Please read the following guidelines, restrictions and specific instructions below before submitting your website to The Massachusetts Website Directory. At the present time, submission to directory is at no charge, however we would appreciate a reciprocal link back to our web pages if at all possible, but not required. Please note that our editors attempt to review and publish all new entries in the fastest time possible, but we cannot guarantee how long it may take to review and include your website in directory.

If you are interested in suggesting a new category for the Massachusetts Website Directory, please contact the Editorial Staff with your suggestion

In order to be accepted for inclusion in The Massachusetts Website Directory, your site must conform to all of the following requirements:

• The Website must fit one of the following guidelines:
• The Owners/Ownership of the website is based in the state of Massachusetts - or
• The Website pertains directly to information and/or resources related to businesses, individuals and/or entities within the state of Massachusetts - or
• The Website contains content/information that - in the discretion of the editors of The MassWebDirectory.com - is deemed relevant to individuals, businesses, and/or entities located in the state of Massachusetts
• The Website must include a valid Title, Description and URL. See below information on writing proper Titles and Descriptions and identifying proper URL's.
• The individual(s) submitting the website must include a verifiable email address, contact name and location. This information will only be used for confirmation and communication between The Massachusetts Website Directory and the Website party. See our Terms of Service for more information on privacy issues and our use of contact information.
• A valid category must be selected for inclusion into the directory.
• Add Website

Types of Sites which are not allowed in the directory and factors which will prevent a website from being listed in the Massachusetts Website Directory:

• Sites which contain pornography, adult-oriented material, hate messages and/or violence/slander or otherwise objective content to groups or individuals. Sites which advocate violence or illegal acts against a person or group of people will not be listed. Sites containing visual representation of extreme violence or ludeness will not be listed. Sites that contain pornographic text or images should not be submitted. This includes sites that require users to be over 18 to enter and sites that contain links to sites with such material via text links or banners.
• Sites which include content that is deemed illegal by the State of Massachusetts and/or the Government of The United States.
• Spam as defined below.
• Sites composed entirely of affiliate banners and links
• Site URL's which are mirror domains, redirects, or composed of hidden links, textual content specifically designed to trick or mislead individuals and/or Search Engines, or for the purposes of fraudulently achieving higher Search Engine Rankings.
• Multiple submissions of the same URL or subdirectories of that URL. In rare cases - as deemed appropriate by the editors of the directory - subdirectories and multiple listings of domain names may be included. (EXAMPLE: The University of Massachusetts URL may appear under Education -> Colleges and Universities, while the UMass Online URL may appear under Education --> Online Learning)
• Sites which are under construction or that contain broken links and/or images.
• Sites selling and/or advertising goods or services which do not exist.
• Sites which are not written in the English language or contain a way for visitors to easily translate the pages viewed.
• Sites submitted which do not conform to the guidelines as indicated in the above requirements for inclusion into the MassWebDirectory in general.
• Add Website

Writing A Proper URL:

The URL must be in the form of a complete description that includes the use of "http://"
Example: http://www.masswebdirectory.com/

If you are adding a URL which contains or is more than the traditional "Short Version" of the URL (as in - more than just "http://www.masswebdirectory.com/"), please add the reasons for doing so in the "Comments" section of the submission form.

Writing The Title:

When writing the title, it is recommended that the Official Name of the Business, Entity, Individual be used. In some cases the web URL may be substituted for the Official Name (such as MyDomain.com - not http://www.mydomain.com).

In other cases where the title should be something other than the Official Name of URL, make sure to consider the following:

• Keep the title brief. Some titles will need abbreviations in order to fit in the allotted space. Use proper abbreviations.
• So not use special characters within the title - unless they are part of the Official Name.
• Use Capital Letters for major words found in the title - BUT DO NOT use all Capital Letters for every letter.
• "A, An, or The" and similar beginnings should be placed at the end of the title (Example: Title, The). If it is possible to eliminate the usage of these types of beginnings it is highly recommended.
• Blatant use of sales phrases, catch phrases, slogans, or other words and/or phrases meant to "sell" the site, versus the usage of Official Names, Titles or URL's will be rejected.
  

Writing The Description:
Write a brief, objective phrase or sentence about the site, and what it offers or features about the product or service.

• Use correct grammar, spelling and punctuation.
• Proofread your descriptions.
• Write out the meaning of acronyms, which may have been used in the title.
• Do not start your description with "This site" , repetition of the name, title or URL.
• Blatant use of sales phrases, catch phrases, slogans, or other words and/or phrases meant to "sell" the site, versus the usage of Official Names, Titles or URL's will be rejected.
• Do not use All Capital Letters.
• Do not capitalize the first letter of every word in the description.
• Do not include prices, specific amounts and quantities or "Sales Advertisements"
• Descriptions must be written in English

What is Spam?

Most affiliate sites; multiple or mirror links to the same site; porn sites or websites that links to porn; hate sites; sites which promote violence; and sites which violate the laws of the United States and the State of Massachusetts are classified as spam. Below are additional listings, examples and definitions as defined by the The MassWebDirectory.

• Multiple links to the same site, porn sites or websites that link to porn.
• Multiple submissions using different URL's; either unique or variations of one URL.
• Redirected sites including sites that redirect the main page and sites that redirect by clicking on any of the links on the main page.
• Hidden service website, IE - the main page will display something totally different from what you get from the links. Also known as a "Cloaked Page"
• Websites uniquely different with unique URL's but offering the same links or service.
• Websites, that when clicked or opened display excessive banners and/or popups as deemed inappropriate by the editors of The MassWebDirectory.
• Java bomb pages. Sites that load a page or pages every time you close a page.
• Websites that automatically change or try to change the users computer settings.