RootsWeb.com Reviewer's Comments
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RootsWeb.com is a free web-based genealogy community that provides a robust worldwide environment for learning, collaborating and sharing, and is our "TopTenREVIEWS Bronze Award" genealogy search site.
The primary purpose and function of this service is to connect people, so they can help each other and share genealogical research—resources on RootsWeb.com facilitate such connections.
RootsWeb.com is part of the MyFamily.com, Inc. Network that also includes Ancestry.com Genealogy.com, Ancestry.co.uk, FamilyHistory.com, Genealogy.org and MyFamily.com, also featured on this review site.
RootsWeb.com accesses many of its features through Ancestry.com—as a result, we did not list these features to prevent a false impression that RootsWeb.com includes these features free.
RootsWeb.com Screenshots. Click to Enlarge
Name Database:
You can search your ancestors through RootsWeb.com in two different ways. First, you can search their WorldConnect Project, a set of tools that allow clients to upload, modify, link and display their family trees. There are currently more than 385 million names on file and this number is growing daily. All of this information is free—we predict as this database grows, it will become increasingly popular because of the free access.
The second search option will direct you to Ancestry.com. To use this option you will have to pay Ancestry.com's annual subscription fee, but you will have access to a database of over 3 billion names.
The data on RootsWeb.com is a result of millions of online genealogists sharing research. You can submit your own records for inclusion in the user-contributed databases, your family tree to the WorldConnect Project as well your family surnames on the RootsWeb Surname List.
Worldwide Focus:
RootsWeb.com is free to everyone all over the world so there is a chance that people of all nationalities could find information on this site. In addition, if you decide to access their host site, Ancestry.com, you'll have a number of international partner sites at your fingertips.
Other Resources:
RootsWeb.com has links to other genealogy sites and to client's sites that contain their own personal genealogical information. As more and more people around the world contribute information to RootsWeb.com, it will become a greater resource to genealogists. You can also build your own genealogy website on RootsWeb.com where you can share your research with others.
The biggest downfall to this site is there is no guarantee that all of the information is right. We recommend that you verify all information gathered from others to ensure accuracy.
RootsWeb.com provides access to more than 29,591 genealogy-related mailing lists covering surnames, U.S. counties and states, other countries and regions, ethnic groups and other topics. This is a priceless resource—connecting with other genealogists who are further along with their research or are more experienced can expedite your own learning curve and provide valuable information.
Ease of Use:
Don't judge this site by its homepage—it isn't appealing with so many links to other pages, but the links are well organized and accurate. Despite the lists of links, everything is labeled, and the site is easy to navigate.
Help/Support:
RootsWeb.com has an extensive FAQs page, how-to lessons and a message board.
The service also provides an email address to contact customer support.
Summary:
RootsWeb.com is a great place for beginning genealogists to get started and doesn't require a monetary investment—only your time. If you're a serious genealogists, you will probably want to signup for Ancestry.com so you have access to all of the information and resources available.
©2008 TopTenREVIEWS, Inc.
