Now you can learn the basics & helpful tips about starting & running your own website (not just a "blog").  Join Jason Bradfield of thereignofchrist.com & Scott Thompson of eschatology.org as they discuss their experience as administrators of two very successful websites.

Listen to the audio:

Below is an outline of the audio, put together by Scott Thompson along with some helpful links to resources referenced in the audio.

Topic #1 Getting Started step-by-step (registering domain, deciding platform to run, mambo, drupal, others)

1. Choosing a host
2. Choosing a domain
3. Picking the type of site your want such as Mambo, Joomla, Drupal, HTML
4. Picking a template for that system (tons of free templates out there
5. Initial Setup (Creating Menus, Sections, and Catagories) that will drive your site
6. Add your content, components, and modules
7. Then you're done

Why Siteground

Siteground services are around $5.00 per month and provides a high degree of value for the price.

Through Siteground you can register a domain name such as eschatology.org. If you don’t know how to install something, or know how to do something, they do have an excellent support system for a minimal fee.

Siteground is one of many hosts out there. Go Daddy is another one out there that is really inexpensive. Both of these hosts do support Content Management Systems.

Why Mambo or Joomla

Mambo and Joomla is a content management solution that gives a lot of functionality without requiring a lot of technical knowledge. I think it requires some knowledge, but I by no means am an expert, and I thought it was rather simple, once you understand how it works. Starting a basic site with articles alone, is really simple to manage.

Mambo has what’s called modules, and components, that are FREE. We have a lot of components and modules that have helped us do some terrific things.

How Mambo and Joomla Works

Mambo and Joomla works by creating menus, sections, and categories in the initial setup of the site. Articles also called items are added to different categories. Menus link to both sections and categories.

One of the first things, about building a website is picking a TEMPLATE. A template is what gives your site the look and feel that you desire. All TEMPLATES can be customized to fit your needs. Things such as backgrounds, logos, and fonts can be edited and changed to fit your needs.

Topic #2 Tips & Pointers (things you wish someone would have told you about to save you trouble)

Tips

The biggest tip is to know where your resources are and ask questions. There are many preterist websites out there. Ask questions to those who have setup a site. It is also good to know which message boards to go to find components, and modules. Some components and modules are not as good with support as others, but it is easy to try them, and uninstall them if they're not any good.

I would choose a hosting company with good technical support in case there are any issues.

I think there are some major advantages to updating existing sites that make them more Google friendly. There is a lot of great content out there, but if people cannot find the information they are looking for, it does not do much good. Mambo Joomla as well as other content management solutions, help you get that information out there. RSS feeds are also a new function that has the power to connect your site with others. It is very powerful.

Topic #3 Why start your own website? (we're talking about theological websites.  What are the advantages of a fully controlled website over say a free-my-space blog?)

Major Reason

I think the biggest reason is because there are people out there who are searching. Eight years ago, after becoming a Preterist, the internet provided me with a lot of information and initial study that helped me a great deal. Todd Dennis www.preteristachive.com was one of the first contacts that I made with others who held similar views.

Actually, I think Dee Dee Warren made a great point in an interview that she had with Gene Cook that I would definitely agree with. (If I can say that on this show.) HAHA

I believe she made the comment that the “Presence” of the Full Preterist community on the internet makes it appear that they are a larger in scale than they really are. I know that the Preterist community is not huge, but I certainly know it has a large and growing web presence.

When typing in eschatology, or last days, or second coming, which are very popular key words, which sites do you think? Absolutely Preterist sites are right there among many other sites.  

The larger presence that the Preterist community has the more possibility we will have to reach those who are searching. While they may not agree, they might just learn something that they did not know yesterday.

Generating new websites helps builds an overwhelming Preterist Presence on the web. It has the potential to have a wider and greater reach as issues are discussed and debated. Ultimately we want to share this message with others, and let them know that it has to transform lives. We want them to know that Christ has returned apart from sin, and is now present in our lives.

Conclusion

Preterists are finding many web tools to reach and discuss these issues with others.

Through websites, Paltalk, chat rooms, forums, message boards, podcasting, we have a very strong reach to those on the web.

The internet provides many awesome tools to reach almost every age group. There are going to many new tools in the future and think it is great that we are ahead of the curve. It is certainly not by our design, but I think God is working through the modern tools.

Ultimately, with the costs of hosting so low, this is a great time to start a site or participate in the Preterist community. It is also a great time to redo some of those older outdated websites that are not doing a good enough job reaching out.

REFERENCES:

Siteground Website hosting (click the banner below) 

Content Management Systems:

1. Mambo
2. Joomla
3. Drupal