The 10 Best Damn Black Websites Period!

[Troy 2,685]

Hi BestBlackBuys Here are a few of quick comments

• When viewing your site on my mobile phone a big gray block appears.  Just visit your phone from a mobile device or test it here.  Fixing this problem is important because many people now surf the internet via handheld devices.
• Several of your menus are broken down by period Sept, Oct, Dec.  Since there is no Jan, Feb or March, I get the impression that the website is not being updated.  I would not break out the content that way, because it does not scale.  In other words. what will you do when you have 12 months, 30 months?  Will that menu structure still work?  Articles like 12 Ways to SAVE on Utility Bills!  are evergreen and does not need to be restricted to a given period like last December.
• There are too many menu options.I recommend cutting it by at least 2/3
• All the links to purchase things, at the bottom of the page.  Broken links hurt sites significantly in SEO

Finally, in terms of SEO, what search terms are you trying to rank on?  In other words, if someone goes to google to look for something, what terms would they type to discover your website?  The site's goal: The website dedicated to helping African American consumers save money ... shop smart ... and spend wisely! I see the site offers articles on ways to save money and offers options for shopping.  Would you expect to be found it someone searched for, "african american shopping sites"?  Are people using the terms you are trying to rank on?  Are you on the first page of these results.  This is probably the most important thing to think about. I'd also try to fix that mobile problem ASAP.

Hope this helps.  

[Guest BestBlackBuys]

Thank You. Would LOVE to speak with you personally. If you are available - send me an email.

[Troy 2,685]

Blavity recently acquired Shadow and Act. 

"Blavity is a venture-backed technology and media company aimed at building beautiful products and experiences for black millennials. Founded in July 2014, has quickly grown to become one of the fastest growing digital media outlets on the web, reaching more than 7M millennials a month." https://blavity.com/About

I can't confirm the traffic it seems hight look at estimates from various sites that produce traffic metrics but getting all of Shadow and Act's content should help Blavity.

As a 50-something, they really is an outsized focus on youth--not that I'm that old, but the sensibilities are completely different...

I ned to find a way to reach "grown folks" not trying to be like kids...

I dunno that probably came out a bit too negative, but I think someone my age or older knows where I'm coming from...

[Troy 2,685]

Best Black Buys two things:

1. What is your strategy for competing or rather differentiating your site from Amazon?
2. You have to address your mobile issues.  While I see you use a mobile design, it can use a lot of work.  When I bring it up on my cell phone I get a blank screen (save the menu) and have to scroll quite a bit before I see anything.  The image on the right display what I see. 

Just over 50% of internet users use mobile.  Optimization for mobile is very important for SEO. Whether we like it or not if you are selling anything on the web you are competing with Amazon. 

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As I review other top Black-owned sites the landscape is being depleted. It looks like ad revenue is moving away from these top websites.

I wish I had the resources to really look into this because this because it looks like bad news for the web in general and is a portent for more consolidation, more wealth concentrating on sites like Facebook, and fewer websites--especially the ones that focus on black folks.

 

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AllHipHop.com was founded and launched in 1998 by CEO’s “Grouchy” Greg Watkins and Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur.

After many years of developing the site, AllHipHop.com has become a valuable resource for hip-hop on the internet, featuring daily news, interviews, reviews, multimedia, a fast growing community and other interesting content.

[Troy 2,685]

EDITORS NOTE: (9/20/2017):
I'm rebuilding The Best Black Website Database.  These sites will contain the most popular sites on the World Wide Web: https://aalbc.com/top_black_websites

There will be more than 10 lists on the site.  Just created the database a few days ago, and it will evolve over time.  I'm also going to create my own metric to rank these sites, which should more accurate rank these sites.  I'll still collecting data, but this is what I have so far:

[Troy 2,685]

The list now has 50 sites: https://aalbc.com/top_black_websites/ I've been looking at HBCU, Black Greek letter organization, websites, and plowing through lists of popular Bloggers.

 

Looking at the data it is becoming obvious that our collective focus on social is killing indoe websites.  I'l spoken to too many people who have just given up on their websites--that can't obtain organic traffic.  

 

Some of these sites offered GREAT content.  We can never know where these sites would have been were they allowed to grow. 

 

I say allowed because they are undiscoverable in Google search.  They are undiscoverable not because of bad content but because of the way google works and our collective refusal to promote each other.

 

The list of websites is my small contribution to helping to promote these websites. 

 

[Troy 2,685]

Editor's Note (11/2/17): Check out our new list, The Top 50 Black-Owned Websites

[Guest Myke D]

On 5/17/2016 at 2:52 PM, Troy said:

Hi Ultra,

I've checked out the site, but I have to admit the banner at the top of your pages confused me because it does not seem to match the name of the website "Black Awareness Foundation."  Your menu's say things like, "Black Giving Back," "Black Hero Series," "Reconstruction of the Black Family,"  But the logo seems to have a white hand in it.

Now I know Black people can have hands that color, and I have nothing against white folks, but the intent of the site upon initial inspection is confusing. Looking deeper the vast majority of the content deals with bi-racial hair issues; which explains the banner.  

The focus on current events and history you promised in the description above feels like a bait and switch tactic--that honestly rubbed me the wrong way.

Why not simply present the site as one for Biracial people?

Seems to me that you DO have something against "white folks". 

 

 

[Guest Africa Linked]

Nice list of sites, you can also check out my site for a review

 

www.africalinked.com

[Guest Lilyblack]

Hello have you checked out OPOAA.COM, (Old Photographs of African Americans) a Black owned Genealogy website that's been around for almost 15 years.  Very well put together indeed, but not supported by many.

[Guest Check this out!]

Grittyvibes.com! Thousands of articles written for talented black creatives!

[Guest WORD TO BE HEARD! 2 SIDES]

I am appalled!  I am a white male that is 33 years of age.  My Ancestors were share croppers that came from another country in slavery just as African American's.  I have had some Ancestors come to this country not as slaves, but so poor they had to sneak onto boat's to hope to have a better life.  I have ancestors that have fought and died next to African Americans, Native Americans, and so on and so forth.  I was 9 years of age before my home even had electricity and was born in 1985, oct, 27th.  Please tell me how these things are proper?

I see websites that are black only, but if there were a white only ANYTHING... That would be racist...

For instance I live in Chattanooga, TN, I worked at DuPont for some time.  At that time EVERY boss from low to high and I mean to the HIGHEST positions were African American.  So I started to realize that all the black people stuck together, and Ill be damned if anyone said anything even remotely that  sounded like a breath of racism, WHETHER IT WAS OR NOT, (and I agree with this form of action against ANY discrimination, color, or sex) the offender was fired on a zero tolerance policy.  The odd thing is that while I worked at this company, I was hired in as a outside contractor, but the notion or "word around the workplace" was that there was an "African American ONLY" members club that could meet, and not only meet but discuss the expels ion of white employees that could possibly be removed from their position's to help someone that was what I thought was "Equal" to me and had to follow and live by the same rights that I did..  Apparently not!  This group of African Americans have helped get more white men and women fired from DuPont simply just to have a black co-worker be able to "Promote Within".  White men couldn't have a club, and were actually sued and still paying the "Black only Club"....

 

CHECK THIS- Joyner Lucas - "Im Not Racist"        (LEARN THIS SONG)!      NOW THAT THERE ARE 2 FEELINGS TO EVERY SOUL!  FOR JUDGEMENT TO STOP, RESPECT MUST BE GAINED!

 

RESPECT IS ONLY GAINED BY LOVE OR FEAR...

WHITE FOLKS ARE ALMOST TIRED OF TRYING TO SHOW LOVE, BECAUSE I PROMISE WE AINT SCARED!  We just have seen so much hate and blame that isn't on our resume!   So where do we go now?

[Troy 2,685]

On 6/20/2019 at 6:16 PM, Guest WORD TO BE HEARD! 2 SIDES said:

I see websites that are black only, but if there were a white only ANYTHING... That would be racist...

 

This website is not Black only.  Indeed, some of the most important writers on the site are white.  What gave you the impression it was "Black only?"

 

Also, the site celebrates Black literature, if you took even a passing glance at the coverage of books elsewhere on the web, you could make a stronger argument that the rest of the world wide web is "white only."

 

It has been my experience that those who feel the need to exclaim that they are not racist, usually harbor some unacknowledged racism.

 

On 6/20/2019 at 6:16 PM, Guest WORD TO BE HEARD! 2 SIDES said:

WHITE FOLKS ARE ALMOST TIRED OF TRYING TO SHOW LOVE, BECAUSE I PROMISE WE AINT SCARED!  We just have seen so much hate and blame that isn't on our resume!   So where do we go now?

 

Why should white folks be afraid of Black folks you out number and out gun us by a great deal. There is not hatred of white folks exposed on AALBC.  Personally, I recognize that all Americans have a common foe that does not respect race.  Think about the home mortgage crisis and which demographic homes were foreclosed on the most.

 

The idea that you feel the need to say "we ain't scared" is the thing that is actually scary -- very scary. As our collective wealth is transferred to the super wealthy, we'll all be fighting amongst ourselves over scraps thinking it is all about "race" -- a concept which has no basis in science.

[Guest collins]

jokes

[Guest This is how it feels]

On 6/20/2019 at 6:16 PM, Guest WORD TO BE HEARD! 2 SIDES said:

I am appalled!  I am a white male that is 33 years of age.  My Ancestors were share croppers that came from another country in slavery just as African American's.  I have had some Ancestors come to this country not as slaves, but so poor they had to sneak onto boat's to hope to have a better life.  I have ancestors that have fought and died next to African Americans, Native Americans, and so on and so forth.  I was 9 years of age before my home even had electricity and was born in 1985, oct, 27th.  Please tell me how these things are proper?

I see websites that are black only, but if there were a white only ANYTHING... That would be racist...

For instance I live in Chattanooga, TN, I worked at DuPont for some time.  At that time EVERY boss from low to high and I mean to the HIGHEST positions were African American.  So I started to realize that all the black people stuck together, and Ill be damned if anyone said anything even remotely that  sounded like a breath of racism, WHETHER IT WAS OR NOT, (and I agree with this form of action against ANY discrimination, color, or sex) the offender was fired on a zero tolerance policy.  The odd thing is that while I worked at this company, I was hired in as a outside contractor, but the notion or "word around the workplace" was that there was an "African American ONLY" members club that could meet, and not only meet but discuss the expels ion of white employees that could possibly be removed from their position's to help someone that was what I thought was "Equal" to me and had to follow and live by the same rights that I did..  Apparently not!  This group of African Americans have helped get more white men and women fired from DuPont simply just to have a black co-worker be able to "Promote Within".  White men couldn't have a club, and were actually sued and still paying the "Black only Club"....

 

CHECK THIS- Joyner Lucas - "Im Not Racist"        (LEARN THIS SONG)!      NOW THAT THERE ARE 2 FEELINGS TO EVERY SOUL!  FOR JUDGEMENT TO STOP, RESPECT MUST BE GAINED!

 

RESPECT IS ONLY GAINED BY LOVE OR FEAR...

WHITE FOLKS ARE ALMOST TIRED OF TRYING TO SHOW LOVE, BECAUSE I PROMISE WE AINT SCARED!  We just have seen so much hate and blame that isn't on our resume!   So where do we go now?

I think you had better search the internet again. There are too many only white sites. Why focus on this little site? Why is it that when African Americans try to come together with something positive to share among themselves, someone white come along and try to tear it down? White people own the world. Now you can feel what African Americans have always felt and still. If your ancestors came from another country, they knew the struggle, YOURS.   Have you thought about, why there is affirmative action in the first place. You may want to ask the majority of White Corporation owners in their high positions why they do not hire black people even if qualified. Not only have African Americans fought for a country that does not respect them, but for other countries as well. Their African ancestors did not ask to come to this country and work for the white man for free.  And, white men do have "White only Clubs" They started this mess. "ONLY"   And, all black people do not stick together, if so they would have and own a lot more....but their are those white men who get in the way of progress. Black people are the most accepting race on the planet of other races. Discrimination is bad, racism is bad, hatred is bad, talking down to others it bad, shooting and killing each other is bad...And you my friend have a bad attitude, by letting a "word around the workplace" and have you to cause all this fuss about black only websites. Respect is gain when respect is given. One should only be scared of the hatred within.

[Troy 2,685]

Guest, thank you for taking the time to comment. Much of the hatred directed against Black folks is misdirected. Trying to get racists to understand this is very difficult. They can only see color.  Those racists who ultimately get it come to the conclusion on their own -- usually by actually getting to know some Black people. 

 

It is astonishing that "Black" sites are a "threat;" meanwhile the owner of Amazon. who is extracting all of our wealth through multiple monopolies and paying virtually nothing in taxes, is celebrated. It is surreal!

 

I understand the source of the misdirected anger; between social media, our terrible primary educational system; and our American propaganda many people are ill informed and draw terrible conclusions as a result.

[Maurice 92]

In a nutshell, what the hell is wrong with black only websites? Quick answer. NOTHING.

[Troy 2,685]

TheBlackBoard site is no longer active. Their old domain points to some Asian site.  

 

Unscrupulous websites scoop up the URL of websites that have shut down.  This is really bad because it create a strong incentive for webmaster not to link to other websites.

 

I often link to bookstores, for example, when this stores close, they never consider what happens to their old domain names and some other company buys it just to get the traffic from sites that are still linking to them.  Even allowing sites to post link to to there sites from their forums an issue, because it poses the same problems.

 

Sometimes the new website has malware of pornography.  One author of the book, Little X, about growing up in the Nation of Islam, let her domain name lapse, of course she did not tell me, so when a child pornography site took over the domain, AALBC ended up linking to a child pornography site. 

 

This is a problem because it creates a disincentive for webmaster to link to other websites. This means it because even more difficult for newer websites to build an audience, further increasing the power of corporate websites