Rollr Blog

Posting to your website regularly is one of the most important things you can do to have a successful blog or website. There are three main reasons to post quality content frequently:

1. Attract and maintain readers
2. Encourage sharing
3. Get high rank in the search engine

We've provided many tools for getting followers on Rollr. Here are a list of things you can do right now to get more followers:

1. Share your profile link on Facebook and Twitter
   
   Your profile link can be found by clicking on your profile picture in the /customize screen.  My profile link is http://www.rollr.com/profiles/tyler .  From here users can see who I am and follow me easily.  Share this link to get users to your site.
   
   
2. Share your follow link directly on Facebook and Twitter
   
   Your follow link can be generated by replacing my username (tyler) with yours in the following url - http://www.rollr.com/rapi/follow/tyler .  If a user clicks on this link they will automatically follow you.
   
   
3.  Generate your Rollr follow button
   
   Visit http://www.rollr.com/pages/tools to generate the code for your Rollr follow button.  You can then paste this code anywhere on the web to generate your button. When users click on this button they will automatically be following you on Rollr. We recommend placing your follow button on your Rollr site either in your posts or in a widget or both.  Note: your 'follow link' can be found by inspecting the code for this follow button.
   
   
4. Post great content and photos
   
   This might be the most obvious, but many people overlook it. In order to build followers you need content that your viewers will enjoy. If they enjoy your posts, they will follow you! 

If the last post was a little confusing, hopefully this post will help clarify things. Getting your follow button is a little bit easier now. Just visit http://www.rollr.com/pages/tools and enter your Rollr username. Then copy the code generated and paste it wherever you'd like the button to appear. Take a look to the left of this blog to see an example of what your button will look like. We will be working on more designs and sizes, but since we are still testing I wanted to get this button out to some of you.

Enjoy!  And don't forget to Follow us on Rollr!

We've been working on the Rollr Follow button that you can embed anywhere on the web.  To use it right now you'll have to manually edit the code and replace my username with yours.  Then just copy the code and paste it.

To use it on your Rollr website, I recommend either creating a widget or embeding it in your posts.

Check out http://tyler.rollr.com for an example.

Here's the code:

<a href="http://www.rollr.com/rapi/follow/tyler" data-username="tyler" id="rollr-follow-button" class="rollr-follow-button">Follow</a>
<script>(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//www.rollr.com/_js/rfollow.js"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'rollr-js'));</script>

Your Rollr Score is a way for you to receive a vote or rank for each individual post. Once enabled, your friends will be able to upvote the posts they like. The Rollr Score for each individual post will be used to help us rank your post in the Rollr Community. If a lot of people upvote your post, your post will receive more visibility.

Rollr Score is disabled by default, but you can easily enable it by clicking on the Settings Icon > Account.  Then under "Site Settings" choose "Yes" on the option that says "Show Rollr Score".  Now the Rollr score icon will be added to your individual posts page and your friends can being upvoting.

Here's a video introduction to widgets and a tutorial on how to create a widget on Rollr.

What are widgets?

A widget is a small section that will be placed statically on your Rollr page.  Unlike posts, widgets are not loaded by date and they generally contain different types of data or tools.  For instance, if you want to add a form to your page that lets the user signup for your mailing list, you can choose to create an HTML widget, paste the code, and the widget will be displayed on your page.  Likewise, if you have an account with Google Adsense and would like to start generating ad revenue from your Rollr site, you can create an Adsense widget and paste your code.  

How will my widgets be displayed?

The size and positioning of your widget is determined by the designer of the theme you are using.  In fact, it is strongly recommended, but not required, to include provisions for widgets in a theme.  So some themes may not include widgets.  Traditionally, widgets are not the centerpoint so they are often placed on the sidebar.

The style of the content in your widget can be overridden if you are creating an HTML widget.  By default, the widget will inherit the style from the theme, but you can directly change fonts, font sizes, colors, etc when you are creating your HTML widget.

To change the order of your widgets simply go to "/widgets/manage" or click on "Manage Widgets" from the customize screen.  From here you can change the order of how your widgets will be loaded.

What can I do with widgets?

You can get pretty creative with your widgets.  Maybe you want to add a small paragraph welcoming someone to your website or a detailed description of your site.  You can also create a widget for HTML elements like forms.  You can add social tools like a link to your Twitter, Facebook, or Google+ page or even "Like", "Share", and "Tweet" buttons.  The only limitation is the size and location restrictions of the theme you are using!  

How do I get started?

Adding a widget is easy!  From the customize screen click on Settings > Manage Widgets, and then click "+ New Widget".  You will then find a wizard to help you create and customize your widget.  Enjoy!

Changing the headline on your Rollr website is quick and easy.  From the customize screen in your Rollr account you'll be able to view your entire web site. In most of the Rollr themes, your headline will appear at the top of your site. The headline is the title that will appear on every page so it should describe what your site is about.

To change the headline click on "edit" icon to the right of your headline. A drop down will appear, and you can add a new headline . After you've entered your headline, hit "Enter" or click "Save". You can always cancel to keep your original headline active. You will now see your new headline on your site, and you can continue publishing!

Thank you, and don't forget, to start publishing on Rollr, go to www.rollr.com and signup for your free account.

We just added a creative new theme.  This theme is somewhat of a test in creativity because it looks and operates differently than every other theme.  It demonstrates the ability to use jQuery within the themes!  Check it out if you'd like and be sure to provide feedback to @josephtyler or tyler@rollr.com.

A note for graphics designers - we will soon be releasing a streamline way to build and design themes.

On Rollr, you are given the opportunity to connect your account to both Twitter and Facebook.  So every time you post, your posts will be immediately shared to all of your friends on both platforms.  With this feature, your facebook profile page will show a link to your Rollr site, and with Twitter, your link will be tweeted to all of your followers.  This is a great way to share important information, update your family and friends, or even promote a new product or service that your company is using. 

Alternatively, if you'd like to keep a post completely hidden from the world, you can mark it private and keep it in your personal journal or diary.  Sometimes you'll want to keep record of some important photos, ideas, and events, but we don't want to share them with the world.  You can still view your private journal from the Rollr "customize" interface, but it will remain hidden from your friends and users.

On Rollr, you can organize your posts by using categories. This is benficial for both you and your users as it allows for smoother navigation and browsing. Your friends and users will be able to browse just the posts that they are interested in. Here are a few ways that you can use categories:

Personal Journal

If you are also using Rollr as a personal journal or diary, you can add all of your 'Private' posts into one category. Then from the Rollr customize screen, you can click on your personal category to view and edit the posts in your journal. Remember, if you mark posts as private they will ONLY be available when you are logged in. Also, if one of your categories only contains private posts it will not be available for your friends and users.

Image Gallery

You can categorize all of your images into an 'images' or 'gallery' category so that your friends and users can browse your pictures.

Categories as Pages

If you are looking to create a 'Contact' or 'About Us' page, you can create a category with the same name. Then simply create a post and add it to that category. As long as your post is public and active, you will see your page on the navigation menu.

Creating a new post on Rollr is very simple!  If you're logged into your Rollr account, you can create a new post from any location.  At the top left of your screen there are four icons: home, text, photo, and embed.  Home will always return you to the page to customize your Rollr site.  The three icons to the right of the home icon are the three options for creating a new post.  From here you can create a new text, photo, or embed post.

Text

A text post can be anything from a personal journal entry to a simple update about what you're doing.  A text post can be a quick way to share what you're doing or a place to write an article or blog entry.  

Image

An image post allows you to upload and share a single image.  Upon uploading an image you can choose between three photo filters.  Then you can optionally write a caption about your image.

Embed

An embed post allows you to paste anything embed code that is available from any other website.  Many users post YouTube or Vimeo videos, photo galleries from Smugmug or Photobucket, or even games.  

Once you've added your post content, you can choose to make your post public or private.  A public post will be shared on your website as well as the Rollr Community page (http://community.rollr.com).  If you've connect your account to Facebook and Twitter, your public posts will also be shared on these platforms as well.  

You can also choose to save your post as a draft.  If you'd like to continue editing your post later you can select 'Draft' on the left side of the page and then click save.  If you're ready to publish your post, make sure to click 'Active' and then save.

Why Rollr?  Very simply, because we want to preserve our ideas, photos, and memories.  There are plenty of platforms available to share pictures of every meal you eat and every fleeting thought you have, but what about important events and ideas that you don't want to lose?  Rollr is designed with ease and simplicity in mind.  There's no reason to spend time learning a complicated blogging platform in order to keep a record of your life.

Get your free Rollr account at http://www.rollr.com

Rollr is social

By definition Rollr is a dead simple blogging platform with built-in social features and sharing capabilities.  With one click you can have your latest posts available to your friends on Facebook and Twitter.  Also, any post you mark as public will be shared on the Rollr community to allow for greater visibility.  With Rollr, you can build a community of followers and easily keep track of your friends and family.  Our goal is to make your public posts readily available and easily accessible to your followers and even your friends on other platforms.  

Rollr is private

Another benefit of Rollr is that you can keep some of your personal thoughts and photos private.  Sometimes you want your ideas and photos hidden from the world.  Your private posts are available to you and only you.  With Rollr you can manage both your public and private posts in the same place.  You can keep your diary and personal journal safe with Rollr's private feature.