Archive for June, 2008
Professional Websites for $450.00
Posted by: | CommentsI ran across an ad this morning for “Professionally Designed Websites for $450.00!” You can get custom designed logos for $299.00. Is this really a great deal? How many of us have seen that special that’s too good to be true? I’ve said it thousands of times – you get what you pay for!
Here’s a quote I got from a friend a while back:
The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price has been forgotten.
Nuff said.
How to Keep a Great Name.
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Last month I received a panicky call from a concerned Search Engine Optimization expert named Chris that regarded one of my client’s domains that somehow got placed on the auction block. Chris has no connection to me or my client – he’s just a Christian who didn’t want to see a great church unknowingly loose their domain name. His concern revealed that my client had let the domain expire on accident and here it was getting bids for over $500 by hungry SEO wizards!
Why would so many people be bidding up this church domain you ask?
Domain authority, age, and Google page ranking. This site was a few years old with a lot of incoming links and was well ranked with Google. Any person who purchased it would have the immediate benefit of a well ranked domain (for a little while) by using a common strategy that involves putting up some quick content pointing to the SEO wizard’s target site; the site they want to be higher ranked.
Long story short, we were able to rescue the domain from the auction block just in the nick of time before it would have been gone, and I’m sure, at the mercy of some hefty ransom to get it back.
Domains are an extremely vital piece of your church website, yet for some reason they go un-managed or ignored until there is a problem. I’d like to share a few tips for making sure your domains are safe and secure -hopefully eliminating the potential risk of your domain being stolen, expiring, or being lost.
1. Consolidate
If you are like me or many other churches you probably have a handful of domains such as the main domain, the alternative spellings, the youth domains, and the events of the past. Get all of your domains transferred to one single account. There is nothing worse than hunting around for five logins and passwords just to renew one domain
2. Access control
Who has access to your domains? Who is responsible for making sure they get renewed? It may be you or someone else, or even someone you may not even know! Whatever the answer, get your domain management on someone’s job description and under the control of a key executive leader. This person needs to be around for the long haul, dependable, and trustworthy. I would also suggest having access to this data be shared with an emergency back up person.
3. Track your expiration dates
Knowing when a domain expires is your job – not the web company! Don’t rely on when your registrar tells you either. Sure it’s in their best interest to remind you for a renewal but technology glitches happen. Add your domain renewals to your calendar. Even if you registered it for 5 years, check on it every year to be safe. Review your contact info and ensure that the person responsible for managing the domain name is keeping up with it.
These simple steps and a 15 minute check each year can save a lot of heartache and money! Build your name, protect it, and keep it!
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Matt Adams runs factor 1 studios, a web design firm dedicated to building awesome websites for churches, non-profits and small businesses across the country.
The Pros and Cons of Website CMS (Part Two)
Posted by: | CommentsIn Part One of this series, I talked about the importance of great design and content – as well as what a content management system is. In this second part, I want to share the advantages (pros) and disadvantages (cons) of using a CMS platform.
THE PROS
1. Quality through templates
The natural structure of a CMS assures that quality is maintained. Most CMS’s use a format where a master administrator controls the “look” of the site including the fonts, colors, navigational structure, content, and special widgets such as site-wide search engines, online giving, or flash banners.
The administrator also has many other options including the ability to set an approval process before a content item can be published or “made live” to the site. This keeps all aspects of the website up to church standards.
Additionally, most companies that offer a CMS platform can provide you with professional design services to “skin” out your site with a custom look or offer an array of pre-designed templates they plug-in and modify to your needs.
2. Functionality
While the quality of your design layout is improved using a solid CMS, the functionality of your site also increases! An example would be a media upload editor, which optimizes media files as they are uploaded to a server, can help increase quality by helping to assure images load quickly and are sized properly. Publish dates assure that updated content gets published at a specified time, though perhaps written weeks earlier. Using time-out date features, contributors to the site can set their content items to expire to assure that no out-of-date content is left on the site.
3. Ease of Use – No Web Development Knowledge Necessary
Almost anyone can edit their website content using a web-based “what you see is what you get” (WYSIWYG) editor built into the CMS. Adding event information or a news article is as simple as using a word processor. Other features such as those listed below, also can be simple to use after a thorough training session.
4. Features & Plug-ins
One of the greatest advantages of using a quality CMS is the ability to choose a variety of features or plug-ins to use on your site including:
- Discussion or collaboration modules
- Seamless blog integration
- E-Newsletters
- Flash or Rotating Banners
- E-Invitations
- Online Giving or E-Commerce
- Audio, Video, and Podcasting
Many systems already come with these “bonus” features so there is no need to purchase different components like what was required in the past.
THE CONS
There are a few disadvantages to using a CMS however. While these are far outweighed by the advantages, fairness demands that we consider a few.
1. Restrictive For Web Designers
Though CMS’s add an element of control for those who are not web savvy, they can be restricting to administrators who have a deep understanding of website design and limit the creative options.
2. The Price
CMS platforms can either be purchased outright and set up on an internal server or “leased” from the CMS provider through a monthly / yearly fee. The first option usually lacks tech support, updates, or training. It requires more involvement and can be more of a hassle or expense. Leasing is a better option because you can get customer support or training but it is way more expensive than a typical monthly hosting plan.
3. Learning Curve
A few systems are fairly easy to learn and many others are more complicated. If the administrator or team member has some knowledge of computer technology and are web savvy, the learning curve will be quicker than a non-techie or non-trained person. Either situation will require a fair amount of training but it is much better than learning all the ins and outs of web design. My advice is to choose a company that provides on-site or online training along with good documentation and manuals.
All things considered, the benefits to a church using a content management system and having a well-designed site far outweigh these minor disadvantages. In part three of this series, we’ll look at how to choose a CMS for your church.
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Chuck Scoggins is Creative Communications Director at Calvary Church in St. Peters, MO and President of 374 Designs. His latest project is Serve15 and you can email him at chuck@374designs.com.
