Non-Profit & Church Layouts

Upgrading Your Churches Website Might Be Easier Than You Think!

Create the experience that you want your visitors to have! Facebook, and other social media, will never be able to compete with the look and feel of your own website. From the placement of multimedia, to color and styling, you’ll be sure to capture their interest and help them engage the way they want to be engaged.

From start to finish, and from a basic to complex website, I guarantee all of your work to be done to your satisfaction! Below are some resources to get you started. I encourage you to then contact me so we can talk about what’s next.

WordPress is the #1 used open-source CMS (Content Management System) platform and typically what we will use for your project. Much of the reason why has to do with it’s ease and flexibility to the vast range of customers. There are over 10,000 themes to choose from, including hundreds of non-profit and church-type layouts. Themes help create the user experience you want to provide.

Another benefit includes the flexibility to choose what they call “plugins” to adapt the site to your administrator and end-user needs. Regardless of what you choose, we’ll do this together to ensure a smooth transition.

Links To Some Selected Themes:

Below are links that might appeal to you organization and style. This is not an exhaustive list as you can search Google for “WordPress Themes” for other themes which we can discuss specifically one-on-one. Be sure to consider if the theme is mobile-friendly and is up-to-date with the latest version of WordPress (3.8 as of 12/10/13 See release dates).

Themes that I call “drop-and-go” are ones that need only pictures and perhaps background color changes. That’s it! This helps keeps costs well within your budget. However, we’ll gladly make changes to other parts of the theme for additional cost.

http://themeforest.net/item/mission-crowdfunding-and-commerce-for-churches/full_screen_preview/4482484

http://themes.goodlayers.com/?theme=realchurch

http://themeforest.net/item/blessing-premium-responsive-wordpress-theme/full_screen_preview/3582013

http://www.kriesi.at/themedemo/?theme=incarnation

http://themeforest.net/item/risen-church-wordpress-theme-responsive/full_screen_preview/2632774

http://themes.population-2.com/demo/?theme=lop

http://themeforest.net/item/heal-church-responsive-charity-event-theme/full_screen_preview/7092915

http://vamtam.com/?theme=church-event

http://themecanon.com/themes/?theme=Kause

http://mythemepreviews.com/themes/?theme=Genesis%20Church

http://churchope.themoholics.com/

http://mythemepreviews.com/themes/?theme=Gospel

More at http://themeforest.net/category/wordpress/nonprofit/churches

An Example of What Not to Use and Why:

This is a great-looking theme and color-scheme, with many options. But if you click on the mobile version, it cuts off most of the page. Since some sources estimate that over 50% of web users will search the web via a mobile device, you will distract and won’t keep your viewer on your site. Here’s the example: http://themes.population-2.com/demo/?theme=lop

Plugins to Consider:

When considering plugins, understand that we want to choose the ones most specific for your work. I will work with you to prioritize and eliminate ones that might slow down your site. Some of these may come with a theme listed above! Again, this is not an exhaustive list. These are popular plugins and specific to non-profits, and church-type themes. Ask for details and alternatives.

Welcome Page Slider or Slideshow

Calendar of Events
This can connect with your Google Calendars if preferred

Podcast or Sermon List

Video Players

Auto-Posting to Social Media
There are a couple of programs that can be used for this, depending on your needs. Your posts can be set to automatically added to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pintrest, Linked-In, Tumblr, Blogger/Blogspot, Flickr, LiveJournal, YouTube, and more.

Contact Forms
Any number of contact forms may be added.

Social Sharing Buttons

HTTPS
Allows secured pages to run on this platform.

Polling

Lightbox
Opens any pictures in a clean pop-up window.

Imsanity
Prevents upload of huge images. Plugin will auto-downsize pictures to increase website load times.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Helps search engines find you and your webpages. There is about 30 minutes of training needed to understand how this works.

Ultimate TinyMCE
Provides extra layout features when creating a post or page.

* Caching Plugin
Increases user speed and reduce load on servers.

Underlined plugins are suggested. Asterisked plugins are required.

Extras to Consider:

There are probably other non-WordPress extras that will support your needs. This is a list-in-progress! Please make suggestions in the comments below or just ask if it can be done.

Training
Did you know I can provide you and/or your staff training on implementing WordPress in your business? I can host this on-site or on-line. Interactive remote sessions are hosted via the web and by a conference call. We record the meeting for easy re-training. Plan 30 minutes, 2 hours, or once a month. We’ll transition together!

Newsletter Integration
Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and other (free) services

Texting Service
Example

Online Donations

What’s Next?

Let’s chat so we can talk about how to meet your specific needs and discuss a flexible quote! Monthly plans are available upon request. My goal is to “Empower You to Embrace Technology In Your World.”

For further information on my services, please: