Discover Jesus: Status 2024 Jul

Discover Jesus – Update

By Mike Robinson

DiscoverJesus.com Progress!

The Discover Jesus website continues to grow as we document Jesus' life and teachings from The Urantia Book. Our growth includes adding new articles from our volunteer writers and images from Gary Tonge to improve the desktop and mobile reader experience.

As mentioned in my last update, we have launched article previews that appear when a mouse is hovering over a word or phrase that is linked to another Discover Jesus essay. Similar to Wikipedia, this allows readers to preview content without interrupting their reading to go to another article if they are curious about content that is linked. When viewing, readers can click on the preview to go directly to the article. This feature is live on desktop and tablet screens, and we hope to bring it to smaller screens soon.

Second, we have added "Suggested Readings" at the bottom of every essay to encourage readers to check out articles related to the one they just read. This is our way of connecting visitors to the site with deeper insights and further exploration of interconnected themes.

Content Development Progress

Our content continues to grow! We now have 356 published essays with profile images on the Discover Jesus website (an increase of 60 essays over the past two months). While we won't provide a full list here, you can check the banner on the homepage of www.discoverjesus.com, which highlights the number of essays added in the past two weeks and links to a page showcasing each.

The most recent essay additions include:

• Event - Jesus Counsels Flavius about Greek Culture
• Event - Woman Touches Jesus is Cured by Her Faith
• Event - Healing the Son of Titus
• Event - Jesus Heals Bartimeus
• Event - Jesus' Discourse on Assurance
• Event - Jesus' Discourse on Divine Forgiveness
• Event - Jesus Heals the Ten Lepers
• Event - Jesus Heals Josiah the Blind Beggar
• Event - The Last Temple Discourse
• Event - The Woman with the Spirit of Infirmity
• Event - Jesus Awakens Girl in Coma
• Event - Jesus Heals the Daughter of Norana
• Group - Six Jerusalem Spies
• Location - Engedi
• Object - Praetorium
• Topic - Overview of Jesus' Teachings

Ongoing Search Optimization and Speed

We continue to focus our development efforts on improving search engine optimization and website performance. Our objective is to increase our exposure in search engine results so that new viewers may easily access information about Jesus' life.

Simultaneously, we are devoted to enhancing the loading speed of our website, especially considering the rich, image-heavy material that enhances the viewing experience. These technological upgrades are critical for growing our reach and effectively engaging more people, and we anticipate having the speedier version of our site live before Jesus' birthday on August 21st.

Your Help is Appreciated

This effort is still going strong, thanks to a dedicated group of Urantia Book readers who are determined to see it through to completion. Our software innovations are constantly adjusted based on reader feedback to improve our interface. In addition, continual marketing and fundraising activities help increase site visitors. Our extensive network of writers and volunteers continues to provide essential contributions.

We appreciate any donations you can make to help our cause, and we look forward to your continued participation and support throughout 2024!