This article was originally a Sidebar published by Touchstone, the newspaper of The Methodist Church of NZ in conjunction with our article, What to Think about Before Building your Website.
An Alternative Option for Methodist Parishes
For Methodist Parishes (and Co-operation or Union parishes with a Methodist component), an option is available to have a subsite created on the main Church website (www.methodist.org.nz). This service is currently free for both setup and recurring charges.
Being a subsite of the main website means the URL for the site will be in the format
https://name.methodist.org.nz
For example:-
The design and theme are preset (blue and orange) with limited flexibility, although parishes have the ability to add branding logos and other custom material. Special requirements may be negotiated with the Connexion but could involve additional costs. Once you have done the planning, subsites can be ready for your content in as little as 48-hours.
The website is based on the Silverstripe CMS (an alternative solution to the better known WordPress). It is reasonably easy to use, especially once the site has been setup. The Connexional offer includes initial support and training and d | c | t is working toward providing training as well. Taking up this option allows you to minimise the amount of planning you need to do – the decisions around theme are largely decided for you, for example. But is is still important to think through the process in this article. Site Structure, in particular will need to be set by a parish and advised to the Connexional webmaster at signup to this scheme.
The content still relies on Parish brainwork and contributions! You will be given your own login and access to be able to create and manage your own content. As well, you are able to send your content to webmaster@methodist.org.nz and it will be loaded for you.
Email any queries to Melissa on webmaster@methodist.org.nz; please include your phone number and parish name.
Peter Lane is Principal Consultant at System Design & Communication Services and has over 30 years of experience with Technology systems. We invite your questions, suggestions and ideas for articles. These can be submitted either through the editor or by email to dct@dct.org.nz. We also operate a website focused on building a community of people interested in improving how we use technology in churches, located at dct.org.nz
