With this new site redesign, I’ve come to realise that I have quite a few properties on the web. It may come of a surprise to you to know that all of these properties (7 or more!) are on the one hosting account, and that account is with BlueHost [affiliate link].

A web host is needed for any website. This is because a website has content (pictures, text, animations etc.) and that content needs to be:

1. Stored somewhere.
2. Accessible by lots of people simultaneously.

A web host does both of these things. And BlueHost has done these things successfully since I started with them back in 2010.

BlueHost offers unlimited sites, unlimited storage and unlimited bandwidth. Pretty great if you ask me! Do note that BlueHost does have fair usage guidelines so if you are planning a massive site then you’ll probably need more robust hosting.

As a bonus, BlueHost offers one-click installs of many popular platforms including WordPress (which I run on all my sites).

As I said, I’ve never had an issue with BlueHost which is the best thing you can say about a web host! My sites have rarely had downtime and never for any significant period of time, and I’ve been able to grow and add sites on as much as I have needed.

BlueHost charges US$6.95 per month and at the moment that have a sale with hosting for US$4.95 per month. Definitely worth checking out!

Pinterest is the hot new kid on the block.

The social media site focussing on images has rapidly increased in members, so much so that it is now the 3rd largest social media site behind Facebook and Twitter (that’s right, way ahead of Google+). More so, in February, Pinterest generated more referral traffic than Twitter! That is to say that more people clicked on links from Pinterest than they did from Twitter. Wow. And all of this from a social media site that is only just coming onto the scene.

I must say that I’ve noticed similar trends on my blog. I’ve been receiving more referral traffic from Pinterest than Twitter, and I don’t even have Pinterest or a ‘Pin It’ button! Until now that is…

Recently I decided to take the plunge and create a Pinterest account. However, I then decided that I can’t be bothered maintaining another social media account and so have just left it there with barely any activity.

What I have done is add a ‘Pin It’ button to some of the posts on my blog, mainly those that are to do with my youth group games series. You’ll also noticed a ‘Pin It’ button on the landing page for my new iPhone App called ‘Group Games’ when it launches, but that’s for later.

My new sharing bar

For now, if you’re a user of Pinterest I hope you enjoy the ease of pinning on my site and if you’re not a fan of Pinterest, well, I completely understand.

This year I’ve made the transition away from the life of a student and towards the life of a full-time member of the workforce (as a primary school teacher). This has meant that I have had far less spare time to be online and as such my ‘blog’ has been rarely updated.

Also, over the past 6 months or so I have also moved away from just writing on my personal blog and towards creating online content on a variety of properties (Free HD Countdowns, Practising Hospitality, ChurchMag).

These two things have led me to change the philosophy of what this website will be. It used to be a personal blog, but now it will be…

My Online Home

The homepage of my website (calumhenderson.com) will now display a grid (or something similar) with projects which I am currently a part of, and my blog has been relegated to a sub page (calumhenderson.com/blog). I’ll still write original articles on my blog, but I’ll also post links to other content there, so if you really want to know everything I write online, you’ll be able to find it.

I’ve also taken this as an opportunity to redesign my site to be cleaner and more professional, which I think I’ll prefer as I grow older and (hopefully) mature. And more specifically, redesign the main youth groups game page. Check it out below.

You may also notice two coming soon icons in the above screenshots. These are projects that I work on during the school holidays and I’m hoping to have one or both up pretty soon. Be excited! I think these are two of my most strategic projects to date so far. They’ll also both start with lots of content.

For now, I hope you enjoy the new look and feel of calumhenderson.com, I certainly do!

In addition to starting a new blog to write about food, my wonderful wife Alice has also started a small business! The business is called ‘Sweet Treats by Alice’ and provides drop-off catering for desserts and sweet finger food. I’ve been working on the website in my spare time and it’s now live! Check it out at sweettreatsbyalice.com.au.

I designed the website based on this free theme. It includes the following features:

• Homepage roundabout that has links to important pages.
• Mailchimp newsletter integration. (Sign up to the mailing list here)
• Custom designed contact form based on Contact Form 7.
• Downloadable menu that is also viewable online.
• Photo gallery.

I’ve once again had a great time designing this site and I look forward to designing more websites in the future.

Free HD Countdowns is a site that I run where people can download quality video countdowns for free.

I launched the site at the end of July last year and I’ve had fun creating a whole bunch of video countdowns. It’s taken up quite a bit of my time which has meant that I haven’t posted here as often, but I’m hoping that you guys that read this blog have found the countdowns to be useful in ministries that you run.

The site started off slowly (as was expected), but it has now gotten off the ground a bit and is seeing regular traffic, as well as an increase in Subscribers and Twitter followers. You can follow @freehdcountdown on Twitter, and if you do, you’ll receive a welcome message with a link to a welcome video that you can only see if you follow on Twitter. A little extra incentive to follow.

Below I thought I would share 3 of my favourite countdowns on the site so far. Would love to hear if you’ve used any of the countdowns, or if you’ve got any suggestions for countdowns in the future. Let me know in the comments.

This countdown has been one of the most downloaded countdowns. It’s also one of the few countdowns that I’ve created a soundtrack for. Check it out here – Green Blip Video Countdown.

Continue Reading…

ChurchMag is a great website that investigates the relationship between Church and technology.

I’ve already written a few guest posts over at ChurchMag, and these next two make it 5 in total.

My Journey of Creation with iBooks Author

Just recently I created an iBook with iBooks Author. iBooks Author is a relatively new program and I wanted to share my experiences – the ups and downs – of using iBooks Author. I really enjoyed the process, and you can read about it here over at ChurchMag now.

A Great Screen Casting Tool That Comes FREE With Every Mac

If you’ve ever wanted to record your screen to demonstrate a website or a computer program and you have a Mac, then y0u’re in luck. QuickTime Player (the application with which you watch video files) allows you to create a screen cast. I’ve written about some of the features of QuickTime Player’s screen casting ability in this post. Read it here.