A link exchange, not to be confused with the action of "exchanging links", is a collection of websites maintained by a central organization in charge of operating the link exchange. How it works is simple; a website owner registers his or her website with the link exchange and then receives a code in which they insert into their website. The code then displays links to other websites that have also registered with the link exchange. In turn, the website owner's website is added to the other websites within the link exchange.

In a nutshell, a web ring is a collection of websites that share a specific theme or interest. Web rings can be thought of a group of websites belonging to a special club. In a web ring, each of the sites are linked together by a common navigation bar, usually found at the bottom of the site, that allows a visitor to view the previous and next website within the collection. The navigation bar allows a visitor to browse from site to site in a circular or looped way, hence the term web ring.