If Jesus Had A Website

As you may know, we've been watching Cliff Guy and Resurrection's ChMS journey and decision making process.

Well, in case you missed it, this month the team at Resurrection managed to come to a conclusion.  After presenting his recommendation, management agreed and they decided on Arena.

I've heard good things about Arena recently, but I can't comment on it too much since I have no experience with it.  However, if anyone else would like to chime in about it or any other ChMS, feel free to comment below, or drop me a line.

A happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Americans out there who are hopefully taking time out to celebrate today with friends and family. Enjoy some good food, good times, and remain thankful for all that you have.

Oftentimes, when we as web designers are working with CSS, we have a look in mind and we are looking for ways to accomplish that work.  It can be easy to load up a page with a large number of different <div> tags in order to achieve the “perfect” layout.  It can also be easy to find or purchase a design and then apply it to your site with little need to know exactly how it is achieving that design. 

However, when we take these approaches we can often run into problems if we want to make simple style changes.  Therefore, we want to follow these four rules to keep our CSS manageable throughout our sites:

1. Use CSS Conventions – Use ids and classes appropriately so the elements can be easily identified and managed.
2. Build From A Standard Layout – Try starting from a base template (i.e. 2-column fluid, 3-column fixed), and build from there.  This will help with both cross-browser compatibility and ease of CSS changes (because many distinct looks can be achieved from these basic layouts).
3. Organize Your CSS Files – Try to keep your CSS files organized, with related items close together.  For example, try keeping ids and classes separated, and group sub-elements with their base element.
4. Separate Your CSS From Your Pages – If you don't already, keep them apart.  They're not like peanut butter and chocolate in your Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  Keeping your CSS in a separate file will reduce the amount of maintenance needed when changes are made.

If you can follow these simple rules, then you will definitely help your cause when it comes to maintaining the look or your website.

Earlier this year I came across two different articles:

1. Top 10 Features of an Effective Church Website by Lauren Hunter in Church Solutions magazine (Thanks Cory Miller!)
2. 10 Things an Effective Church Website Can Do For You by Mean Dean at Heal Your Church Website

These got me thinking…what is the connection between the features of an effective church website and how they can be used to make the site more effective.  Well, I decided to try to combine these lists to observe how website features can be used to make the site more effective:

• Dynamic Content
  • Save On Printing and Postage – If we no longer have to produce as many physical copies of the announcements and other paperwork used by our church, we can help save it money.
  • Communicate Across Boundaries – Dynamic content also helps to make our church website more visible to search engines, which will make the church more visible to…
  • Reach New Residents
  • Convert Seekers – Let your site be a dialogue of faith instead of a pamphlet for the church.
• Online Donations
  • Save On Printing and Postage – Reduce the need for checks and tithing envelopes!
• Online Calendars
  • Reduce Staff Support Loads – Make your scheduling easier to maintain and all kept in one place.
  • Build the Body Online – Keep everyone on the same page!
  • Save On Printing and Postage (again) – No need to print a new calendar each week to keep up with changing events.
  • Maximize Press and Ad Campaigns – Put everything in a central place that is easy to peruse.
• Event Registrations & Payments
  • Reduce Staff Support Loads – Allow people to take care of these tasks on their own when it's convenient for them.
  • Maximize Press and Ad Campaigns – Take advantage of the impulse buy since they can take care of it right where they are instead of depending on someone to make the venture to your church to take care of the same tasks.
• Online Ticketing
  • Support Lay Ministries – Instead of having someone be physically present to sell tickets, let them simply check on requests when they have time.
  • Gauge Relevant Interests – Quickly know how well your special event is being received.
• Volunteer Ministries
  • Support Lay Ministries – Allow a place for these ministries to congregate online instead of depending on physical meetings.
  • Build the Body Online – Present people with the opportunities available!
• Small Groups
  • Communicate Across Boundaries – Your small group could be people from all over the globe, or just people unable to make a session due to travel.
  • Gauge Relative Interests – Are your small groups too small or not small enough?
• E-newsletters
  • Save On Printing and Postage – Since there won't be any more!
  • Minimize Dead Ends – Help keep everyone more aware of what is going on in a more timely manner.
• Member-Only Areas
  • Reduce Staff Support Loads – Allow members to maintain their own contact information online.
• Blogs, Podcasts and More
  • Reach New Residents – Provide church seekers a venue to learn some more about your church without actually having to walk in the door.
  • Convert Seekers – Again, blogs and podcasts help to generate a dialogue, which allows seekers to find out more about their faith.

As you can see, different features can help with multiple functions.  So if you're looking at adding some new features, try to figure out which ones will benefit your church the most and prioritize them accordingly. 

Subliminally, the color scheme of your website can often leave as much of an impression on a visitor as the layout can.  A harsh or lackluster color scheme can often leave visitors wanting more, or simply being turned away.

When I went to go look for a new color scheme to use for the redesign of If Jesus Had A Website, I wanted something similar (green based), but new and refreshing.  At first, I wasn't sure where to look, but I then came across the ColourLovers site, and in particular, an article on color palettes inspired by famous artwork.

Immediately, it struck me as a great idea.  Why not use great art as an inspiration point for web design?  Even if your church already has a color scheme for it's logo or letterhead, it can be a great starting point for the color scheme of your website.

But if you're looking for somewhere to start, try browsing sites like ColourLovers and find what inspires you!

I knew it was coming up, but I didn't realize we had blown so far past it already.  On October 11th, it was the second anniversary of IfJesusHadAWebsite.net!  I guess next year I'll have to set a reminder in Outlook or something.

It's pretty amazing to think it's been two years (and change) already!  I just started this blog to share my insights as a web developer, and it's grown into more than I ever expected.

Thanks to all who have inspired and encouraged me over the last two years, and I look forward to many more!

Well, if you're looking at the site right now, you'll see that I've made some major changes to IfJesusHadAWebsite.net. Besides the layout, I've made the switch from my homebrewed blog application to using Ray Camden's BlogCFC.

While I enjoyed creating and updating my own blog application, there were a number of features I wanted in it that I just didn't have the time to implement. So, I took the last few evenings to get this new setup put together.

Unfortunately, BlogCFC uses a different URL schema than I did, so any direct links to articles won't work any more.

So, despite some of the inconveniences, I welcome you to the new and improved IfJesusHadAWebsite.net!