Watching the American elections has been tough for those of us involved in global ministry.  We hear good news from friends around the world, so the fear and gloom of campaign mudslinging rings false.  

Yet fear appears to be winning in the States.   

So let's tell some good stories.  The ones cable doesn't cover.  The ones that take us into the lives of overseas workers.  The ones that give us hope -- of a big God, an expanding kingdom, and the change of a human heart.      
That was the original intent of this blog, and we're getting back to it starting today.  Thanks for subscribing and following kingdomographer.  We welcome your input on our contact page!

Let's talk hosting and get video blogging out of the way first.  If you want to vlog you have two choices: YouTube and Vimeo.  There's also Blip.TV which was just purchased by Maker, but Blip artists still cross-post to YouTube, so like I say -- you have those choices.  The Vimeo crowd is artsy and professional.  They're basically nice.  The interface is clean and intuitive.  Vimeo is beautiful and filled with stuff you won't see elsewhere.  It's like House Hunters International, compared to YouTube, which is like The Real World on spring break.  Take your pick.  

You could also have a microvlog on Vine or Instagram.  Names like BatDad and Us the Duo have made a living there.  I'm not a vlogger (though I have a channel on all the above) so I'll leave that investigation to you.  

What I do know are writing platforms, the old ones, anyway.  The ones in the picture above are the ones I named off the top of my head while putting text in those empty signs.  They've been around, they've stood the test of time, and most have a free version for newbies.  Here's what I think:

Blogger:  It's owned by Google so it's clean and simple to use.  Maybe too simple, though.  If you want to add something useful like a slideshow you need to use a third-party app and paste in the HTML.  Not for newbies.  Or for people like me who just don't want to deal with that.  I want my focus on content, and I want to make it pretty.  Blogger is naturally pretty but to glam it up requires procedures.  Blogger is The Real Housewives.

WordPress:  The geeky gold standard, it will do everything, but like Blogger, usually through third-party apps.  When WordPress updates, you have to manually update your site, which almost always screws up one of those vital plug-ins.  And God forbid your theme needs updating.  It can wipe out -- you know what? it's too complicated -- WordPress is Survivor after a merge.  

Weebly:  You're looking at a Weebly site right now.  It's my favorite for building websites because it lets me focus on content.  Most of the tasks that WordPress requires a plug-in for are already standard on Weebly.  Some options aren't available on Weebly's free version, but it's still prettier and more intuitive than Blogger or WP's freebies.  

Sidenote:  one pet peeve about WP free templates is the fonts don't match.  The headline fonts are serifs and the body uses sans.  Or vice-versa.  Want options?  Trade up.  That's cruel.        

Weebly is The Voice.  You choose your destiny.  Your only job is to deliver good content. 

Tumblr:  ah, Tumblr, how I love it but don't tell anyone 'cause I'm too old to be there.  It's really for microblogging, usually pictures, GIF's, quotes, and poetry. It's filled with incredible sights, has some arguing, some gut-level laughs, and a bit of global culture, all at a quick pace.  Tumblr is The Amazing Race.

TypePad:  High-end blogging with no free options.  TypePad is real-life, not reality TV.

I planned this post to be a sales pitch for Weebly.  The tool has done everything I've ever needed it to do without any kind of behind-the-scenes drama.  I hate admin and Weebly is nearly trouble-free.  When there are issues, they solve them quickly.  But this is the first time I've used Weebly seriously for blogging.  I've entered three Weebly sites and one WordPress into this month-long blogging challlenge.  And right now, the Weebly blog tool has a date glitch.  

My posts on one blog are appearing out of order.  And when I go to fix them they save, but to a different wrong date.  It's so weird.  On another blog I have one October post that will not come up when you choose October from the archives.  It appears with September instead, though the date on the post says October.  I'm assured it's being worked on.  And Weebly's word has always been good.  We'll see.  

This snag has made me look into what's out there now and I'm floored to see such a vast new lineup.  After October I'd like to look into each one.  All the platforms here were started before social really took off and it would be nice to see more native options.  Until then, I'll keep you posted on the Weebly date glitch.  Even with that, I would still recommend them.  For newbies, there's nothing else.    

  

Frequently I work with ministries or small businesses who know they need to be online, so they go buy a domain and a hosting package and then look for someone to help build their site.  With churches, names are often already taken, so the person buying the domain will rely on the automated suggestions of the domain company, like folks used to do when choosing an email name with AOL. 

It's not pretty.  So what are some best practices for choosing a name?  

Know this is not just an address; it's your brand.  It sounds unspiritual to talk about the name of your church as a brand, but it's the face you're showing the world, and it helps if that face has an easy, relatable name attached to it.  So...

Avoid hyphens, even if that's part of your official name.  Special characters are hard to remember and communicate.  Same with plurals, and articles like 'An' and 'The'.  They're not as desirable as simple, memorable words.  Domain hosts may suggest you try adding an article but better to keep working toward a more natural solution.  Think of your ministry's online persona as a person who needs a nickname.  

Consider creating a new word.  If your ministry has a fairly generic name you may want to come up with a nickname that describes who you really are as an organization.  A unique word ensures name recognition, and increases your chances of acquiring that name on social sites.     

Try a new domain extension.  These are often full words, making them easy to remember.  Imagine using .church, or .foundation for your non-profit. These may have restrictions and a slightly higher price tag, but are worth the unique, memorable sound.  

Make sure words in your domain don't combine to say anything you don't want to convey.  I once worked with a sweet Christian lady who did home staging.  She wanted to use the name on her incorporation, but one word ended in 's' and the next began with 'ex'.  When sitting next to each other on an address line, they gave her brand an entirely different tone.    

Make sure your name is appropriate for the cultures with which you interact.  If your name is taken from another language, or is an acronym, put it through Google Translate to check variant meanings.  If you want to communicate cross-culturally (and every church should), make sure you are communicating well.

Before buying, see if the name is available on social media sites. Search the name on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  If they're unavailable, keep trying domain names until you find something that works across platforms.  If your name is available on these sites, grab it.  Set up an account on these social sites with the new name, even if you don't ever use it.  You want to have control over your name in every place possible.  

Research related Search Engine Optimization (SEO) terms.  Find out what words and phrases people are already using to search for your type of ministry.  See if those terms could be part of your domain.  This is an optional step, as it's a longshot.  Most SEO terms are so generic they won't be good for branding.  And most are taken.  But you may find something in the research that you won't find any other way. 

Go through these issues with someone knowledgeable about online branding.  It's tempting to rush through this step so you can start building, but it's your foundation and you want it to be solid.  Don't be embarrassed to ask for help.  If you don't know about domains, it probably means you have a life and get plenty of sunshine.  Own it.  And call a geek.           

To get this blog properly launched, it's going to be part of Write 31 Days, an October blogging challenge.  The focus will be getting your ministry online from scratch.  Please offer feedback throughout.  If there's any aspect of creating an online presence you'd like covered, let me know!

Titles and links for each post will be added below as they become available.  Roll over to reveal.