Our first GeoGuide is a way-cool customizable, multi-featured navigational tool designed to sit at the top of your pages. It will help people find your "home on the Web" and supply you with a launching pad for all your surfing needs. It also integrates some features of GeoRewards, including rotating banners and messages from members, GeoCities and our sponsors.

The GeoGuide program will serve as a platform for future features like web rings, personal chat rooms, CGI applications, and other cool utilities. Here are some common questions and answers that came out of our homesteader focus groups to further explain what the first GeoGuide can do for you. To find out how to install our first GeoGuide, visit the GeoGuide Installation Page.

Is the first GeoGuide a Java applet?
There are Java and GIF versions. This GeoGuide is a much stronger navigational tool when in the Java format, but there is a less-functional GIF version available called GeoGuide Lite. The Java version offers significant benefits including customization and other cool enhancements in the coming months.

What happens if people who visit my page have a non-Java browser and I am using the Java GeoGuide?
Not to worry, the GIF version (GeoGuide Lite) will automatically load. The code that you'll paste into your script is programmed to read what type of browser a visitor to your page is using and to serve them the appropriate GeoGuide.

Why is GeoCities asking me to put this on my page?
As you know, GeoCities has become the busiest and best place to create your own free Personal Home Page on the net. We make it really easy for you to set up and modify your own home page, and we also make it easy for people to access your site.

A lot of traffic to GeoCities goes directly to homesteader pages, without going through the GeoCities Home Page or through any of the GeoCities neighborhood pages. Because of this, many of you are telling us that it is getting harder to get around GeoCities.

We've designed this GeoGuide to make it much easier to navigate directly from homesteader's pages to other places in GeoCities. Also, the search facilities of this GeoGuide are designed to make it easier for people to find your site.

The GeoGuide does feature a spot to promote homesteader pages and GeoCities sponsors who make it possible for us to continue to deliver free home pages and more cool utilities.

What do I get out of it?
More FREE utilities and services from GeoCities. Our latest features are the GeoGuestbook and the new chat rooms. We also have HTML-based e-mail, private chat rooms, buddy lists and web ring capabilities in the works. Yes, you read that correctly -- personal chat rooms are coming soon. And, many of these new tools will be integrated into the GeoGuide!

Can I customize the GeoGuide for my own page?
We've seen the imagination of our homesteaders in action -- so we knew we had to give you a chance to add your personal touch to the GeoGuide. We made a tab that is totally your turf that you can customize any way you want within the limits of our member guidelines. Finally, the look and feel of the GeoGuide is up to you, too. In the near future, we'll have more customizable options for you to explore.

What is The Great GeoGuide Sweepstakes?
When you put the GeoGuide on your pages you are automatically entered in The First Great GeoGuide Sweepstakes. Prizes include -- one Micron Millennia MME(C) computer, three Kodak Digital Cameras, five Iomega Zip Drives, and ten software kits from Adobe, Astound, Macromedia and Microsoft.

As an added bonus, you earn a GeoTicket for each visit to one of your pages with the GeoGuide on it. GeoTickets are entered into a monthly drawing for more great prizes. And, if you add the GeoGuide to your pages and apply for our GeoRewards program -- you can add your banner into the GeoGuide rotation and earn GeoPoints good toward free merchandise in our Marketplace.

For more information, please visit The Great GeoGuide Sweepstakes rules and regulations page.

How do I put it on my page?
It's very simple: Just insert a small snippet of HTML coding in your page. For how to install and customize GeoGuide, go to the GeoGuide Program Installation page.

Where should I put the GeoGuide on my page?
We'd like you to place it at the top of your index page and all main entryways into your site. Remember, you can customize the GeoGuide to help it fit in with your design. And, the more pages that feature this GeoGuide, the more chances you'll have to win cool prizes. But the real rewards are that this GeoGuide is designed to drive more traffic to everyone's pages and enhance overall navigation. With the increased traffic and activity in GeoCities, we can continue to create better tools, provide your 2 megs of space, give you the best home page utilities around, and maintain your growing online communities.

How do I get my banner in the GeoGuide?
Our banner exchange program is called GeoRewards. It allows you to create a banner that shows up in the GeoGuide on other GeoCities homesteaders' pages. Visit GeoRewards and find out how easy it is to get involved.

Will this replace both GeoRewards banners and the mandatory link?
The GeoGuide will be used to serve GeoRewards banners. The only change is that we are cutting down the banner size to 234x60 in order to provide navigation and banners at the same time. Since the mandatory link at the bottom of the page doesn't take up much space we'd love you to keep it. But, please maintain a separate link to GeoCities at the bottom of every page that doesn't have a GeoGuide. Also, we have seen some creative uses of the GeoGuide in frames -- such as SoHo1000 or SoHo3505.

Why does the GeoGuide I put on my page only have two tabs?
The third tab (your tab) is missing because you haven't customized it yet. Just visit the GeoGuide Installation Page for easy customization information.

Will homesteaders still be able to create banners?
Absolutely. We are looking forward to seeing your creative new banners. And you're going to have a lot more people looking at them.

Comments?
After you've installed your first GeoGuide, please let us know what you think by visiting our feedback form here.

Thank you for your support of GeoCities. You are making it possible for us to deliver the best free home page community on the Web! Click here to put the GeoGuide on your page.