About WebSoda.net

Here you'll find information as well as a FAQ about what is WebSoda and what is our goal. If you're looking for a list of to-be added features as well as current features, click here. We also added a new Blog dedicated to website analysis and a little about WebSoda too!

What is WebSoda.net?
WebSoda started early on 2008 as a repository or list of websites, which ranges from the most known websites to other less known ones. On our main page, you're shown a different random website with a big thumbnail and a description. After seeing the website, you can cast your vote from 0 to 10 (10 being highest), and how frequent you see this website (if you knew it before seeing it here). After voting, you'll get to see the website's average score and frequency, and will be redirected to another random website.

How is WebSoda different to a search engine?
Search engines use a criteria to determine which is the best website, while this is great, we believe that every day, new and valuable websites appear. However, due to the difficulty and time it takes to make them popular, it's hard to reach them. By showing a random website, users can see a very broad range of websites. Also, sometimes we just need random websites and not an exact search result, which makes this website a great place to find new stuff on the net. As we listed on our features page, we will soon have a list of top rated websites, voted by users for users.

I am a webmaster, can I add my own website?
Absolutely! Please read the website guidelines below for more information. Adding websites is free, of course.

Why can't I vote?
You can only vote for a website once. If you are not registered, then one IP can only vote once. Since IP's are not exacly unique for all users, sometimes your IP may have already voted for a website. However, we would prefer that you register, this way votes are more valuable to the website average, and it takes less than one minute to register!

I can't see the website score average before voting.
In order to prevent that your vote is biased by what other people think, you will see the website's score and frequency after voting. The score will always appear if you have already voted for a website before.

Why should I add new websites?
The first reason is that if it is your own website and you think it has valuable content, then you must let others know about it here. If you add a website that you like but you don't own, you're helping the community by adding a website which is worthwile seeing! Also, you'll be awarded points for each good website that you add, which you'll be able to exchange for website promotion later!

What are points for?
For each good website that you add (including your own website), or each friend that you refer, you'll earn points. Points can be used to promote your website. The algorithm is simple: For each website you add, you'll earn 100 points. For each point you have, your website will be shown first to a new visitor. You'll see the number of points next to your user name on the top, however we first need to validate that your own website is appropriate. As soon as it's validated, you'll get awarded 100 points for each new website (including yours), which will take less than three days.

How do I refer friends?
It's easy! Just let them know your username, and when they register, tell them to add your username on the referrer field. You'll be awarded points for each website that your friends add!

Website submission guideline

Do you own a website or would like to contribute to the community with any website? Please do so! By adding websites you'll get points which you can use to promote your own website! Before adding a new website, please read these section.

What kinds of websites are allowed?
WebSoda allows you to add your own or any website that you know, in English (we'll add support to other languages soon), except the following list of prohibited content: Adult-related websites (including stores), websites with illegal or immoral content, spamvertisement of any kind, phishing websites, websites created solely on the porpuse of selling a single item or a magic formula e-book, etc. If you are unsure if your website qualifies, then contact us. When adding websites, do not include your referral code to the website URL. Websites that do not comply with these terms will be automatically removed.

We would prefer second-level domains (www.yourURL.com), as opposed to third-level or nested websites (myWebsite.URL.com or www.URL.com/myWebsite), but don't worry about submitting them. If your website is unfinished, we would recommend adding it as soon as it's done, since other visitors would see an incomplete website and submit low scores.

What format should I use to add websites?
The first step is to determine the URL or address. Let's take WebSoda as an example. The Website URL of WebSoda is www.websoda.net. Do not include "http://", but include "www.", except when using a particular subdomain (for example del.icio.us) Do not include the last "/" when it is not required. Also, before adding a website, check that it is not already included in our website list by using the Search button.

Next is the Website Title. This should be the MAIN part of the title, excluding the slogan which is usually separated by "-", "//", etc. For example, the website title for WebSoda would be WebSoda.net. Some website titles, for example Google, do not include ".com".

The Website Slogan is next to the title. In the case of WebSoda.net, it would be Vote for the best websites and add your own! Some websites, such as Google, do not have a slogan, in that case, you don't need to include it.

The Website Description is a short description (less than 255 characters). If you open the HTML source code of the website, you'll find it inside the <meta name="Description"> tag. If you can't find it, search the website in Google and you'll get a short description, or find it inside the website. Here's an example of how the description of WebSoda looks:

<meta name="Description" content="WebSoda is a repository of websites, from the most popular to the less known. A random website is shown each time you vote. By voting, new websites which don't enjoy the historical popularity of other websites can become visible to the public too." />

Simply copy the text inside the content tag, but don't include quotes (").

For the Website Image URL, this would be the URL for a thumbnail image. Including a thumbnail is optional, however you'll get more points if we find that your thumbnail is good. For now, uploading of thumbnails is not available, instead, you can use your own website folder. Once we validate your image URL (in a day or two), the same image will be cached in our server, this way you don't have to worry about bandwidth. Thumbnails are of 320x240 size exactly, and should be of the main page (not an advertisement image). The format can be either GIF or JPG (GIF preferred), and less than 50KB.

Finally, if you created the website that you are adding, check the "I created this website" field. This is so that we know that you are the webmaster, as you can add any website (except prohibited ones).

If you have any further questions, feel free to contact us and let us know.