What makes a good genealogical website?

The best genealogical sites are those which provide relevant content, cite the sources used, provide leads to other sources whether physical or online (this does not include links as an affiliate), are not padded with irrelevant material, provide primary documents, are easily navigated and are updated regularly.   

The criteria by which I will assess each website are as follows:

·      Do all the links work?

Too often I spot an interesting link only to find that the site has been withdrawn, moved or the link somehow broken. This is very frustrating. Dead links should be removed or re-connected.

·      Is the site maintained regularly?

 A site must be maintained regularly. Broken links must be re-connected or the link itself deleted if the linked site no longer exists. Information should be updated and new data added if possible. 

·      Is it easy to navigate around the site?

It is easy to lose your way when a site is large. Backward and forward arrows are useful; also a breadcrumb indicating your path to the current page helps users identify exactly where they are and how to return to a specific page.

·      Does the site provide primary documents?

Researchers look for hard evidence and facts with which to identify their ancestors. Historic descriptions and timelines are interesting and helpful to a point but solid facts and primary sources such a scanned documents are the best evidence.

·      Does the content consist of a list of names without references?

Often a site features a list of names found in some document or repository. These are useless unless they are anchored in a place, time or a documentation location.

·      Is the site merely a conduit to a larger site such as Ancestry.com?

Many sites are affilated with a larger organisation such Ancestry.com. This if fine but if their only real worth is through their affiliation, it begs the point of the site.

·      Does the site have a translation button?

A large number of researchers are migrants looking back from Australia or America. European sites that are written in English are a great help for those who are not proficient in the language of the country in which they are conducting the research. It does not take much effort to add a button to a site for English translation. It would open the site up to a large number of  researchers.