Features: A-Z Index

A

Administration Zone

Administration Zone

B

Banners

Banners

C

Calendar

Calendar

Catalogues

Catalogues

Chatrooms and IM

Chatrooms and IM

Community features

Community features

Content Sharing

Content Sharing

Conversr Forums

Conversr Forums

Conversr Topic Polls

Conversr Topic Polls

D

Design without barriers

Design without barriers

Downloads

Downloads

E

Ease of Use

Ease of Use

eCommerce and Subscriptions

eCommerce and Subscriptions

Extendable

Extendable

F

Featured Content

Featured Content

G

Galleries

Galleries

I

Installation

Installation

Integration

Integration

L

Localisation

Localisation

M

Membership

Membership

N

News and Blogs

News and Blogs

Newsletters

Newsletters

P

Parental Controls

Parental Controls

Performance

Performance

Points

Points

Privacy Tools

Privacy Tools

Q

Quizzes and Surveys

Quizzes and Surveys

R

Rich Media

Rich Media

S

Search Engine Optimisation

Search Engine Optimisation

Searching

Searching

Security

Security

Spam Protection

Spam Protection

Stay on Top

Stay on Top

Structure / Navigation

Structure / Navigation

Support Tickets

Support Tickets

T

Template Programming Language

Template Programming Language

Testing tools

Testing tools

Themeing tools

Themeing tools

Third party integration

Third party integration

W

Warnings / Moderation

Warnings / Moderation

Web Pages

Web Pages

Web standards

Web standards

Website Polls

Website Polls

White-labeling (Debranding)

White-labeling (Debranding)

Wiki+

Wiki+

Newest 10 Entries

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.

View

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.

View

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.

View

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.

View

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.

View

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.

View

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.

View

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.

View

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.

View

Question 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.

View

Top 10 Entries

Question How does the search engine handle different languages?
Answer Composr's fast custom index supports multiple languages. Content is indexed based on its translated version, ensuring that you get relevant results even when searching in a different language.

View

Question What are quoted phrases and how do they work?
Answer Quoted phrases allow you to search for an exact sequence of words. For example, searching for "red apple" will only return results containing that exact phrase. Keep in mind that enabling quoted phrases can increase disk space usage.

View

Question How do stop words affect search results?
Answer Stop words are common words (like "the", "a", "is") that are ignored by the search engine because they add noise and don't contribute to the meaning of the search query. You can customize the list of stop words for the fast custom index. See the search tutorial for more information.

View

Question How can I improve my search results?
Answer Here are some tips for improving search results:
  • Use specific keywords: The more specific your keywords, the better your results.
  • Use boolean operators: Use "+", "-", and quotation marks to refine your search.
  • Optimize content titles and meta keywords: These fields are given priority during search, so make sure they accurately reflect your content.
  • Consider enabling the fast custom index: Especially beneficial for large websites or frequent filtered searches.

View

Question What is the fast custom index and why should I use it?
Answer The fast custom index is Composr's own search engine, designed to be faster and more efficient than MySQL full-text search, especially for large websites and filtered searches.

Benefits of the fast custom index:
  • Faster filtered searches: Significantly improves search speed when you add filters like category or author.
  • Configurable stop words: Control which common words are ignored during search.
  • Better stemming: More accurately recognizes variations of words (e.g., "like" and "liking").
  • Multilingual support: Indexes content based on different language translations.

Downsides of the fast custom index:
  • Slight lag in indexing new content: New content takes a short time to be indexed.
  • Less accurate ranking: Ranking is based on the most obscure keyword, not a blend of all keywords.
  • Cannot perform blank searches: You must enter at least one keyword.

View

Question Can I filter my search results?
Answer Yes, you can filter your search results by:
  • Content type: Choose to search specific content types like news, forum posts, or Comcode pages.
  • Author/Submitter: Search for content submitted by a specific member.
  • Date: Limit your search to content submitted within a specific time frame.
  • Category (for certain content types): Narrow down your search to specific categories within a content type.

View

Question What is the difference between natural and boolean searching?
Answer Natural search is a more relaxed approach where you type in your search terms and Composr tries to find the most relevant results, even if they don't contain all the words. It's like a Google search.

Boolean search requires more precision and uses operators like "+", "-", and quotation marks to define exactly what you're looking for. For example, searching for "+car -maintenance" will only return results that contain the word "car" but not "maintenance".

View

Question How do I search my Composr website?
Answer There are a few ways to search your Composr website:
  • Using the search bar in the header: This is the simplest way to search. Just type your search term in the box and click the search button.
  • Using the 'Search' module: This module offers more detailed search options. You can access it via the 'site:search' page-link (usually under About > Search in the default menu).
  • From the Forum: Click the 'Search' button on the forum or use the contextual search box on the forum member bar. This will search within your current forum or topic.

View

Question How do I mark correct answers in a quiz?
Answer For questions with predefined answers, you can mark correct answers by adding [*] after the answer. If no answer is marked correct, the question will require manual marking. You can also use the [UNMARKED] tag after a question to exclude it from scoring.

View

Question What is the input syntax for quiz questions?
Answer Quiz questions are inputted in blocks, separated by blank lines. The first line is the question, followed by potential answers on subsequent lines. Different question types are indicated by tags after the question, such as [MULTIPLECHOICE], [MULTIMULTIPLE], [LONG], [SHORT], and [SHORT_STRICT].

View