All Posts (Steve)
Re: Forum Software that works well with WordPress |
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That is quite a write-up, Daniel! I'm bookmarking it and will digest over the next week(s).
There are 2 main schools of thought around even having comments enabled on your website. Seth Godin does not have them. Michael Hyatt had them, removed them, then brought them back. Copyblogger removed them and has not restored them. There's a book by Bryan Allain called "Community Wins, 21 Thoughts on Building a Thriving Online Tribe" in which he writes based on the assumption you'll have some way for people to interact. Gary Vaynerchuk, a very colorful (not suitable for work or children) speaker, has comments on his blog via Facebook. I believe in comments - and forums. I also know there are other places for people to have conversations. This has unearthed some thoughts that are good topics for blog posts. Thanks, Daniel!
Posted on: 2016/4/4 5:46
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Steve "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21 |
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Re: Forum Software that works well with WordPress |
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While I haven't had much experience with bbPress or BuddyPress, they are mature enough to be good starts. I did a search and found a few other WordPress forum alternatives and some thoughts on which fits different situations.
Are you getting many comments on your posts? What about social shares? They are good indicators of the type of activity you'll get in a forum. Though, with a few dedicated people and some regular posts, you'll build a good foundation for developing conversations on your site.
Posted on: 2015/4/11 23:30
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Steve "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21 |
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Re: What are the plans for this site? |
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I've been on this journey for quite some time and I have seen some very bustling communities centered around faith and technology dwindle for various reasons. I mentioned several influential Christian communities and forums in a blog post about a year ago. Several challenges exist for a community such as this - creating awareness, building momentum, and sustaining interest.
Then, along comes the rise of Twitter and Facebook - platforms where discussions are more fluid and less structured. I find those effective for quick exchanges, but they have little lasting value as a repository of learning for others. Facebook groups are somewhat better, but a lack of searchability is the major limitation. For the foreseeable future, Christian Web Resources will be here for people to come and visit, stay a while, and learn and share. This is probably suitable for a blog post and an updated About Us page. Why 'Christian' and not just webmasters? As you noted - the technical side is much the same. Do people need to be Christian to find some help here for them as a webmaster? Certainly not. This site is not just about the technical - the "how-to" and "what-to". It is also about the "why-to". Hence, we are Christian Webmasters. Peace!
Posted on: 2014/12/21 0:54
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Steve "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21 |
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Re: How can we recognize harmful backlinkers, and what can be done about it? |
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Hi, Daniel - look through these forums, there was a thread about backlinks, but it was about generating more backlinks, rather that evaluating the backlinks you already have, and potentially blocking some.
I don't worry much about the scammy spammers and their links - the search engines are a lot more sophisticated now and the negative impact isn't as great. That's not to say that some will not try to launch a negative SEO campaign against your site, but just as Google and Bing/Yahoo! evaluate the links from your site to determine its relevance, the same is done for the sites linking to yours. Instead, I tend to focus on those sites that are good references to mine and help them craft the page where I am linked - doing a little SEO for them can boost both our positions. If you are hosting a lot of resources from your site (PDFs, images, documents, presentations), you might want to consider setting up restrictions for hot-linking. Don't allow other sites to post your resources and use your bandwidth without landing on a page on your site. if you're not familiar with hot-linking, just do a search. There are even WP plugins to assist you.
Posted on: 2014/12/16 12:36
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Steve "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21 |
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Re: Just wanted to say hello before I do anything else at CWB |
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Glad you found us, Daniel, and took the time to post a note!
Things have been kind of quiet around here for a while, but people still visit regularly. We're due for a makeover and I'm working on that - hopefully some time in January. Have a look around and let me know what things you like and would like to see improved or expanded. Blessings!
Posted on: 2014/12/16 12:14
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Steve "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21 |
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Re: Getting Quality High PR Backlinks |
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Welcome to the forums, Huisgemeente. Please introduce yourself and tell us more about your ministry.
I had a look at the site, but needed to view it from my desktop because the site is built completely with Flash. Because it's in Flash and completely in Dutch, I had to find someone to translate for me, at least give me the basics. Fortunately, I have a friend in Belgium.
Posted on: 2012/7/15 7:07
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Steve "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21 |
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Re: Italics |
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There are several hundred factors most search engines use to determine relevancy for search terms. For a human, bold, emphasized (italics is just a style of emphasis), and headers are visual clues to importance of certain words. If it makes sense to a human for a particular word to be bold instead of normal, make it bold. Write for your readers.
Search engines are getting more sophisticated algorithms for rating content and pages. They are even starting to consider your profiles compared to other sites - if all your backlinks are high quality backlinks, that's not normal and you could be penalized for it. Focus on your readers and they'll put you in the top results.
Posted on: 2012/6/7 13:31
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Steve "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21 |
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Re: Getting Quality High PR Backlinks |
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Evangelizing through the web does certainly extend your reach around the globe and around the clock. Also remember, your church is in its own corner of the world and it has a mission right next door. The primary point I'm hoping to get across, and I think Michael (micblame) is echoing, is that there are far more direct ways of improving your online position than seeking out backlinks. Secondary to that point is it is far easier to backlink wrong than it is to backlink properly and effectively. The challenge we face here and hope to communicate to more web stewards is how to build their ministry's online strategy on a firm foundation for the sharing of the Gospel. That has been, and still is, the goal and mission of this website - to educate, encourage, empower, equip and enable others to carry on the work of Jesus Christ. Help them separate the easy from the simple.
Posted on: 2011/12/23 12:32
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Steve "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21 |
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Re: Getting Quality High PR Backlinks |
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Webmaster
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Every organization will need to identify its purpose and develop a strategy to accomplish their goals. Getting connected to other relevant sites will be a part of the strategy, for sure. But, and this is critical - if you don't have quality content on your site and the backlinks don't originate from sites that have related content, the backlink is worthless and could possibly be detrimental to your search results. Have content that encourages participation and then respond when you get it. The average person online has 130 friends on Facebook, which is more than the average congregation size in the USA. That means your choir can reach over 1,000 people without even trying. And that's only the first ring - each of those 1,000 people has friends, too. Next question - is the goal to get people to visit your website, or to visit a church?
Posted on: 2011/12/23 4:13
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Steve "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21 |
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Re: Getting Quality High PR Backlinks |
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Don, thank you for joining the forums. All are welcome to share and learn how better to serve our ministries online. Links to your site can have an impact on search engine rankings, but they are probably not as essential for most church and ministry websites. In terms of an overall web strategy, I would place them quite low, actually. Focus, instead, on building relationships with your online visitors and give them relevant content. By the way - your post was moved to a more appropriate topic - Strategies and Tools. Out of respect for our visitors, please be sure any links or resources you do share are relevant and have value to other ministries and web stewards.
Posted on: 2011/11/20 5:13
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Steve "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21 |
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