Complementary Sites and Partners

It is likely there are sites already published that will complement the material your committee is developing. If your site is actually duplicating another site – not owned by you – then your committee should think long and hard about why you are building a competing site and what the advantage of that would be to your community.

No site can be everything to everyone. There are many sites out there that may be well-positioned to drive users to your site. In fact, cross-linking (both sites linking to one another) is an excellent way to market your site and leverage the content of both sites.

Before you link, let the other site know that you are doing so and ask them to do the same.

Effective partnering is definitely a two-way street so be certain to always give credit. This may be in the form of using logos, statements, etc. that let the visitor to your site know who was/is involved and how.

Tip: Use some caution in selecting your complementary sites and determining how they fit with your overall mission. If an organization has too narrow a focus or is involved in some type of advocacy, then you will want to be careful that your community is not sending an unintended message to your audience.