What are URL Monikers and how do they benefit SEO?
Answer
URL Monikers replace generic numerical IDs in your URLs with descriptive keywords derived from your content titles.
For example, instead of yoursite.com/page.php?id=123, you can have yoursite.com/about-us. This makes your URLs more user-friendly and helps search engines understand the topic of each page, improving your search ranking.
You can set monikers in the "Metadata" section when adding / editing content.
An XML Sitemap is a file that lists all the pages on your website, helping search engines understand your site's structure and content. Composr automatically generates a comprehensive sitemap, including forum topics if you are using Conversr.
Ensure your system scheduler is enabled for automatic sitemap submission to search engines. You can also manually generate and submit the sitemap if necessary.
How can I improve my website's ranking in search engines?
Answer
Composr offers various features and best practices to enhance your SEO:
Content Optimization: Write high-quality, keyword-rich content using clear headings, relevant links, and descriptive image alt text.
URL Monikers: Enable this feature to create human-readable URLs that incorporate keywords instead of numerical IDs.
XML Sitemaps: Composr automatically generates and submits XML Sitemaps to major search engines, aiding them in discovering and indexing your content.
robots.txt: This file allows you to control which parts of your site search engines can access and index. Composr provides a default robots.txt that can be customized as needed.
What are the primary metadata elements I should focus on?
Answer
While Composr provides extensive metadata options, the key elements to prioritize are:
Title: The title tag appears in browser tabs, search results, and when your page is shared. It should be concise, descriptive, and include relevant keywords.
Meta Description: This short summary entices users to click on your search result. It should be engaging, informative, and accurately reflect the page's content.
Open Graph data: These protocols control how your content appears when shared on social media and other websites. They utilize elements like title, description, and images to create visually appealing previews.
Favicon and Apple Web Clip image: These small icons represent your website in bookmarks, browser tabs, and on mobile home screens. They contribute to branding and visual recognition.
What is metadata and why is it important for my website?
Answer
Metadata is information about your web pages that isn't directly visible to visitors, but is used by search engines and social media platforms to understand and categorize your content.
Well-crafted metadata helps search engines properly index your site, making it more likely to appear in relevant search results. It also improves how your website appears when shared on social media, encouraging clicks and engagement.
What should I do about offensive or off-topic discussions?
Answer
Decide on your moderation approach: balancing viewpoints, adhering to community standards, or focusing on topic relevance. Be prepared to face criticism regardless of your decisions. Establish clear rules and policies to guide user behavior.
What resources are available to help me navigate these legal and social challenges?
Answer
Composr offers various resources, including tutorials on accessibility, staff management, and general website dos and don'ts. You can also consult external resources like the COPPA website and Wikipedia for more in-depth information on specific laws and regulations. Remember that seeking legal counsel may be necessary for complex situations.
What are some social considerations for running a website with community features?
Answer
Managing a community involves addressing social issues like child protection, free speech, discrimination, and abuse. Establish clear policies on these matters, including content moderation guidelines and procedures for handling feedback. Consider the diverse personalities and potential vulnerabilities of your users.
What are my legal responsibilities regarding illegal content posted by users?
Answer
While "safe harbor" laws offer some protection, you are still obligated to take down illegal content upon becoming aware of it. Implement measures like content checks, clear rules prohibiting illegal uploads, and liability disclaimers. The level of responsibility varies depending on the severity of the content, from copyright infringement to more serious criminal content.
What steps should I take to make my website accessible?
Answer
Website accessibility is essential for inclusivity and may be legally required under anti-discrimination laws. Composr is designed to meet high accessibility standards, but you need to maintain this when creating content or modifying templates. Following WCAG guidelines is crucial, and you can find more information in the accessibility tutorial.
How can I ensure my website complies with email marketing laws?
Answer
Email marketing laws like CAN-SPAM protect recipients' rights to unsubscribe. Your website must include a clear 'List-Unsubscribe' header in every email, offer an easy unsubscribe process, and respect unsubscribe requests promptly. Composr provides built-in mechanisms, including an unsubscribe endpoint and support for the List-Unsubscribe header, to facilitate compliance.
What are my responsibilities regarding user privacy?
Answer
You must have a comprehensive privacy policy that details the personal data you collect, its usage, and if it's shared with third parties. Laws like GDPR have strict requirements, including logging data access, data purging, and security measures. California law mandates specific elements in your policy, like handling "Do Not Track" requests and a clear process for communicating changes.
Composr has an automatic Privacy Policy generator block to help you get started. This is used by default.
A well-defined rules page is crucial for setting expectations for user behavior and outlining consequences for violations. It should cover a range of offenses with appropriate punishments, reference relevant laws, and assign legal responsibility to users. Composr provides default rules pages that can be customized, and this page is displayed to users upon joining the site.
What are the key legal considerations for running a website?
Answer
Several legal aspects need careful attention when operating a website, especially for large or corporate sites. These include establishing clear rules and terms of service, adhering to privacy laws like GDPR and California's regulations, managing personal data responsibly, complying with email marketing regulations like CAN-SPAM, ensuring website accessibility, addressing eCommerce regulations, and understanding liability for content and user actions.
How do data-tpl and data-view behaviors work in Composr's JavaScript?
Answer
Composr uses data-tpl and data-view behaviors for associating HTML templates and JavaScript views, respectively. This facilitates clean separation of presentation and logic:
data-tpl: Used with the $cms.behaviors.initializeTemplates function and PARAMS_JSON tempcode directive to bind JavaScript logic to HTML templates.
data-view: Used with the $cms.behaviors.initializeViews function to associate JavaScript view classes (inheriting from $cms.View) with specific HTML elements.
How does Composr implement the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern?
Answer
Model/API: The sources directory primarily houses scripts forming the Model/API, handling data logic and business rules.
View: Templates in themes/default/templates represent the View, responsible for presenting data to the user. Comcode pages can also be considered part of the View.
Controller: Entry scripts like index.php and site/dload.php act as front controllers, directing requests. Modules and blocks, residing in */pages/modules and sources/[mini]blocks, respectively, serve as controllers, managing user interactions and determining which View to render.
Can I translate my content into multiple languages?
Answer
Yes, Composr supports multi-language content. You can enable this feature by:
Installing multiple language packs: Make sure you have at least two language packs installed.
Enabling the Conversr multi-language option: Go to Admin Zone > Setup > Configuration > Site options > Internationalisation.
Running a Commandr command: Execute the necessary command to set up the database structure for multi-language content (unless you already enabled Support content translations when installing).
Once enabled, you can translate your content into different languages and allow visitors to choose their preferred language.
My language uses gendered descriptors. How can I handle this in Composr?
Answer
Composr offers solutions for languages with gendered descriptors:
Template editing: You can modify templates to use different language strings based on user gender. This involves adding Tempcode logic to dynamically select the appropriate string.
Custom Profile Fields: Create a Custom Profile Field for "Gender" and use it to conditionally display gendered language strings in templates.
These methods allow for flexible handling of gendered language variations.
Language strings are phrases or pieces of text used throughout Composr. They're identified by unique codenames, like WELCOME_MESSAGE. These strings are stored in .ini language files and used to display text in the user interface.
By translating language strings, you change the text displayed on your website without modifying the underlying code.
