What do you think of the Bible Gateway beta website so far? The beta has been available for several weeks now, and we’ve been hard at work making fixes and improvements based on visitor feedback.
As the beta period has gone on (and as the date of the new website’s official launch draws closer), we’ve collected some of the most frequently-asked questions we’ve received about the new website. We’ve answered these and more questions about the beta at our support portal, but here are four of the most common questions.
1. How do I set my default Bible translation and other personal preferences?
Scroll to the bottom of any page on the beta website, and click on Preferences:
Doing so will bring you to a Preferences page where you can choose a default interface language, Bible version, and other personal preferences. Once you’ve set your preferences to your liking, click the Update your preferences button at the bottom of that page.
2. What’s changed in the new Bible Gateway?
Your first visit to the beta website might be a bit jarring if you’ve been using Bible Gateway for years—it might look like an awful lot has changed. Quite a bit has changed—but for the most part, the changes represent new features or improvements to existing ones; no major features have been removed. Here’s an overview of the biggest changes and additions. For details on how specific features have changed, see the series of blog posts and tutorials we’ve posted about the new website.
3. How and why should I create a Bible Gateway account? And do I have to create an account to use the new Bible Gateway?
You don’t have to create an account to use the new Bible Gateway, but we think you’ll want to in order to make use of some of the new website’s best new features.
With an account, you can take notes as you read Scripture, highlight and favorite Bible passages, sync notes and other personal content across devices (for example, between your desktop computer and your mobile device), and purchase digital study books to use alongside your reading.
Creating an account is easy. Here’s a quick and simple guide to creating a Bible Gateway account.
Without a Bible Gateway account, all of Bible Gateway’s basic features (i.e., everything you can do on the current Bible Gateway) are still available to you. But you won’t have access to the aforementioned new features.
4. How do I take notes or highlight Bible verses as I read?
At the new Bible Gateway, you can take notes, highlight a passage, or “favorite” memorable verses. To do any of these, simply select the section of Scripture you want to annotate. (You must be logged in to use this feature; if you aren’t logged in, you’ll be prompted to do so at this point.) A toolbar will appear giving you access to the highlight, favorite, note-taking, and share features:
We invite you to try out the different buttons on the toolbar to see how you can personalize your Bible reading. We’ve written up detailed tutorials explaining how to annotate Bible passages.
These are many other commonly-asked questions are answered in detail at our support portal. If you have further questions as you explore the beta website, take a look through those questions and answers—and don’t hesitate to contact us if your question isn’t addressed there.