Featured Sites: A-Z Index

H


Newest 10 Entries

Question What is the role of robots.txt in SEO?
Answer The robots.txt file provides instructions to search engine crawlers about which parts of your website they should and should not access. You can customize the robots.txt file to prevent sensitive content from being indexed or to guide crawlers toward the most important areas of your site.
Question What is SEO and why is it important for my Composr website?
Answer SEO is the practice of optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). By improving your SEO, you increase the visibility of your website, driving more organic (non-paid) traffic to your content.
Question How can I edit the metadata in Composr?
Answer Composr provides several ways to customize your metadata:
  • Site-wide Settings: You can configure default metadata for your entire site in the Admin Zone under Setup > Configuration > Site options.
  • Content-Specific Settings: When adding or editing content like Comcode pages or news posts, Composr provides fields for customizing titles, descriptions, and keywords specific to that content under the "Metadata" section.
  • Automatic Detection: Composr can automatically generate metadata by analyzing your content, but it's generally recommended to refine these suggestions manually for best results.
Question Should I trust agencies that promise top search engine results?
Answer No; be wary of agencies guaranteeing top rankings for any desired keyword. Achieving top results for competitive terms requires significant effort, expertise, and often, an ongoing strategy.

Focus on agencies that prioritize ethical "white-hat" SEO techniques like creating valuable content, optimizing website structure, and building natural backlinks. Avoid those employing "black-hat" methods that can lead to penalties from search engines.
Question 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.
Question What is an XML Sitemap and why is it important?
Answer 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.
Question 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.
Question 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.
Question 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.
Question 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.

Top 10 Entries

Title Chatrooms and IM
Icon Image
Description

Make unlimited chatrooms each with your choice of access restrictions.

Moderation: Moderate messages and ban troublesome users.

Integrate shout-boxes into your website

Instant messaging: Members may have IM conversations with each other, or in groups. Members receive an archive of the conversation in Private Topics once closed.

Site-wide IM: Give your members the ability to pick up conversations anywhere on your site.

Sound effects: Members may configure or upload their own.

Download chatroom logs

Blocking: Choose to appear offline to certain members.

Allow members in certain usergroups to make their own chatrooms, and control when they expire based on inactivity time.

Title Points
Icon Image
Description

So many ways to earn points: From submitting different content to logging in, you control the economy.

Integration with eCommerce: Members can buy advertising space, temporary privileges, gamble, and more! Members can also use points for store discounts.

Send points: Members can send each other points to reward each other

Escrow points: Members can escrow points with a written agreement in exchange for a product or service. The recipient does not receive the points until both members satisfy the escrow. Escrows can be disputed to staff.

Gift points: Enable the gift points balance so members can send a limited amount of points to other members without it deducting from their spendable points balance.

Leader board: Create some community competition by showing who has the most points or who earned the most points for a configurable time interval

Auditing: View every points transaction that has taken place, and reverse any of them, in the points ledger.

Profiles: Browse through member points profiles, and see what virtual gifts members have been given.

Ranks: Create usergroup promotion ladders with rank points; members rank up as their rank points increase. Members can view their rank and unlocked / unlockable privileges on their profile.

Title Conversr Topic Polls
Icon Image
Description

Conduct a poll on a forum topic to gather user opinions and feedback

Add unlimited choices

Define a range of acceptable number of choices on which members can vote

Control when voting is open or closed

Control if guests can vote or if you must log in

Require making a post (reply) in the topic when voting

Allow (or deny) the ability for members to revoke / change their vote

Show or hide results from the public

Enable viewing of which members voted on which choices

Add a date/time voting automatically closes

Enable weighted voting through the points system

Enforce topic poll options on a forum basis including defining default or required choices

Title Content Sharing
Icon Image
Description

Show topics on your website through blocks

Comment integration: New topics appear in the ‘comments’ forum as you add content to your website. Members can watch these topics so they never miss an addition to your website.

Title Third party integration
Icon Image
Description

Support for integrating popular forum software: See our download page for a list of supported forums.

Share login credentials: Login to the Composr site with the same usernames/passwords as your forum.

Share usergroups: Control website access based on someone's forum usergroup.

Emoticon support: The emoticons on your forum will also be used on your website.

Title Stay on Top
Icon Image
Description

(Conversr only)

Virtual Forums: Find posts made since you last visited or within a time frame.

Remembers your unread posts even if you frequently change computers

Recent activity: See what topics you recently read or posted in

Unanswered topics: Find which topics have not yet been answered

RSS and Atom support

Title Conversr Forums
Icon Image
Description

The usual: Categories, forums, topics, posts, topic polls, announcements / pinning, sinking, quick reply, topic closing

Forum and Topic tracking: Receive notifications when new posts are made on monitored topics and forums.

Password-protected forums

Present an 'introductory question' which members must answer or agree to before accessing a forum.

Full moderator control: Determine who may moderate what forums.

Inline personal posts: Whisper to members within a public topic; only those members will see the post.

Over 50 bundled emoticons: Also, support for batch importing new ones

Multi-moderation: Record and perform complex routine tasks; make post templates for those tasks.

Mass-moderation: Perform actions on many posts and topics at once.

Post preview: Read a topic's first post directly from the forum-view. Also see the latest posts when making a new post.

Highlight posts as ‘important’

Title Membership
Icon Image
Description

(These features pertain to Conversr only)

Profiles: Browse through and search for members, and view member profiles.

Multiple usergroups: Members can be in an unlimited number of different usergroups. They can also ‘apply’ to join new ones.

Social networking: Create and browse friendships.

Custom profile fields: Allow your members to add extra information which is relevant to your website (or to their subcommunity), and members can set privacy settings on them.

Promotion system: Set up a usergroup rank ladder so members advance the ranks through their rank points. Members can view rank on their profile rank tab including unlocked and unlockable privileges.

Private Topics: A special kind of private messaging system between 2 or more members. Think 'on-site e-mail inbox'.

Invitation-only websites: Restrict registrations from the public; existing members can invite others to join.

Allow members to create and manage clubs (personal usergroups).

Avatars: Include avatars that members can pick from, or allow members to upload their own.

Member signatures, photos, and personal titles

Users online: See which members are currently online (unless they logged in as invisible)

Account pruning: Find and delete unused accounts, or merge duplicate accounts, based on defined criteria.

CSV files: Import and export members using CSV files, including support for automatic creation of custom profile fields and usergroups – great for migrating data

Title Support Tickets
Icon Image
Description

Users can communicate with staff privately through Support Tickets.

Assign to individual staff: Includes the ability for staff members to “take ownership” of raised issues, and for staff to discuss.

Allow users to e-mail in their tickets and replies to a designated e-mail address

Expanded access granting: Grant third party members access to individual tickets.

FAQ integration: Automatically search FAQs before opening a ticket.

Multiple ticket types: Set up different types of support tickets, with different access levels and fine-grained ticket notification settings.

Anonymous posting: Allow staff to post anonymously or as a designated support operator account so that customers don't always expect the same employee to reply.

Merging: If customers open multiple tickets for the same issue, you can merge them.

Closing: Let customers close tickets that are now resolved, or do it yourself.

Filtering: Filter the tickets you see by status and ticket type.

Title eCommerce and Subscriptions
Icon Image
Description

Paid membership: Sell access to sections of your website, or offer member privileges.

Shopping cart for running an online store

Extendable framework: Programmers can easily add new product types to sell, or payment gateways / tax services / shipping providers.

Multiple payment gateways: Accepts payments via PayPal or other gateways developers may add, and manual transactions (cash/cheque).

Invoicing support: Including status tracking and online payment tracking.

Basic accounting support: Input your incoming and outgoing transactions to get a basic ledger, profit-and-loss, and cashflow charting.

Currency conversions: Perform automatic currency conversions within your website pages (requires an API key).