At the Recent Ohio (GNU)LinuxFest, I talked about the importance of promoting your FOSS projects, covering some of the tasks project teams need to engage in, working with the press, and handling negative publicity. This is the first in a series of articles aimed at helping project teams by going into more details. Here we consider how your home page figures into your marketing process.

At the Recent Ohio (GNU)LinuxFest, I talked about the importance of promoting your FOSS projects, covering some of the tasks project teams need to engage in, working with the press, and handling negative publicity. Much of that discussion may seem obvious, but a lot of the project websites I visit leave me with the impression that it's only obvious to some people. Some sites are poorly laid out, while others haven't been updated since 1999 - or earlier. Project leaders and teams need to recognize the fact that a website is a communication tool. What you communicate, and how, is crucial to helping your project become successful.

Let's consider four websites as examples - Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, and PCLinuxOS. First, while Debian's site isn't necessarily the prettiest site, it is still invaluable as far as marketing goes. First, they kept it simple. Second, they actually tell you what Debian is - and right at the top of the page. It's the first thing you see. Once a first-time visitor has read what Debian is, the next thing they see is a section telling them how to get Debian. This is followed by news and security advisories. The only users likely to feel lost are those who still don't grasp the difference between an operating system and a word processor.

Similarly, Fedora has a small set of screen shots just above their description of the project. In my view, it would have been better to drop the images below the description, but I'm just one guy out of a million with an opinion. Still, the images are kept to a minimum, so they do not overwhelm the text. Like Debian's site, visitors can quickly see how to get this nifty OS with the cool pictures, and even how to become part of the community. This is important, since the Fedora folks have explained that they are a community, and that anyone can join. Both projects include links to documentation and how to get help.

Ubuntu has done what both of these projects have done, albeit slightly differently. They have combined images in a tasteful and useful way, to reinforce the Ubuntu brand. Branding may seem stupid to us FOSS folks, but the truth is, it's very important for people to be able to recognize your brand. What do you think the penguin and the wildebeest mascots are for? They enforce the brand. The firefox logo does the same thing. How can you miss the Debian swirl or the Fedora (which is my favorite hat) or the Ubuntu circle? People come to recognize these images as symbolic of the brand they represent.

Most people will be able to visit these websites, get an understanding of what the sites are all about and how to acquire what each offers. It's called marketing, folks! Contrast this with some other popular projects whose home page consists of news about the project. Just looking over the PCLinuxOS home page, there is nothing to tell first-time visitors what the heck a PCLinuxOS is, just a news article about how the latest edition of their magazine is out, and links to donate, download and support, along with the community and international links. Then more links down the side of the page to the forums and - get this - to more news! A first-time visitor will have to spend some time clicking through the website to figure out what PCLinuxOS is, unless they have been referred to the site.

I'm not saying people can't figure it out, and many people already know. But first-time, non-technical visitors will be confused as to whether PCLinuxOS is an operating system project or a news site. PCLinuxOS should take better advantage of the home page to describe what the project is, how to get their software and how to get involved. You can put news on the home page, or a link to it - no problem. But news should never be the home page, or even the primary information on the home page. News should always take a secondary role to communicating what your project is and how people can get it and get involved.

There is one other important factor as well. The availability of contact information is as varied as the number of projects. Some sites do better than others, but many fail to grasp an important element of their marketing process - the press. Even if you have a small library project, you should consider that some knuckle-head journalist like myself might come calling for an interview or some bruhaha that broke out involving your library. I can't think of too many projects that don't have e-mail lists. But, few projects actually consider how to help the press communicate with them. Debian and Ubuntu have done a good job in this case, while Fedora and PCLinuxOS could improve.

So let's get a couple things clear, just to reinforce the lesson:

• Keep it simple and prioritize.
• Home page needs to communicate what the project is, how to get it and how to get involved.
• Talk about benefits and features, preferably in that order.
• Use images sparingly, and only those that reinforce your brand and the message you want to send.
• Make certain the important contact information is available, so people know who to communicate with and for what purposes.

So, step back and take a look at your website. How well does it communicate what your project is and is about? How well does your home page brand your project? If you have 30 images, or no images, you might want to re-think your strategy a bit. Can people find the appropriate contact information easily? If these issues are in order, you're on the right track. But if you're not, don't hesitate to ask questions. You're welcome to post questions right here on Blue GNU. Also, this article does not cover everything about using your website as a marketing tool. That means readers should feel free to point out other issues not addressed here.

And, for the record, PCLinuxOS might be very popular. That doesn't change the fact that changing their website strategy could boost that even higher. Nor is this article an endorsement of any of the projects.