![\"Proprietary](\"https:\/\/speckyboy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/niche-web-communities-02.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThere\u2019s an adage that says everything is cyclical. You can see examples of it everywhere. Things like fashion, music, and books all come back into the mainstream after some time away.<\/p>\n
The web is finally old enough to see the return of some trends. Brutalist design is a prime example. Web designers spent years building increasingly complex layouts. But many have gone back to the basics in recent times.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m wondering if we\u2019ll see the same thing happen with online communities. Years ago, we built niche sites that catered to a specific group. We installed forums (shout out to phpBB), opened our blogs to comments, and tried to stake out a little corner of cyberspace.<\/p>\n
Social media changed all of that. Communities began moving to larger, proprietary platforms. The likes of Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit have become places to meet and discuss hot topics.<\/p>\n
The move made sense at the time. Access to powerful servers, globalized networks, and providers that handled moderation (to a degree, anyway). Why would we ever go back to the way it was?<\/p>\n
Well, recent events have made me long for those good old days. Here\u2019s why I\u2019d like to see a return of niche web communities. That is, with some modern conveniences.<\/p>\n
Everything is great on social media \u2013 until it isn\u2019t. Social media companies can change policies (or, ahem, ownership) at any time. And too bad if you don\u2019t like the results. Users have zero control.<\/p>\n
Twitter has become the poster child for what can go wrong. The reduction of content moderation staff means slower responses to harmful behavior. Meanwhile, the platform\u2019s user verification policies have been turned on their head.<\/p>\n
And Facebook causes its share of headaches as well. Algorithm changes have made it harder to see posts from Groups in your main feed. Plus, I believe that the Groups feature is becoming more cumbersome to use. The service shows what it thinks I want to see. It rarely guesses correctly.<\/p>\n
Sadly, users appear to be low on the priority list. Shareholders and overzealous billionaires get top billing. The rest of us are an afterthought.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s say that you\u2019ve decided to leave Twitter. Good for you! But what happens to your tweets?<\/p>\n
You can\u2019t simply import them to Mastodon or a similar service. You\u2019ll have to start from scratch. That\u2019s especially painful if you value any of the content or interactions you had.<\/p>\n
But open-source tools like WordPress don\u2019t lock you in. You own the content you post. And the site\u2019s data is portable.<\/p>\n
This means that you can move to a new host or redesign your website without losing anything. In addition, you\u2019re not reliant on finicky APIs that can go down or start charging money at any time.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a reason why so many people abandoned the idea of web-based communities. Social media was easier. It did much of the dirty work for us. All we had to do was show up and start making connections.<\/p>\n
At the same time, building and managing community-based websites was not easy in the 2000s. The tools at our disposal lacked cohesiveness. You could have, say, a website and a forum. But tying them together wasn\u2019t a simple process.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s no longer the case. New tools and protocols can solve many of the previous generation\u2019s pain points. With that, here\u2019s how a modern web community could look:<\/p>\n
It\u2019s now possible to provide a more unified experience. Membership sites have become mainstream. Several plugins exist that make setup a breeze. You don\u2019t need to invest a lot of money or know how to code.<\/p>\n
In addition, other functionality can be added to suit your needs. The community can be open to the public or invite-only. Membership can be monetized or remain free. Content moderation and spam prevention tools are vastly improved.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the opposite of a corporately-owned platform? A decentralized network of services that can communicate with each other.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what the Fediverse is all about. It encompasses larger services like Mastodon. But individual websites can also join in via the ActivityPub protocol.<\/p>\n
Install the ActivityPub WordPress plugin, and you can automatically publish from your site to connected services. It\u2019s like using Twitter\u2019s API to auto-publish. But you\u2019re not limited to that singular walled garden. Your content could go to social networks, websites (via the Friends plugin), or anywhere else that supports the protocol.<\/p>\n
None of this is to say that social media is dead. It\u2019s still an important way to reach people. But it doesn\u2019t have to serve as a community hub, either.<\/p>\n
Instead, these platforms can be used to drive traffic to your website. Posting content to Facebook, Twitter, etc., increases visibility. That can help attract new members.<\/p>\n
Building a web-based community used to be difficult. The technical challenges of time prevented some groups from reaching their potential.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the advent of social media brought renewed hope to community wranglers. But the landscape is in a constant state of upheaval. That makes it harder to maintain stability and growth.<\/p>\n
Thus, a move back to the web makes sense. Tools like WordPress have grown by leaps and bounds. And they offer more flexibility when it comes to design and functionality.<\/p>\n
![\"Mastodon](\"https:\/\/speckyboy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/niche-web-communities-03.png\")
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Custom web design allows businesses to create a unique online presence that aligns with their brand identity and goals. It helps in attracting and engaging visitors effectively.<\/p>\n
Custom web design focuses on enhancing user experience by optimizing website navigation, content layout, and overall usability. It aims to provide a seamless and enjoyable browsing experience for visitors.<\/p>\n
Responsive design ensures that websites are accessible and functional across various devices and screen sizes. It is crucial in custom web design to cater to the diverse preferences of users.<\/p>\n
Custom web design allows businesses to incorporate their brand elements, color schemes, and messaging throughout the website. This consistency helps in reinforcing brand identity and recognition.<\/p>\n
Key considerations for effective custom web design include understanding the target audience, setting clear goals, creating engaging content, implementing intuitive navigation, and ensuring mobile responsiveness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Why Custom Web Design is Making a Comeback There\u2019s an adage that says everything is cyclical. You can see examples of it everywhere. Things like fashion, music, and books all come back into the mainstream after some time away. The web is finally old enough to see the return of some trends. Brutalist design is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7894,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/speckyboy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/community-thumb.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-custom-web-design"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmfinfotech.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmfinfotech.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmfinfotech.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmfinfotech.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmfinfotech.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7893"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kmfinfotech.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7895,"href":"https:\/\/kmfinfotech.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7893\/revisions\/7895"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmfinfotech.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmfinfotech.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmfinfotech.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmfinfotech.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}