First thing you must do is determine the topic or theme of the ring you wish to create. This determines what types of sites you are targeting. The more specific the theme of the ring, the fewer eligible sites you will have. Your target audience may also be smaller, but the odds of them navigating the ring in its entirety are greater. The more broad the topic, the more sites and visitors you can attract, but you risk losing the interest of the visitor. A ring about baseball may attract more visitors in general, but someone looking for information about a specific TEAM or PLAYER may quickly leave to find the content they desire. Those team or player rings will attract fewer visitors, but the fans of that team are more likely to look at a higher number of sites in the ring. It's up to you to decide how broad or narrow to make your topic.

It's next recommended that you search the directory for established rings with that theme. If they exist, navigate the ring (using the next/prev links in each site's navbar). If it's easy to travel (sites exist and display the navbar in a convenient location), you may wish to come up with a new theme or a slightly different direction for your ring as copycat rings don't usually do as well as the original established ring. If the ring is difficult to navigate (sites with no code, sites that don't exist), ensure yours is easier and use that as your selling point!
While in the directory, decide exactly WHERE you'd like the ring categorized. Jot down the path to the category. You'll need it in the creation step.

It's also a good idea to create a RING HOMEPAGE somewhere around this point. This page exists solely to provide information about the WebRing you have created. Not only is it convenient for members and visitors, but also you'll see it has another purpose in just a bit. The homepage should include rules (good rings have a few rules for members!) the navbar, and some links, especially one to the JOIN form!

Then it's time to create the actual ring. During this process you'll be asked to do two important things: categorize your ring and add the first site. You were told earlier to decide on the category, if you have it already determined, this step will be simple. The first site should be the ring homepage that you created or will be creating shortly. The second site you submit should be your own homepage, if it fits the theme of the ring you are establishing, of course. Why have two sites in your own ring? Well, for starting out, two sites in a ring is better than one. Secondly, you need to have FOUR active sites in the ring by the 28th day of existence, otherwise your ring will no longer be PUBLICALLY listed in the directory. By having two sites, you are already HALFWAY to that goal!

Now, it's time to customize that ring. By this we mean any or all of the following:

• Upload a Ring Logo AND/OR a NavBar Logo
• Customize the NavBar HTML
• Customize the various emails

We've finally reached the step where you locate and invite potential members. This means searching for sites, either through OTHER WebRings or search engines, and sending them a customized invite through ring management. It's good practice to include something in the text box, especially if it pertains to something you saw on the website. This shows the invitee that you really DID look at their site and often times will make them more willing to look at your ring. Getting them just to LOOK at your ring is the first step. If they don't look, they won't join. Don't be discouraged if you see only about a 5 to 10% response to your invites. This is commonly how invites go, but just keep at it. How long? At minimum, I recommend until you have FIVE active sites. In addition to the ring directory, every SITE which displays your ring's navbar is advertising your ring. Thus every member you get is one more bit of exposure to help your ring grow and increase traffic. (If you customized the navbar as suggested above, it will stand out among the uncustomized navbars and likely attract additional traffic.)

Another way to promote your ring is through use of WebRings, ones created for the sole purpose of promoting other WebRings. These are commonly called Ring Manager Rings. Having your rings listed with other rings helps them stand out among the thousands of rings in the directory and will result in higher traffic and increased membership.

If you properly maintain your established ring, traffic will be steady and membership should grow. What are some keys to maintaining your ring?

• Have clear rules and instructions either on the ring homepage and/or in the customized emails. Be sure you are enforcing those rules, too.
• Address new member submissions in a timely manner
• Respond to member inquiries with accurate answers they can understand, also in a timely manner.
• Be kind and informative when denying applications or deleting members. These sites may wish to reapply to the ring once they meet the criteria you have set forth.
• Ensure only sites displaying the navbar for your ring are active (enforce the rules of PASS/PASS-L through use of automated management and manual reviews).
• Navigate your ring on a regular basis to weed out (SUSPEND) sites that may PASS the checker but really are not displaying the code correctly or those whose topic may not be in compliance with your theme. Don't rely SOLELY on the automated management. It's a terrific guide, but still, it is artificial intelligence. Unscrupulous members can find ways to PASS the checker but still not visibly display your ring's navbar!
• Communicate with your members. Be an ACTIVE manager. Send regular (but not FREQUENT) messages with information of interest to members. Perhaps spotlight the member with the most traffic for that month plus new members.

This probably sounds like a lot of work and it is. But it can be rewarding, both to you and the members of and visitors to your ring. And it sure is fun to watch your ring grow, in size and traffic. Other sections of this website will help you with operations that have been discussed above. Be sure to use this ENTIRE website to your advantage.