Keeping your site fresh with new content
- Topic
So, this forum has been going for a few months now and there have been quite a few problems, queries and stumbling blocks overcome and solved. There seem to be fewer posts now than there were and I was intrigued as to why that might be. Personally, I think (and hope) that it’s because people have now got their sites set up more or less the way they want them and that they’re running smoothly and as expected – more or less guaranteed with the sturdy iChurch package of course! 😉
So how is your site? Is it running smoothly or have you got fed up with a niggle that you just can’t fathom? Are you getting lots of interest in and traffic to your site? If your website is stunningly successful perhaps you’ve got some secrets you could share with the rest of us.
I’d also be interested in hearing about any frustrations you’ve had and how you might have overcome them. For example, getting other people to contribute to the sites I manage is a constant frustration. Most of our content is created by me mining the noticesheet and magazine for information, even though I’ve asked I just cannot get people to send things to me in the way that they send them to the noticesheet and magazine teams. Anyone else suffered this way?
Looking forward to your responses,
Andy
- Replies
I am glad my experiences are not unique in the ability to get others to contribute to the site or even to comment on an event or activity. Christine the Fleet URC webmaster is successful in involving others in commenting as well as writing for the site. I don’t know how she manages it. I am interested in Andy saying he wishes he could get people to see how valuable a website is in communicating to the wider community and of course this applies to the other social media sites as well. Maybe you have all heard about the Dunbar Principle – from British anthropologist, Robin Dunbar? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar’s_number. It goes something like … everyone knows around 150 people … and if you tell those 150 people something and they pass it on to their 150,.. then 22,5000 people know something! It’s a figure bandied around social media marketing a bit. Perhaps we should tell our churches about this.
Yes! Great point, Carole.
I just popped on here to say three things, and to check out how you’re all doing of course. Here are my three things:
1. Andy, I was just checking over the iChurch ‘portfolio’ of sites and was really impressed when I hit upon West Orchard which I hadn’t looked at in a while. It’s so clean and fresh looking – thank you for doing beautiful things with iChurch!
2. We (the Windermere Centre) are in the process of redesigning our website, and I thought it might be interesting to get some feedback from you guys, the URC experts on this stuff. If you get chance to have a look over http://windermere.urc.org.uk and have any thoughts you’d be willing to share, please do let us know 🙂
3. Are any of you interested in any of our new ‘Church in the Digital Age’ or ‘Windermere Online’ courses? You can find out more about them in our Programme of Events 2013-14 (http://issuu.com/windermere/docs/the_windermere_centre_programme_of_). I’m particularly excited about the ‘Being Connected’ weekend (running 19-21 September, NOT 11-13 July as listed: we had to move it because a large group wanted to book the Centre for that weekend). It’s something totally new and in an area I’m so fascinated by. We’re currently in the planning stages so would love to hear anyone’s thoughts. Also, the other thing that’s got me going is the ‘Windermere Online Festival’ in January, when we’re planning to give out a deluge of online content for free. We’ll be doing iChurch tutorials and clinics, for one thing, via webinar etc, and Lawrence will be giving Bible studies too. We’re soliciting for content so if any of you feel that you’d like to contribute in some way, even if you’re not quite sure what or are feeling shy about it, please get in touch with me and we’ll work together to find something that you’d enjoy being part of. It doesn’t even have to be creating original content as such – we’ll need people to host conversations and things too. I really hope that we’re able to take the general perception of the place of digital in today’s church up a notch through these kinds of events, and hope that I’m preaching to the choir in here (!), so please please do get in touch if you have anything at all to say on the subject!Many thanks in advance!!
Hi
Re Windermere website – possibly being a bit picky here but may help. With your calendar you give the options of looking by “type.” I would have though that someone looking by type would probably benefit from a yearly view rather than a week or month.
Blessings
AndyGNo, that’s helpful – we don’t mind ‘picky’! I see what you mean, too. Actually, we have a slightly different plan re the calendar & courses….
It’s all quite exciting to be working on, though it does feel as though there’s a mountain of work to be done. Oh well!
Thanks Andy!
The only thing I would say about the existing site is that on my set up the content of the pages is rather lost in a sea of grey background. However, I’m fully aware that this is mostly a side effect of having an unusually wide screen on my PC and it’s not so noticeable on a rather more standard set up. So, for me something to draw the eye towards the centre of the page and give the content more of a boundary would go down well. But I guess I’m just another picky Andy!
We like the picky Andys, that’s why I asked you all! We very much appreciate your taking the time to give us the feedback and value your opinions. Thanks for this, Andy – an interesting point about the boundaries, thank you. We’re looking at a couple of new themes (still torn between the two!), but have pretty much put together a plan in terms of strategy, and we have a lot (but not all) of our content ready to go to some extent! It’s v exciting anyway!
Right folks: we’re almost ready to release the new Windermere Centre website, and I thought you guys might like to have a nosy first, so here’s your chance (of course, constructive feedback is very welcome – though by email to my inbox preferably, rather than here, please). If you’d like to see what it’s going to look like, head over to http://tutorial5.urc.org.uk Eeee – well, I’m excited (not to mention exhausted)!
Ah, thanks Derek. No, the calendar is R.I.P. – feedback suggested that it was putting people off booking for groups, as the calendar made it look as though we were full all the time, when in fact we would usually welcome a second group in at most times. We currently have the courses sortable by category. Once we’ve got them all up, we’ll put them into date order, and we are thinking about having a ‘what’s on’ page where they are sortable by month, too. But we won’t get there before we launch….! Phew!!
Good – just wondered if it had gone walk about on its own.
Please to say Hamilton site is now just on 2 years since the last major update and we are standing at a few over 10,000 page visits. Livinsgtone Bicentenary has obviously helped. Now when is the next Keir Hardie significant anniversary?Has the site gone live or is it the process of doing so? Links in the top bar don’t work and the logo in the top left corner is invisible because it’s looking for them on the tutorial5 URL which is no longer live by the looks of it.
Just had a browse around the new site and it’s looking very attractive.
On the courses “front page” I’d try and get an indicator to show whether they’re a day, week or weekend – I’m sure you can create some pretty iconography!
Load time was good too, well done
AndyGThanks guys! It should all be working now (fingers crossed), though there are lots of bits we’re planning on revising/adding etc.
Like the thinking AndyG – hmm will chew that one over.
Sounds like you’re going great guns with the Hamilton site, Derek – have you got an apprentice yet for it?
Rebecca
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