=> WHY YOUR WEBSITE SHOULD USE COOKIES
Basically, cookies allow you to improve a site visitor's experience of your
website. I've listed a few examples to show how this can be achieved:
* Cookies can store visitor preferences. This means you can present customised
information to your visitor, as per their own requirements. (This is how portal
sites like MSN work.)
* Cookies can pre-fill form fields for your visitor.
* Cookies can automatically login visitors to your site
* Cookies can provide visitor statistics and therefore help you understand
your visitor's needs. Cookies can provide site metrics like unique visitors,
average number of page-views, percentage of repeat visitors, et cetera. And
cookie-generated statistics are much more accurate than using log files.
(Do remember though, that people sometimes share computers; some browsers are
set to reject cookies; AND cookies can be erased.)
So not only are cookies an efficient way of keeping track of information, they
also help personalise a site visitor's experience of your site.
And that's the point with cookies - how can *you* help your site visitor? (No,
it doesn't mean how can you invade your visitors' privacy! The use of cookies
can be abused by site owners, but this ultimately leads to cookie-blocking software
being installed and used; so set your cookies cautiously!)
=> USE THIS COOKIE RESOURCE
CookieCentral is an excellent resource dedicated to all things Cookie. The
site's described as providing "information of persistent cookies, HTTP
cookies, cookies with JavaScript, magic cookies, [and] maintaining state with
cookies and more."
But don't worry if that sounds too technical for you, CookieCentral really
is a great place to learn about the pros and cons of using cookies. From the
concept of cookies through concerns about privacy to JavaScript and CGI demo
code - you'll find it all at CookieCentral.
- http://www.cookiecentral.com/content.phtml?area=2&id=1
=> OR VISIT THESE SITES TO LEARN ABOUT COOKIES
If you want to know more about how cookies work, then visit these sites:
http://www.howstuffworks.com/cookie1.htm
http://www.pcworld.com/hereshow/article/0,aid,15352,pg,1,00.asp
=> OR JUST DO IT YOURSELF!
As ever, the web is filled with free programs and scripts that allow you to
use cookies. Whether you want to use JavaScript, CGI/Perl, PHP or ASP - there
are free resources that help you implement cookies on your site.
JavaScript cookies
- http://webdeveloper.earthweb.com/pagedev/webjs/cookies
CGI/Perl cookies
- http://cgi.resourceindex.com/Programs_and_Scripts/Perl/Cookies/
Developing a User Personalization System with PHP and Cookies
- http://www.devshed.com/Server_Side/PHP/Cookies/
ASP and cookies
- http://www.w3schools.com/asp/asp_cookies.asp
=> READ MORE...
You can find out a great deal more about using cookies on your site from the
following excellent resources. Just do a search for "cookies" and
off you go!
http://www.workz.com
http://www.iboost.com
http://www.sitepoint.com
Cookies can improve your visitors' experience of your web site, through personalisation.
Using cookies, your site may well run more efficiently too, and could provide
you with accurate site statistics helping you deliver just what your visitors
are looking for. Just use cookies carefully, so your visitors benefit!
About the Author:
Steve Nash shows how anyone can sell online at his brand new website. Visit
his FREE beginners guide now! http://www.AnyoneCanSellOnline.com To get more
website promotion ideas take his free 7-day e-mail course, called Website Promotion
That Works! Sign-up here! mailto:promotion_that_works@getresponse.com |
