Church of God Launches New Website Design
March 27, 2013–Cleveland, TN–Church of God Communications announced today the launch of a redesigned denominational website, at www.churchofgod.org.
The next generation employs a new design and search feature, as well as modifications to some of the more popular options, such as the church directory and calendar of events.
“While there is a new look and functionality to the site, the content remains the same,” said Scot Carter, director of communications for the Church of God. “When people come to our site they are looking to find out more about us, whether it be researching our beliefs and doctrines, finding a church location, reading the latest news, making a monthly report, or even looking to fill a ministry position. Hopefully this update will make their visits easier and pleasant.”
A major update to the church directory makes it more interactive and identifies the user’s location by pulling up churches in that area.
“The Church Directory consistently gets some of the highest traffic on the website,” said Cameron Fisher, coordinator of communications and internet ministries for the Church of God. “We are always looking for ways to make it as user-friendly as possible and we hope the new format accomplishes this.” Fisher stated that while the new format has been launched, the previous directory has been maintained for anyone who feels more comfortable using it. It is listed on the same page and called “legacy.”
The Events Calendar now includes a monthly glance of what is coming up as well as the listing of each event.
Faith News has long been a separate internet property from churchofgod.org, while the top stories have always fed directly into the Church’s website. In the update, the Faith News brand is being integrated into its own section of churchofgod.org. The existing library of Faith News articles will remain in place for many months to come to allow continued access on www.faithnews.cc. Future Faith News articles will be available on churchofgod.org.
Another feature of the new design is a responsive theme, so that it adjusts to any device being used to view the site.
“The new website employs many techniques to make the website more accessible for people using a variety of screen resolutions and monitors,” Fisher said. “The membership of the Church of God encompasses a wide variety of ages, and ranges of ‘techno-savvy’ users, so designing a site to satisfy everyone has always been a challenge. While many are using the most up-to-date equipment and smartphone technology, there are others whose use of the Internet is limited. The new site will flex to fit larger and smaller screens. Currently, this is tested for modern browsers on laptops and desktops, but is also built to be more easy to use on touch enabled tablets like the ipad. A good example of this is the list of churches on the church location system. The list on the left is touch responsive. The site is developed to be viewed in a ‘landscape’ mode, and will ask you to rotate your device is you are holding it in portrait mode.”
Currently two additional modes are being developed for both mobile phones and a full mirror in the Spanish language. These variations are expected to be unveiled later this year.
Another welcome feature being introduced is integrated search capability. Google is the engine behind the new search function and will allow full text search of pages, PDF files, and other documents within churchofgod.org.
“This has been a long anticipated feature, and very useful for visitors looking for specific content but not sure where to find it,” Fisher said.
An attractive, user-friendly website is critical to effective ministry in today’s world,” Carter concluded. “Church of God Communications took several months tweaking this design with our service provider, Winters Technology, to deliver the best site possible. Feedback is always welcome.”
