Just like any brochure or advertisement, your Web site makes a statement about your county or municipality. Citizens will judge it by its content, as well as its appearance and style. Here is some advice on style guidelines offered by state, county, and municipal Web masters:

• Identify yourself-Links from external sources allow visitors to enter your site at any point. Be sure every page identifies your municipality.
• Make it easy to communicate-Include forms and e-mail links. Forms may be used to solicit information, register for events, or subscribe to a newsletter. E-mail forms allow visitors to contact any number of people within your government.
• Use templates-Your site's pages should have a consistent look and feel. Use templates to create standardized headers, footers, fonts, graphics, and backgrounds.
• Date stamp your pages-Let visitors know when the material they are viewing was last refreshed by displaying the most recent revision date on each page.
• Use graphics judiciously-Graphics are attractive, but often overused. Too many or too large graphics slow down the communications process and frustrate users.
• Give help-Use indexes, tables of contents, and search tools to help orient users and guide them to the information they want.
• Include useful links-Link to useful resources within your own site and on other sites. A few briefly described, well-chosen links are more valuable than a long laundry list.
• Avoid dead ends-Use navigation aids, like "top-of-page," "return-to-home," "next page," and "previous page" buttons, freely. Don't let your visitors get stuck in dead ends with no way to get around.
• Offer low-tech options-Not every user has the technology to take advantage of a graphical interface. Be sure your site is usable by the widest possible audience, which includes offering low-tech options.