• Why a website?

The World Wide Web has become a major information channel. This success is explained by the variety and multitude of information it makes available to a wide number of people at any time with a few clicks of a mouse.

Search engine technology also makes possible extremely powerful and rapid research in the gigantic library that appears to be growing exponentially without stop. Unfortunately the information that is published on the web is often of poor quality, badly written, badly adapted to the different publics that read it, poorly organised, and presented in overly complex sites that are impossible to use…

It has become indispensable for producers of information – particularly in the scientific and technical domains – to publish on the web. But it is essential to do this well, taking into account some basic good principles that are easy to apply. Following these rules will not guarantee the quality of a website, yet will make communication more effective.

• What type of website?

Project websites come in various forms. A major distinction can be drawn between internally and externally oriented sites. The former are designed simply to improve communication between consortium members and are not really addressed by this guide. The latter can be key tools to raise the image of your project and improve dissemination to specialists, potential users of the technologies being developed, politicians and public funding authorities, as well as the general public. In practice, a website can meet both internal and external needs – using password protection to allow consortium members to share confidential data, while still offering unrestricted public access to more general information.