You pretty much need to know how to type - accuracy is more important than speed. 
You need to have access to non-copyrighted data to transcribe for your county and the desire 
to transcribe that data. 
You must know how to make a basic webpage.

What's involved in being a host?

1. The largest responsibility is to transcribe and post data on a regular basis. 
The good news is there are no schedules. Many of our hosts try to make monthly updates, 
some weekly, others every two or three months. Some folks work in spurts as their schedules 
allow and that is fine. 
Just make the effort to keep the website current and we'll be happy. Websites that sit without 
any new data added to them for extended periods of time quickly lose their appeal to researchers. 
The more you transcribe, the more likely your website visitors will be inspired to contribute data 
to your site.

Data to be included are items such as Census, Cemeteries, Marriages, Deaths, Histories, 
Biographies, etc. following all copyright laws.  A good place to begin is with the documents you 
already have gathered from your own family history. Putting your data online will also increase the 
chances you'll meet up with somebody researching your own family.

2. Accept data contributions and place them online

If researchers donate their records to your County, it's your job to place that data online, giving 
a copyright to the person who submitted the material.

What should your website look like? 

You can be as creative as you'd like with your pages in the style and color of your choice, making 
sure to include the following WEBPAGE ELEMENTS: 

LINKS - Required ones are: back to our main Trails to the Past page, your state's main index 
page and to the surrounding counties. The links must be displayed on your main index page, 
usually near the top of the page is a good place. The counties can be linked on a page called 
the neighbors if you prefer.

CURRENT EMAIL ADDRESS - displayed in an obvious place on the index page of the website 
so researchers can contact you with questions or data contributions.

LOGO: Your main page must include the OFFICIAL Trails to the Past Logo of your choice and it 
needs to be displayed at the top of your index page. Once you join us, you can visit our 
Graphics Page to pick up one of the OFFICIAL Trails to the Past Logo. (Yes, you can make your 
own logo, no you can't alter one of ours) We don't require logos on every page of the website, but 
you should be sure to include a link back to your county's own main index page for the visitor's 
convenience. 

Your site should Include a brief history of your County. Let visitors know what your County was 
all about. You can include historical photographs, biographies, public officials, tax lists from the 
past. Libraries are excellent places to find public-domain materials like this to include. Other than 
that, you're free to add whatever other copyright-free data you can find.

You can create your pages in any style or color that you like, as long as the above elements are
present. Our data files are in html format, trying to keep the web pages as simple as possible for 
the fastest loading possible. 

Where do I place my site?

Rootsweb offers free web site hosting for Trails to the Past members. 
Ask your State Administrator for more information.

Ready to host a county?  

 

	
	
	
 
	
	

	
	
	
	
	
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