Comments on: Mount Vernon Methodist Church, Danville, Virginia http://healyourchurchwebsite.com/2004/01/26/mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia Teaching, rebuking, correcting & training in righteous web design. Mon, 26 Sep 2011 02:56:07 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Frank Ramage http://healyourchurchwebsite.com/2004/01/26/mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia/comment-page-1/#comment-1505 Frank Ramage Thu, 26 Feb 2004 18:15:37 +0000 http://healyourchurchwebsite.com/2004/01/26/mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia#comment-1505 >> Yes!! The question of how to get the site found in a search has driven me nuts - and I notice many other church Web sites don't get found either. IIRC, I used an earlier version of this software: http://www.webposition.com. You might want to take the trial version for a spin. Consider letting them subscribe you to their newsletter. If you're obsessive-compulsive like me, you might want to give the job to someone else . >> But so far (they've been up for several weeks) no one, including me, seems to be having trouble . . . Consider reading... "Unsolicited Commercial E-mail Research Six Month Report" http://www.cdt.org/speech/spam/030319spamreport.shtml >> As for the e-mail addresses on the contacts page, I'll fix them. Look at Dean's or this tool: http://hiveware.com/enkoder_form.php Nice job! -Frank Ramage -burtonsvillebaptist.org P.S. Consider replacing the building picture on homepage with a human relationship shot (even stock photo). Perhaps something to reinforce: "Come in out of the cold of an impersonal, sometimes hostile world and join us." >> Yes!! The question of how to get the site found in a search has driven me nuts – and I notice many other church Web sites don’t get found either.

IIRC, I used an earlier version of this software: http://www.webposition.com. You might want to take the trial version for a spin. Consider letting them subscribe you to their newsletter.

If you’re obsessive-compulsive like me, you might want to give the job to someone else .

>> But so far (they’ve been up for several weeks) no one, including me, seems to be having trouble . . .

Consider reading…

“Unsolicited Commercial E-mail Research Six Month Report”
http://www.cdt.org/speech/spam/030319spamreport.shtml

>> As for the e-mail addresses on the contacts page, I’ll fix them.

Look at Dean’s or this tool: http://hiveware.com/enkoder_form.php

Nice job!

-Frank Ramage
-burtonsvillebaptist.org

P.S.

Consider replacing the building picture on homepage with a human relationship shot (even stock photo). Perhaps something to reinforce:

“Come in out of the cold of an impersonal, sometimes hostile world and join us.”

]]> By: Sarah Angeline http://healyourchurchwebsite.com/2004/01/26/mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia/comment-page-1/#comment-1504 Sarah Angeline Tue, 27 Jan 2004 14:36:21 +0000 http://healyourchurchwebsite.com/2004/01/26/mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia#comment-1504 How does one join this "Blogs 4 God" Alliance? How does one join this “Blogs 4 God” Alliance?

]]> By: aisquith.org http://healyourchurchwebsite.com/2004/01/26/mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia/comment-page-1/#comment-1503 aisquith.org Tue, 27 Jan 2004 02:53:09 +0000 http://healyourchurchwebsite.com/2004/01/26/mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia#comment-1503 For a first timer, that site *kills* my first attempt. Well done. As for the contacts page, I set up aliases, and it has worked out very well. We also set up a single alias which sends email to every leader - that one, of course, is not listed anywhere on the contacts page... Rich For a first timer, that site *kills* my first attempt. Well done. As for the contacts page, I set up aliases, and it has worked out very well. We also set up a single alias which sends email to every leader – that one, of course, is not listed anywhere on the contacts page…

Rich

]]> By: Lin B http://healyourchurchwebsite.com/2004/01/26/mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia/comment-page-1/#comment-1502 Lin B Mon, 26 Jan 2004 18:47:27 +0000 http://healyourchurchwebsite.com/2004/01/26/mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia#comment-1502 Yes!! The question of how to get the site found in a search has driven me nuts - and I notice many other church Web sites don't get found either. As for the e-mail addresses on the contacts page, I'll fix them. But so far (they've been up for several weeks) no one, including me, seems to be having trouble . . . or wait - maybe I just don't realize where trouble originates? I do get a fair amount of junk mail - maybe 10 a day. But I get 10 times as much at my other e-mail address that's never been posted online. Yes!! The question of how to get the site found in a search has driven me nuts – and I notice many other church Web sites don’t get found either.

As for the e-mail addresses on the contacts page, I’ll fix them. But so far (they’ve been up for several weeks) no one, including me, seems to be having trouble . . . or wait – maybe I just don’t realize where trouble originates? I do get a fair amount of junk mail – maybe 10 a day. But I get 10 times as much at my other e-mail address that’s never been posted online.

]]> By: Bill Siddall http://healyourchurchwebsite.com/2004/01/26/mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia/comment-page-1/#comment-1501 Bill Siddall Mon, 26 Jan 2004 17:41:07 +0000 http://healyourchurchwebsite.com/2004/01/26/mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia#comment-1501 Woohoo! Snow day and we're playing at Dean's house. Overall, nice job. What would I fix first? Search engine friendliness. Take the newcomer's test. Imagine you are new in town, didn't know anyone, and are looking for a church. You'd go to Google and search on "townname church". Is your site on the first couple pages? Or you'd search on "townname denomination church". Is your site near the top? The graphic at the top is a search engine killer. As Dean has suggested, you should use text for your church name and address as an h1 or (at least) alt. Keep up the good work! Woohoo! Snow day and we’re playing at Dean’s house.

Overall, nice job. What would I fix first? Search engine friendliness. Take the newcomer’s test. Imagine you are new in town, didn’t know anyone, and are looking for a church. You’d go to Google and search on “townname church”. Is your site on the first couple pages? Or you’d search on “townname denomination church”. Is your site near the top?

The graphic at the top is a search engine killer. As Dean has suggested, you should use text for your church name and address as an h1 or (at least) alt.

Keep up the good work!

]]> By: Dave J. http://healyourchurchwebsite.com/2004/01/26/mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia/comment-page-1/#comment-1500 Dave J. Mon, 26 Jan 2004 17:32:59 +0000 http://healyourchurchwebsite.com/2004/01/26/mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia#comment-1500 I actually like the header of the church name and address. If you keep it, just repeat the details in the bottom of each page so the Search engines pick it up. I actually like the header of the church name and address. If you keep it, just repeat the details in the bottom of each page so the Search engines pick it up.

]]> By: Frank Ramage http://healyourchurchwebsite.com/2004/01/26/mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia/comment-page-1/#comment-1499 Frank Ramage Mon, 26 Jan 2004 16:59:57 +0000 http://healyourchurchwebsite.com/2004/01/26/mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia#comment-1499 Try the "List Mailtos" bookmarklet at http://wwwhomes.uni-bielefeld.de/mheumann/soft/misc/bookmarklets.html#info Drag it to your Links toolbar, nav to http://www.gbgm-umc.org/mountvernon/Contact%20Information.htm and click! More: http://tantek.com/favelets/ -Frank Try the “List Mailtos” bookmarklet at http://wwwhomes.uni-bielefeld.de/mheumann/soft/misc/bookmarklets.html#info

Drag it to your Links toolbar, nav to http://www.gbgm-umc.org/mountvernon/Contact%20Information.htm and click!

More:
http://tantek.com/favelets/

-Frank

]]> By: Frank Ramage http://healyourchurchwebsite.com/2004/01/26/mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia/comment-page-1/#comment-1498 Frank Ramage Mon, 26 Jan 2004 16:43:43 +0000 http://healyourchurchwebsite.com/2004/01/26/mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia#comment-1498 There was a [grin] in (Okay, so I don't follow my own advice)... guess the software thinks it's html! [g] -Frank There was a [grin] in (Okay, so I don’t follow my own advice)… guess the software thinks it’s html! [g]

-Frank

]]> By: Frank Ramage http://healyourchurchwebsite.com/2004/01/26/mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia/comment-page-1/#comment-1497 Frank Ramage Mon, 26 Jan 2004 16:42:17 +0000 http://healyourchurchwebsite.com/2004/01/26/mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia#comment-1497 Big time obsfuscate those e-mail links... It may already be too late. (http://www.timeupsoft.com/English/elocator/features.htm) Since my webhost gives me 1,000,000 e-mails, I've given every staff member an e-mail address at burtonsvillebaptist.org that forwards to their personal e-mail address (like gamewood.net?). I've also given the student leaders, Sunday School teachers and worship team their own e-mails that forward. If I subscribe them to multiple e-mail lists and one of them changes their personal e-mail address, guess what my maintenance task is? Change multiple e-mail subscriptions, update the church directory, notify everyone else and update my e-mail client? Nope. Just change the forwarding address in ONE place. . Since your addresses may have already been scraped, setting this up may be a good way to shake-off the spammers... the staff will have to change their personal e-mail addresses if they get fed up. Note that while SPAM is a nuisance, the pornography and sexually explicit images that daily parade through the inbox are of most concern to me. Also, ideally, make the e-mail addresses difficult to guess (e.g., longer than seven characters). The period in one of the e-mails might be good, but it may need to be balanced with ease of communicating/remembering. Forget underscores, etc. - Frank (@burtonsvillebaptist.org) - (Okay, so I don't follow my own advice ) Big time obsfuscate those e-mail links… It may already be too late. (http://www.timeupsoft.com/English/elocator/features.htm)

Since my webhost gives me 1,000,000 e-mails, I’ve given every staff member an e-mail address at burtonsvillebaptist.org that forwards to their personal e-mail address (like gamewood.net?).

I’ve also given the student leaders, Sunday School teachers and worship team their own e-mails that forward.

If I subscribe them to multiple e-mail lists and one of them changes their personal e-mail address, guess what my maintenance task is? Change multiple e-mail subscriptions, update the church directory, notify everyone else and update my e-mail client? Nope. Just change the forwarding address in ONE place.
.
Since your addresses may have already been scraped, setting this up may be a good way to shake-off the spammers… the staff will have to change their personal e-mail addresses if they get fed up. Note that while SPAM is a nuisance, the pornography and sexually explicit images that daily parade through the inbox are of most concern to me.

Also, ideally, make the e-mail addresses difficult to guess (e.g., longer than seven characters). The period in one of the e-mails might be good, but it may need to be balanced with ease of communicating/remembering. Forget underscores, etc.

- Frank (@burtonsvillebaptist.org)
- (Okay, so I don’t follow my own advice )

]]> By: Lin B http://healyourchurchwebsite.com/2004/01/26/mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia/comment-page-1/#comment-1496 Lin B Mon, 26 Jan 2004 16:30:13 +0000 http://healyourchurchwebsite.com/2004/01/26/mount-vernon-methodist-church-danville-virginia#comment-1496 Wow - major thanks for all that constructive criticism! I'll incorporate as much of it as I can understand, as soon as I can. :) Wow – major thanks for all that constructive criticism! I’ll incorporate as much of it as I can understand, as soon as I can. :)

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