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Main Boards => General Walking Discussion => Topic started by: gunwharfman on 20:55:03, 29/07/20

Title: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: gunwharfman on 20:55:03, 29/07/20
I was online today and came across a travel report that opened up like a book with pages which 'turned' over on the screen. I've only ever sent a walk of mine out as a PDF file, do any Forum members use the 'book' method to display their reports?

I had a go at a 'free' site myself today and it worked but the print itself proved to be hard to read? The accompanying photos were fine.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: pleb on 21:10:10, 29/07/20
I wouldnt know how, its all I can do to get pics on here  ;D
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: richardh1905 on 21:12:47, 29/07/20
Been messing with Wordpress these last few days, but I haven't come across what you describe, I'm afraid.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: fernman on 22:08:35, 29/07/20
Some apps have "pages that turn over" such as Adobe Digital Editions, or newsletter sites such as Issuu.
I don't know what PDF reader you use but mine, PDF-XChange Editor, has some viewing options in the status bar at the foot of the screen, one of which shows the document page by page continuously.

Returning to the title of your thread, I tried a few free publishing sites over tthe years, and a couple of low-priced paid ones. All had limitations and shortcomings, and they concentrated on trying to get you to pay up, or pay more.

Then I discovered the completely free Wordpress.com (Wordpress.org is paid). There is a bit of a learning curve but there is plenty of help to be found online, and I get on fine with now, it's like riding a bicycle. I have three websites on it - one is my 'signature' below, one is a transcribed journal of my adventure in Europe when I was 20, one is a brief history of my family name - and I'd like to think they'll be around at no cost for long after I'm not on this earth any more.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: richardh1905 on 22:48:19, 29/07/20
I've found that trying to transcribe one of my trip reports into a Word document is very frustrating, mainly due to image formatting. And I wasn't that impressed when I used a professional printing service - images that look great on a computer screen can look distinctly lacklustre once printed.


So basically I have given up on the idea, and tonight I have published my latest trip report from this forum on Wordpress. Take a look, and see what you think. https://wildaboutwalking.wordpress.com/lingcove-beck-wild-camp/
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: richardh1905 on 22:53:04, 29/07/20
It is also possible to save the Wordpress web page to your hard disk, or to a USB drive, if you want to archive a copy. My TR took up about 7MB of disk space, including approx 20 images.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: ninthace on 22:55:01, 29/07/20
I "publish" my walks by dropping completed routes, that I consider worth sharing, as a gpx trace on https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/.I (https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/.I) also publish them on ViewRanger as Routes complete with a description.  When I have the time and inclination, I am working back through old routes that I have already completed and also putting them on to ViewRanger.  I have got back as far as mid 2014 and have to get back through 2013 as well before I run out of gps traces.
For my own amusement, I keep a record of every walk as a workbook in Xcel - one page per year.  Each walk is a one line entry recording area, walk name, distance + running total distance, height gain + running total height, duration +running total duration, gpx file name and a comment with weather conditions, companions, significant events and gear (e.g. shoes/boots).  The gpx trace for each walk is stored in the Cloud so I can recall it if I need it. I also have a List in BaseCamp for each year with the gpx traces for that year so I can see my completed walks on a map.
This sounds complicated but it isn't really.  I record a walk using the ViewRanger app on my mobile.  When I finish just have to save the track and when I get home the trace is already stored in my ViewRanger account.  I can then log in and view the track and its associated data to drop into my spreadsheet.  I couple of clicks exports the gpx file where my browser as been told to drop the file straight into Basecamp for me.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: richardh1905 on 22:56:07, 29/07/20
The disadvantage of a wordpress free account is that you get ads appearing on your pages - can't have everything. But you do get 3GB of free storage space, which should be pretty secure. Enough for around 400 of my Trip Reports - that should keep me busy for a while!
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: Bigfoot_Mike on 23:18:51, 29/07/20
I've found that trying to transcribe one of my trip reports into a Word document is very frustrating, mainly due to image formatting. And I wasn't that impressed when I used a professional printing service - images that look great on a computer screen can look distinctly lacklustre once printed.
If you want printed photos to look anything like those on the screen, you will need to calibrate your monitor. Most default monitor settings are way too bright, so something that looks great on the screen will look very dull on paper. Also, the colour settings are likely to be way off. Unless you have a (very expensive) specialist monitor, it won’t be able to display the same range of colours as the printer.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: richardh1905 on 07:26:31, 30/07/20
Thanks Mike, but I've come to the conclusion that it is more trouble than it is worth, what with formatting the size of the images to fit on E4 as well. Entirely digital is the way forward for me.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: WhitstableDave on 08:27:07, 30/07/20
I was online today and came across a travel report that opened up like a book with pages which 'turned' over on the screen. ...

I used to create animated online books such as you describe with the help of a program called MegaZine. Page turning is animated and accompanied by sound effects.

The problem is that Flash is needed and most browsers will not now display the books properly, if at all.  :(

However, should you happen to be using an old version of a popular browser, or a Flash-friendly browser such as Pale Moon, then here's an e-magazine I made that contains cruise ship cabin reviews: http://www.cruisingmates.co.uk/cabins/ (http://www.cruisingmates.co.uk/cabins/)  :)

(If the magazine does appear, move the cursor to the top-right corner of pages to turn them.)
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: fernman on 09:37:30, 30/07/20
tonight I have published my latest trip report from this forum on Wordpress. Take a look, and see what you think. https://wildaboutwalking.wordpress.com/lingcove-beck-wild-camp/ (https://wildaboutwalking.wordpress.com/lingcove-beck-wild-camp/)

That is terrific, Richard, very impressive.

It is also possible to save the Wordpress web page to your hard disk, or to a USB drive, if you want to archive a copy. My TR took up about 7MB of disk space, including approx 20 images.

That is something I did NOT know! I laboriously created backups of every single page from my three sites by copying/pasting them onto docs. How do you do it, please? (A bit late now I've done them all, but it would be good to know.)

The disadvantage of a wordpress free account is that you get ads appearing on your pages

But the ads are down at the foot of the web page, they're not at all obtrusive, and you don't see them if you use an adblocker or VPN.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: SteamyTea on 10:25:57, 30/07/20
This visual page turning is often an option in desktop publishing software.
Personally I really hate it.
I find it best to start at the top, then work down.


Like many things in life, KISS.


Regarding images, resize them all before you insert them in a document. Makes life very easy.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: richardh1905 on 10:38:04, 30/07/20
That is terrific, Richard, very impressive.

That is something I did NOT know! I laboriously created backups of every single page from my three sites by copying/pasting them onto docs. How do you do it, please? (A bit late now I've done them all, but it would be good to know.)

But the ads are down at the foot of the web page, they're not at all obtrusive, and you don't see them if you use an adblocker or VPN.


Thanks for the feedback, Fernman  :)


In Chrome, if you right click on a part of the web page that does not contain a link or an image, then you should get an option to "Save as" in the drop down menu. This allows you to save the entire web page, images and all. It will be saved as an html file, with a separate folder for all the images and other stuff that make it work as a web page. When you click on the html file stored locally, it should open in your default web browser as if it were on the original site, linking to the images etc stored in the folder of the same name.


This doesn't seem to work on Edge. Not sure about other browsers.

Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: gunwharfman on 11:04:50, 30/07/20
Wow, I never expected such a response, thank you.

I started with WordPress but I just found it too difficult to grasp, e.g. all of the page numbers always displayed back to front.

I only asked because for the first time in my life I kept a record of my walk across the Pyrenees on the GR10 in 2015. I wrote it on WordPress, then got bored and frustrated by it and left it alone for about 4 years. When lock-down started I had another look at it. I then decided to transfer everything to Word and have now recently finished it. It just expanded and I've reawakened memories that have lain dormant for years. It now contains pages of my early years and how over my lifetime I gradually worked towards hiking the GR10. It's now 88 pages long and with photos as well.

I've even found out that my Dad was a regular soldier and served in India before WW2 and he was then evacuauted from Dunkirk, fought across North Africa, then on the Italian campaign before being wounded at the 1944 battle of Monte Cassino. As a child I rember him waking up in the night screaming and Mum making him feel safe so I believe that I now 'know' why he loved my Mum's way of life so much. I'm sure it was very theraputic for him and by 1955 (we started to live in a house) it really helped to make him mentally well again.

I decided to document it all that I could I've sent it to various relatives. It feels to me that I am leaving 'something behind,' a bit of me and the way that I lived, and who knows someone in my extended family in the future might choose to have a read of it someday?

At the moment I have it all converted to a PDF document which I have sent out by 'We Transfer.' Its had an interesting effect in that relatives who I haven't seen or spoken to for 50 years or more have started to contact me. Really really good!

The idea of reading it as an  onscreen 'book' appeals to me so at the moment I'm still looking for a platform that displays the words clearly, I've not found one yet.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: SteamyTea on 11:05:16, 30/07/20
There are a number of software packages that can copy and save webpages, and even whole sites
Webwhacker is the best known, but I am sure free to use alternatives exist.
Then there is always waybackmachine. This is an archive of millions of webpages.
Does raise the philosophical question about is waybackmachine part of the set of all webpages, so it copies itself.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: fernman on 11:23:55, 30/07/20
In Chrome, if you right click on a part of the web page that does not contain a link or an image, then you should get an option to "Save as" in the drop down menu. This allows you to save the entire web page, images and all. It will be saved as an html file, with a separate folder for all the images and other stuff that make it work as a web page. When you click on the html file stored locally, it should open in your default web browser as if it were on the original site, linking to the images etc stored in the folder of the same name.

This doesn't seem to work on Edge. Not sure about other browsers.

Thanks Richard. It didn't work for me on Pale Moon browser either, the html file displayed a blank screen.
But not to worry, I didn't like the folders full of what is to me masses of extraneous material, imagine one of them for each of my 103 web pages! I much prefer wysiwyg (to take a leaf out of SteamyTea's book with his acronyms) so I'm going to stick to my dinosaur's way of doing it.

There are a number of software packages that can copy and save webpages, and even whole sites
Webwhacker is the best known, but I am sure free to use alternatives exist.
Then there is always waybackmachine. This is an archive of millions of webpages.

I have used Ezgif.com, a free online converter that changes a web page to .jpg or .png
I didn't use it for my backups in case I wanted to do any editing.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: SteamyTea on 12:46:42, 30/07/20
I have used Ezgif.com, a free online converter that changes a web page to .jpg or .png
I didn't use it for my backups in case I wanted to do any editing.
why not just use the print screen key on the keyboard. Then paste into just about anything.


I hated WYSIWYG. It never did. Formatting for printing and formatting for viewing are different things, and HTML has a strange default when it comes to screen sizes, it can stretch or shrink the line length depending on screen width/screen resolution.


There should not be a need to backup or copy stuff posted once online, all the backups should be done while you create the page in the first place.


I think in Firefox if you go to File-->Save As, you can save the page, image and structures.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: BuzyG on 13:29:57, 30/07/20
On the whole life is too short.  Better to be doing than writing up.  ;) 

On those occasions when I do write up something I use MS word and create a Master document with the words, linked pictures, from a photo sharing site and my local hard drive. Once I have that simple document, I then cut and paste the info into other places to share it.  Such as a trip report here, or on walking highlands, or on a car forum.

Much as I love maps and mapping I don't save many routes as GPX files. I just don't get the point of that one. Too much detail to ever go back and use in the future, for me personally. I do plot pretty much every walk I do, after I have completed it.  Because I enjoy logging the basic stats distance ascent, and weather, time taken and conditions, to compare with the log books I started 45 years ago, on paper, for all my outdoor activities.  But crucially I delete the plots once I have the few bits of data I need from them. Keeping the plots would be like keeping a collection of old magazines, after you have read them.  Sometimes some one else may wish to share one, but your never going to read most of them ever again, so little point.  I keep certain special routes, I have may be 30 saved. But the thousands of others I have plotted over the years are simply logged as a single line on a spread sheet, for comparison, then deleted.

MrsG uses, Photographs logged in the sequence they were taken. That creates a pretty good reminder of any walk.

May be if I had more time on my hands.  But I like to think I would just be out more if that was the case.  O0
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: fernman on 13:34:44, 30/07/20
why not just use the print screen key on the keyboard. Then paste into just about anything.

It's only an image, not editable if you feel the need to do so, i.e if you alter the web page, then you make the same change/s to the backup.

I hated WYSIWYG.

It's for dummies like me and 1000s of others who have little knowledge of code.

There should not be a need to backup or copy stuff posted once online, all the backups should be done while you create the page in the first place.

My backups are a belt and braces job just in case the web host goes pear shaped, and it was only recently that I realised I ought to have some.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: fernman on 13:52:29, 30/07/20
I started with WordPress but I just found it too difficult to grasp, e.g. all of the page numbers always displayed back to front.

Sounds like you were using it in blog form, in which the newest pages are always at the top?

You can use Wordpress as a website instead of a blog:
https://wordpress.com/support/using-wordpress-to-create-a-website/ (https://wordpress.com/support/using-wordpress-to-create-a-website/)

you can set a static Home page which will be the default page your site always opens on:
https://wordpress.com/learn/bonus-round-get-a-home-page/ (https://wordpress.com/learn/bonus-round-get-a-home-page/)

and you can even write a book with it:
https://wordpress.com/support/write-a-book/ (https://wordpress.com/support/write-a-book/)

 
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: richardh1905 on 15:16:50, 30/07/20
I use a static home page on Wordpress, and am basically treating it as a giant index of all my trip reports on this forum. The links mostly go to this forum, but I am starting to transcribe some TRs onto Wordpress, this will no doubt take some time, very much work in progress, and I'll only do those that I consider to be the most worthwhile. I'm also conscious of the 3GB storage limit - as I already re-size my images to 800 wide, they are typically only 250-300kB each, so no worries for a while! I do re-save my .png maps as .jpg though, about half the file size and still perfectly readable.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: Warbler on 15:39:15, 30/07/20
Interesting topic.

I’ve been considering recording a lot of my retrospective walks somewhere for some time now, if only for my own reference and to show to friends and family. I even considered writing them up on this forum, but that’s not really its purpose.

I must have attended the same school as pleb – “I wouldnt know how, its all I can do to get pics on here” – I’m not particularly tech savvy. So with that in mind, how difficult is it to set up and update a Wordpress site? Is there much more to it than posting a TR on this forum?
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: richardh1905 on 16:05:16, 30/07/20
Interesting topic.

I’ve been considering recording a lot of my retrospective walks somewhere for some time now, if only for my own reference and to show to friends and family. I even considered writing them up on this forum, but that’s not really its purpose.

I must have attended the same school as pleb – “I wouldnt know how, its all I can do to get pics on here” – I’m not particularly tech savvy. So with that in mind, how difficult is it to set up and update a Wordpress site? Is there much more to it than posting a TR on this forum?


All I can say is give it a go, Warbler. I enjoyed several moments of bafflement and frustration until the penny dropped, but once it does, it all becomes clear.


Just start it as a single page to get you started, then think about adding menus and links etc. Pictures are easy to upload, or you can link from a 3rd party site as you can on this forum.


And remember that nobody will care if you make a mess of it. Other than yourself, that is.  :)
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: WhitstableDave on 16:13:45, 30/07/20
As I understand it, the question is about keeping and/or distributing a diary or blog or whatever about ones walks and interests. I've thought about this in regard to my grandchildren who might, perhaps, one day like to browse accounts of their granddad's adventures. And who knows, they might, because I'd very much like to know much more about my grandparents' lives than I do.

I've been keeping my blog on a forum I run that isn't about walking. However, it is about travel and I figure walking counts as travel - and anyway, it's my forum so I can do what I like!

I know that my blog is only safe so long as I keep paying to have my website hosted. But even if my blog was being stored on some free host (for example, WordPress), I'm afraid that I don't trust internet companies with what must represent hundreds of hours of work. I may be thought paranoid, but I used to invest time and effort making slide-shows and posts in Google+ and they all vanished when Google decided to drop the platform.

So I've been using a website copier called WinHTTrack to keep a complete copy of my website, which of course includes my blog. The copy is on my PC (and a backup drive) and I can browse it just as if it were online. I run WinHTTrack every so often to update the copy (although not often enough!). One advantage of this method is that I can easily put copies of my blog onto optical discs, such as DVDs. Another is that no formatting is required - the copy is an offline website that's identical to the original.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: richardh1905 on 16:21:44, 30/07/20
Thanks for the tip, Dave.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: Warbler on 16:45:11, 30/07/20

All I can say is give it a go, Warbler. I enjoyed several moments of bafflement and frustration until the penny dropped, but once it does, it all becomes clear.


Yep, I guess you're right, Richard. I need to take the plunge and see where it takes me. Nothing to lose if it all goes pear shaped.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: fernman on 18:32:11, 30/07/20
I must have attended the same school as pleb – “I wouldnt know how, its all I can do to get pics on here” – I’m not particularly tech savvy. So with that in mind, how difficult is it to set up and update a Wordpress site? Is there much more to it than posting a TR on this forum?

Once you've cracked how to do anything complex to you as a novice, on WordPress or anything else for that matter, make notes on a document of the steps you made, so that you can refer to them the next time you do it.
I only used to add a new page on my site twice a year, which was long enough for me to forget how to do it.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: gunwharfman on 18:50:20, 30/07/20
Oooh er! I didn't realise that I'd be opening what for me is ' can of worms.' I'm going to have to spend some time getting my head around all of your information. In the meantime, although I've actually downloaded some free goes at my 'book' I haven't yet properly understood if I can completely detach them from a particular site so they 'stand-alone' on my PC. For the moment my PDF method is fine but I'll keep looking at information about 'page turns.'
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: fernman on 20:33:24, 30/07/20
You can make a WP site private if you want, rather than public where everyone in the world could end up seeing it, and if you want to share it with relatives and friends, you just pass them the url (I think it works that way).

If anyone wants their site to be seen by all, WP publicises  it for you but I've read that they're not very good at it. You only get real SEO - search engine optimisation - if you pay for WP.org.
What you need to do is submit your site's details to the major search engines, you'll find how to do this if you do a search, and it helps if your site has a number of hyperlinks to other sites in it.
It will take several weeks but eventually your site should appear in search results. One of mine is always near the top, the family name one sometimes comes up near the top, other times it's way down the list, it isn't helped by an estate agent in the NE with the same name flooding the web with links, while the third one only comes up if I do a quite specific search, so it's unlikely to get any casual visitors.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: gunwharfman on 21:47:19, 30/07/20
I'm sorry Fernman but I have to admit that I have no idea what you are writing about. My computer knowledge is limited and you have just gone beyond my comfort zone. I will read it again and see how far I get with it.

Your sentence 'What you need to do is submit your site's details to the major search engines, you'll find how to do this if you do a search, and it helps if your site has a number of hyperlinks to other sites in it' really stumps me. Sorry about that but I will try to work it out.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: richardh1905 on 22:14:44, 30/07/20
I wouldn't worry about stuff like that GWM - I certainly don't.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: Warbler on 23:13:44, 30/07/20
Once you've cracked how to do anything complex to you as a novice, on WordPress or anything else for that matter, make notes on a document of the steps you made, so that you can refer to them the next time you do it.
I only used to add a new page on my site twice a year, which was long enough for me to forget how to do it.

Thanks fernman. I'll put your methods to the test very soon.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: richardh1905 on 10:14:16, 31/07/20
Thanks fernman. I'll put your methods to the test very soon.


Just for information - I use the 'Independent Publisher 2' Theme on Wordpress. Nice clean and simple layout. And free, of course. :)
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: fernman on 14:39:13, 31/07/20
Your sentence 'What you need to do is submit your site's details to the major search engines, you'll find how to do this if you do a search, and it helps if your site has a number of hyperlinks to other sites in it' really stumps me.

You create your site and you publish it - each time you make a new page or edit one you will see a big blue 'Publish' button on the right of the Wordpress.com compose screen.

So you've made your site and then you go to Google or whatever you use and you search for 'Submit your website to Google'. Deal direct with Google, don't be tempted to use some carppy site that volunteers to do it for you. You will be presented with an onscreen form in which you enter the url of your site, Gunwharfman.wordpress.com or whatever, and that's about it, Google will add it to their search engine.

Then you do the same again with Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo and any others you can think of.

Hyperlinks, commonly called links, are the underscored blue bits of text that open a specific website when you click on them, they are all over the web, and you will see them in posts on this forum and as members' signatures. Now I confess to not knowing fully how this works, but if your site contains a number of such links it sort of brings your site more to the fore, it's something to do with interconnecting with other sites. (I'm hoping someone with more knowledge of this than me will be able to explain it properly.)
 
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: harry_keogh on 11:35:51, 11/08/20
I use wordpress and did a lot of alterations to make it look more magazine than blog. It has a static home page split into categories, interactive (and downloadable) route maps, photos, route stats, seperate pages for summits, trigs, National Character Areas, etc. You can do anything you like with it - all depends on the time you want to put into it. I didn't do it overnight though, it was quite simple to begin with and I've overhauled it a few times since then, building up the features bit by bit.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: forgotmyoldpassword on 11:44:52, 11/08/20
It's easy to include a lot of clutter on self made sites like that.  I'm running a side project designing a site overhaul and our designer keeps coming back to the basics - keep it simple, visually clear of clutter and readable on mobile as well as a laptop or PC.


End of the day for trip report purposes people want two things, legible fonts and good pictures.  Some of the best sites (in terms of content) for wild camping and the outdoors have severely dated late 90s/early 00s style web interfaces, but the content doesn't suffer from that whatsoever.


You may want to consider Medium as a tool for publishing minimal content like that, it's a beautiful little app and interface.  I mirrored my wordpress site across to medium (before I got bored of it and deleted it), but Medium as a whole is great for 'write and publish' content with minimal need to faff around with side elements and features.  Also some great writers on there in all sorts of fields who publish interesting stuff.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: richardh1905 on 13:55:08, 11/08/20
It's easy to include a lot of clutter on self made sites like that.  I'm running a side project designing a site overhaul and our designer keeps coming back to the basics - keep it simple, visually clear of clutter and readable on mobile as well as a laptop or PC.

End of the day for trip report purposes people want two things, legible fonts and good pictures.  Some of the best sites (in terms of content) for wild camping and the outdoors have severely dated late 90s/early 00s style web interfaces, but the content doesn't suffer from that whatsoever.


I'm certainly making a conscious effort to keep things simple, and have resisted the temptation to add side menus, cross references, clickable maps, tables of summits etc. For me it is about the walks and the pictures, something that I hope I will enjoy in years to come, as well as visitors to my site (hopefully).
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: fernman on 18:03:56, 11/08/20
For me it is about the walks and the pictures, something that I hope I will enjoy in years to come, as well as visitors to my site (hopefully).

My sentiments entirrely, and you will get visitors (you can add a Contact Me on WP if you want one, look it up).
Some are only spammy people from the Far East who 'like' your site and add a link to their 100% unrelated one, usually to do with food and cooking in my case. But others are genuine and half of mine are from north America and Europe.
Most of the genuine ones are asking for information, and sometimes you can have a good exchange of messages with them, but some are just like new members who post queries on this site, you reply and never hear from them again.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: harry_keogh on 20:26:00, 11/08/20
I don't know - I find that there are two different types of visitors to my site (three if you include the thousands of bots!). There are people looking for routes, and there are people looking for stories. The people looking for routes are interested in a gps file, a few photos, and a quick overview. They don't care for reading your carefully crafted account of the walk. Then there are the people who are looking for stories and information. They don't care much about the stats but take the time to properly read your full account of the walk. Of course, there are also people that do both! I've had enough feedback now to know that the site is visited by both types, and so I've tried to accommodate both to some extent. The map is right at the foot of my posts so it doesn't really intrude until you've read all the post anyway. The stats and a brief route summary I stick at the top, laid out as neatly as possible so it doesn't detract too much. Easy to scroll past if it's the story you want. Navigation is important to me and so I've tried to make stuff as easy to find as possible and that does include internal links. For example, clicking on a summit in the summit listing at the top will take you to a dedicated dynamically generated page for that summit, and will also list all the other walks I've done that includes that summit. Clicking on the area (eg Dark peak) will show you all the walks I have done in that area. I've tried to keep the site as speedy and clean as possible though despite the extra features. I strip all cookies, have removed google analytics, use caching to good effect, don't advertise, have resisted gear reviews as much as possible and kept it about the routes  (most people are doing gear reviews nowadays for the freebies). I've also managed to refrain from writing junk clickbait articles (top 10 places to go outdoors on Mothers Day etc). It was actually the Walkingenglishman website that inspired me with my website and with a lot of my earlier walks too. It used to always be my goto resource in the beginning.


Ultimately though, I don't think there's an absolute right or wrong way to do it so long as it loads at a decent speed and is easy to read. As you'll be the one putting your valuable free time into it - create a site that pleases you. If you like stories, write stories. if you like stats, add stats. If you're non techy, keep it simple. The site has to suit you more than anyone else (unless you're aiming to turn into a pro blogger and make money).
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: gunwharfman on 12:50:57, 12/08/20
My account is still on a PDF, just cannot find the time to think beyond it at the moment. I've also for now given up on the online book presentation idea, all the companies I've tried seem to be the same, and all seem to be rather blurry when trying to read them. My daughter in law suggests its possibly because I'm using a TV as my monitor, it might look better on a proper monitor? Its all about time and concentrating, not really into either much these days.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: richardh1905 on 18:00:33, 12/08/20
Ultimately though, I don't think there's an absolute right or wrong way to do it so long as it loads at a decent speed and is easy to read. As you'll be the one putting your valuable free time into it - create a site that pleases you. If you like stories, write stories. if you like stats, add stats. If you're non techy, keep it simple. The site has to suit you more than anyone else (unless you're aiming to turn into a pro blogger and make money).


 O0
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: richardh1905 on 09:02:28, 24/08/20
...
So I've been using a website copier called WinHTTrack to keep a complete copy of my website, which of course includes my blog. The copy is on my PC (and a backup drive) and I can browse it just as if it were online. I run WinHTTrack every so often to update the copy (although not often enough!). One advantage of this method is that I can easily put copies of my blog onto optical discs, such as DVDs. Another is that no formatting is required - the copy is an offline website that's identical to the original.


I like the sound of WinHTTrack, Dave. Any issues with it? Or is it trouble free?
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: WhitstableDave on 09:11:41, 24/08/20

I like the sound of WinHTTrack, Dave. Any issues with it? Or is it trouble free?

Hi Richard. The interface is rather dated and it all looks quite confusing - there's something of a steep learning curve and some trial and error will probably be needed! However, once it's set up, the program will update the copy of your website with little more than the click of a button. It takes several hours to copy my website / forum, but it is roughly the size of this forum, so there are a lot of files. Good luck!
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: richardh1905 on 09:38:27, 24/08/20
Thanks - I'll give it a go.  :)
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: Birdman on 10:48:17, 24/08/20
Until recently I just wrote travel reports (like one had a photo album with some storytelling in the past) just for myself (to preserve the memories) and to share with friends and family in pdf format (not that anyone really cared). I wrote them in my native language (Dutch) and also posted them in the travel section of a Dutch generic internet forum (which actually generated many nice reactions). But over the years when I met people when travelling/ hiking, when I told about my travels/ hikes I was often asked why I didn't have facebook or a blog. The only publicly accessible thing I could point to was this Dutch forum. That's why I started a website to publish my reports translated into English.


Because I started from scratch and wanted it to be under my own control, I registered a website address and I'm paying for the hosting, so the content remains my own and I don't have to show annoying ads. I don't care that it costs me some money because all hobbies cost some money.


I'm using (free) Wordpress software and a (free) theme that I have modified slightly (created a child theme) to fit my needs. I'm quite happy with the result, though I still need to fix a few problems on mobile :)


It's not a "how to" site to provide other people with useful information, just an outlet for my excitement about my travels and hikes, because nobody in my real life is really interested in this, but some strangers sometimes are :)


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https://www.hikingbirdman.com/ (https://www.hikingbirdman.com/)
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: richardh1905 on 15:57:29, 24/08/20
You've been to some interesting places, Birdman  O0
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: Bigfoot_Mike on 18:11:03, 24/08/20
You have been to some interesting places. I did have the pleasure of walking a few miles on the Bibbulmun Track about 3 years ago when in Perth on business. A friend took a couple of us out into the countryside and we walked from Mundaring Weir. It was very hot. We were fortunate to see some kangaroos in the wild and some parrots and parakeets. Also, we didn’t see any snakes (apart from on the track markers), which I was pleased about.
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: Birdman on 20:46:51, 24/08/20
You've been to some interesting places, Birdman  O0


Thanks! I feel very privileged to have been able to visit all these wonderful places



You have been to some interesting places. I did have the pleasure of walking a few miles on the Bibbulmun Track about 3 years ago when in Perth on business. A friend took a couple of us out into the countryside and we walked from Mundaring Weir. It was very hot. We were fortunate to see some kangaroos in the wild and some parrots and parakeets. Also, we didn’t see any snakes (apart from on the track markers), which I was pleased about.


 
The Bibbulmun is fantastic! I saw on average about 3 snakes per day on the southern part (the dunes). It's a beautiful trail, especially if you are interested in flora and fauna. Kangaroos, emus etc were common. And I spotted 117 species of birds. It is also famous for orchids, some of them can be seen nowhere else in the world.  
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: richardh1905 on 22:30:18, 24/08/20

I like the sound of WinHTTrack, Dave. Any issues with it? Or is it trouble free?


Well, I've downloaded it and done my first local backup of my wildaboutwalking site.
The interface is a bit basic, but the manual describes the steps clearly, and it all went well - the backed up site seems to work perfectly.


Thanks for putting me on to it, Dave  O0
Title: Re: How do you 'publish' the hikes that you've done?
Post by: WhitstableDave on 22:38:19, 24/08/20

Well, I've downloaded it and done my first local backup of my wildaboutwalking site.
The interface is a bit basic, but the manual describes the steps clearly, and it all went well - the backed up site seems to work perfectly.

Thanks for putting me on to it, Dave  O0

You're very welcome!  O0