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Cookies: How To Learn From Your Visitors and Improve Your Website
by Steve Nash ©Copyright 2004

Time for a quick question and answer session.

Question: How can you improve your visitors' experiences of
          your website, AND at the same time learn how to
          improve your website (or learn how to increase sales)?

Answer: Use 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 use.

A basic example of a cookie in action can be found here -
http://www.jsworkshop.com/js3e/list24-1.html

Another example is the "online shopping mall" that uses cookies 
to add items to a user's "shopping cart" as they browse. 

==Aside==
Here are two examples of how my own sites use cookies (I use 
them to make sure a pop-up window loads at a set frequency):

- Pop-up Once Only
  http://www.shoptour.co.uk/webmaster.shtml 

- Pop-up Once Per Day
  http://www.anyonecansellonline.com/tips.shtml

  For those interested, the cookie code is stored here
  http://anyonecansellonline.com/makemoneyfiles/cookie1.js
==Aside==


=> 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 you can achieve this:

* Cookies can store visitor preferences. This means you can
  present customized 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 visitors' needs. Cookies can provide
  site metrics like number of 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 personalize your site visitors'
experiences of your website.

And that's the point with cookies - how can *you* help your
site visitor?

No, it doesn't mean you can now invade your visitor's privacy! 
The use of cookies is often abused by site owners, but this 
ultimately leads to cookie-blocking software being installed 
and used; so do set your cookies cautiously, and include a 
privacy statement on your site explaining your use of cookies! 
(See below.)


=> 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.newbalancecatalog.com/General/cookies.htm
- http://www.allaboutcookies.org/cookies/index.html


=> 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 - you can find free resources that help 
you implement cookies on your site.

JavaScript cookies
- http://webdeveloper.earthweb.com/webjs/cookies/

CGI/Perl cookies
- http://cgi.resourceindex.com/Programs_and_Scripts/Perl/Cookies/

PHP User Personalization System with Cookies
- http://www.devshed.com/Server_Side/PHP/Cookies/

ASP and cookies
- http://www.w3schools.com/asp/asp_cookies.asp


=> Privacy Warning!

More and more web users are becoming sensitive to their online 
privacy. Rightly so. And this includes cookies, and how your 
site uses them. So do make sure that you understand the issues 
involved, and set your privacy statement accordingly. 

This article explains more...
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/p3p-cookies-ie6/


=> 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' experiences of your web site, 
through personalization. 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 that your visitors benefit!

(And continue to learn from the invaluable resources above,
and below ;-) !)

================================================================
Steve Nash is the author of the ebook: "3 Super-Tips To Build, 
Promote And Profit More From Your Website." Download your free 
copy now! http://www.wise-buys.info/bonus.shtml 

Want More Tips? Sign-up to his free monthly Build-tips course 
here! http://www.wise-buys.info/newsletter.shtml#tips
================================================================

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