Cookies

By: Steve M Nash, Fri Jun 16th, 2006

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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/coo kie1.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 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 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 personalise 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.shoptour.co.uk/webmaster.shtml0

=> 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://www.shoptour.co.uk/webmaster.shtml2

CGI/Perl cookies

- http://www.shoptour.co.uk/webmaster.shtml4

/Perl/Cookies/ (all 1 word)

PHP User Personalization System with Cookies

- http://www.shoptour.co.uk/webmaster.shtml6

ASP and cookies

- http://www.shoptour.co.uk/webmaster.shtml8

=> 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.anyonecansellonline.com/tips.shtml0 1

=> 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.anyonecansellonline.com/tips.shtml1

http://www.anyonecansellonline.com/tips.shtml2

http://www.anyonecansellonline.com/tips.shtml3

Cookies can improve your visitors' experiences 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 that your visitors benefit!

(And continue to learn from the invaluable resources above,

and below ;-) !)

About the author: 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.anyonecansellonline.com/tips.shtml4

WANT MORE TIPS? Sign-up to his free monthly Build-tips course here! http://www.shoptour.co.uk/webmaster.shtml

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