Christian webmaster help resources
Tips, tricks, and links
Christian webmaster help resourcesTips, tricks, and links |
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The Internet is changing so fast, and sites change so quickly, that it would be a full-time job to keep up with all the best webmaster sites. But this page offers a range of tips, and some starting places to find more resources. The Bulletin carries webmaster tips every issue - you can search back issues. Important places to look are the Open Directory Project and Zeal.com - because these are maintained by thousands of volunteer editors, each is able to maintain an up-to-date selection of best sites within his or her own area of experience. However, even here, there is a bewildering range of sites, in a number of different directories. For instance, you can start at:
but realize that there are a number of other specialist categories too. Zeal.com has similar ranges of categories.
Help for Web and computer newcomersThere is surprisingly little online material for newbies - even though at any one time, a large number of online people are very new and need help.
Webmaster newsletters and resourcesJoin some email newsletters and two-way discussion lists, and find webmaster bulletin boards at your level of expertise - then you can ask questions (and offer answers).
GraphicsYou can often pick up a CD with graphics and photos very cheaply. There are other sources of free (or cheap) graphics online:
Tips
DisabilityA humane society makes its buildings, walkways and transport accessible to the disabled.
Syndicated material to add to your siteContent-sharing is a win-win situation, and is growing in scope. The options below are mainly for sites aimed at Christians, except the diet tip, which leads to an evangelistic site.
Promotion and search enginesMost promotion sites are produced primarily for online commerce sites - but there is much we can learn from them:
Style sheets
DomainsA domain name is better than using your ISP free space - because the name is yours permanently. You do not need to pay much more than US$12 per year for registration. Choose a domain registrar that others recommend. Some have been known to forget to remind users to renew, and domains have been lost. The best will send multiple reminders by email when renewal is near. My own experience, on the recommendation of others, with 000domains has been good with frequent renewal reminders starting 60 days ahead - but there are many good companies, and others you should run from. Always make a note of when your domain renewals must be made, and check that the email address your registrar holds for you remains current, otherwise you will not receive your rewewal request. It is usually easy to transfer your domain from an expensive or unreliable registrar to a better one - but don't leave it till near renewal time, do it in advance.
Site providersIf you are not using ISP freespace, take care in selecting a site provider. Take note of friends' recommendations, and check online comparisons. For an average site that does not demand much bandwidth, there are good companies who will charge $5-10 a month. Since almost all 'free' site providers obtain their revenue by irritating popup adverts, it is well worth paying a provider. CNET reviews some providers. There are also Christian hosting companies.
StatisticsIt is useful to know how many visitors your site is getting and how they got there. Even more important is to see the search words people are using to find your site. Understanding how people search enables you to improve your search engine ranking for different pages. Find a statistics solution which gives you search engine keywords as well as referring pages. There are still a few free solutions whereby you add some hidden coding on your page to receive statistics reports. Better - your site provider may offer a statistics service, or can send you raw statistics data to analyse with an appropriate software package. Also ask your ISP if they provide statistics in any form. If they can make available 'raw statistics' to you to download, you can then analyze these using software on your own computer, giving a very detailed picture of what is happening. Mach5 Analyzer, although quite expensive for commercial users, can be free for non-profit/charitable groups. Make a polite approach to the company, explaining your group's status and the nature of your site. If you qualify, opt for the 'Gold' service.
SoftwareBefore buying expensive software (or hardware), look for online or magazine reviews - e.g. CNET. (There are also price comparison sites, to search for a best deal.) Your choice of web-editing software is of course very important. However, there is a surprising amount of free software available - check the Christian-run Completely Free Software. There are often good software deals available from Computer Tips for anti-virus and graphics software.
Newletter providersFree secular newsletter/discussion list providers obtain their revenue by including advertising items on every item of mail. Christian-based Associate.com may be able to help you with a free non-advertising list.
Coping with email
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The following syndicated tips are provided by other sites; we have no control over their content. Material is frequently updated.
Sitepoint Tip
Lockergnome TipsNote: links open in a new window.
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