Godbit Project

Geeks and God

2008-12-02T00:53:56Z

Recently I managed to get in touch with the two gentlemen who host the Geeks and God podcast, Bob Christenson (a.k.a Rob Feature) and Matt Farina (a.k.a MF). I first heard about the Geeks and God Podcast from one of our community members. Since then, I’ve been listening to each episode and have found them very interesting and informative.

Yannick:

Could you tell us a bit about yourselves and how you both got started in Web development/design?

Matt

I got my first taste of web development back in 1996 when the web was nothing like it is today. I built a website for my high school. But, when I went to college I studied electrical engineering and spent most of my time studying or enjoying the college experience. At the start of my junior year of college I started working at an internet service provider where I got more than a taste of where the Internet had come. That’s when I first got into web based programming with PHP and started being a server administrator. Programming was something I had been doing since 1989 so I picked web based programming up fairly quickly.

After college I worked as an electrical engineer for several years doing diagnostic and testability engineering. During this time I was developing websites on the side. As that took over more of my personal time it eventually became what I do full time.

Bob:

I actually didn’t start anywhere near the web design field. I actually started as an audio-guy, working in the recording industry. I had been producing local records since the age of 18 through my college years then, after graduating from Michigan State, I opened a recording studio serving regional acts. From there I moved onto a national studio doing label work…but God called me away from
that business and I started working at a church creating video, graphics, and web for weekly services while also heading up the live tech team. That got my feet wet in web design, but I was still a do-all media guy…not really a web specialist. After working there, I started Mustardseed Media Inc as a way to help ministries to produce top quality media (mostly print design, at that point) for not a ton of money. Over the years my business drifted more and more into the area of dynamic web design and development. Matt turned me onto the Drupal CMS over 3 years ago, and I’ve been designing and developing interactive church websites ever since.

Yannick:

Your podcast “Geeks and God” seeks to educate and encourage technology in Christian ministries, Why do you think some Christian ministries are playing catch up and how can we get our church leaders to see the benefits of these technologies and better utilize them?

Matt:

Should churches try to keep up with technology? To start, there are a number of churches trying to keep up with technology that shouldn’t. In there mission to seek and save the lost it’s not their calling to chase technology. It’s good for them not to jump on the new fads.

Where some churches try to keep up on technology they try to takes what’s being done in the commercial world and fit it to their church. Churches aren’t businesses so this can fail. The way technology should be used in churches is often different than it is in the business world and those differences aren’t taken into account. This leads to them looking like they are behind the ball because their solution is out of place.

One of the biggest factors I’ve seen with church technology, especially in web based technologies, is a lack of training and experience. The developers building the next new fad know the underlying technology and the leaders behind the project have an idea how it fits in with culture and the business world, or they have been able to sell a cool idea for a lot of funding.

The church often will try to clone a business idea that just don’t fit in the church. Or, the developers don’t have the same skill level. This is where I hope Geeks and God can be effective. I would like to empower more people to be able to do good technological stuff where God is calling us to.

Bob:

My first question is, I hope, a convicting one to anyone (including me) who is frustrated by the Church’s inability to keep up: Why are we trying to keep up? Do we ever think about our motive? Is it just because our ‘competition’ (Hollywood, big business, the music industry) is doing it? Are we doing it to look ‘cool’? Or, are we still focused on Jesus and spreading the Gospel and that’s truly what’s causing our frustration.

You won’t hear many technology guys say this, but, I don’t believe that every church should be trying to ‘keep up’. For example, I know of small churches in small towns who shouldn’t waste time, money, or energy on building a Web 2.0 style church website. It just wouldn’t be effective in spreading the Gospel in their situation. Neither would video production, awesome lighting, or any other technological wonder. So, the first thing I ask is “Why are you trying to keep up? Is it going to more effectively spread the Gospel in the mission field God gave you?” or is it because you want cool and impressive toys? That’s the first question to answer.

Beyond that (and to actually answer the question) I think we’ve fallen behind because The Message is too important. Big companies, which lead the way in cutting edge technology, don’t really care about people…they care about selling product. So, when it comes time to leap forward in their technology or their product’s image, they’re bound to leave some people behind. Those people are just causalities of the corporate war. But churches can’t do that. Change management in a church is more crucial because we can’t afford to leave people due to the potential eternal consequences. This means we need to move slower and more carefully when changing anything such as technology, worship styles, our website, or anything else that may shake people up. This thoughtful movement makes us slower, but I think it’s result of lagging behind in technology is better than the alternative: Turning existing or new believers away from Eternity just because we want a cooler website. (but don’t get me wrong…I’m just as frustrated as the next guy)

Yannick:

What tips would you give churches and ministries looking to get started on the web?

Matt:

Look before you leap. Launching your website doesn’t need to happen in the next 3 months. You don’t have to mortgage you church building for funding to buy a powerful sound system. Take a deep breath and look before you leap. Making sure what you invest your time and money in is part of your calling and will aid in your ministry. Technology is meant to help us with the mission of the church and your church specifically. Make sure your investment does that.

Bob:

My number one tip for getting started on the web is simple: Start using it. Too many churches and ministries (and especially church and ministry leaders like pastors) know that the web is important but they don’t really understand how it works. They don’t understand how the web connects real people in everyday life and how this can, then, grow Christian relationship and spread the Gospel of Christ. So, the first step is NOT to jump out and develop your own website. It’s to start using the popular tools of the web in your everyday life. Sign up for Facebook. Start using Twitter. Transition some of your work over to Google Docs to work collaboratively. Using the existing tools and starting to see how they can form real relationship and collaborative results is the only way to start understanding how the web works and why it’s so crucial to the future of ministry. Once you’ve done this for a while, then think about producing something specifically for your church.

Yannick:

You recently had the Geeks and God conference. Could you tell us a bit more about that and how it went?

Matt:

When we put on the Geeks and God conference we wanted to educate pastors and ministry leaders. It was a kind of trial run to see if we could talk to ministry leaders and help them see how technology is affecting our culture and where it might be a helpful part of their ministry.

I consider the conference to be a huge success. It helped us learn a lot more about where church leaders are at and, I hope, it helped them understand where technology is going.

Bob:

The conference we did was sort of a test. We wanted to see if what we do on the podcast could translate well into a meetup in real life. It was a total success and helped us envision where we could take it from there. The goal was to educate pastors and minsitry leaders on why the web (especially the social networking side of it) is so crucial for Churches and ministries now and will be required in the future. It was to help them see how not to get left behind as we propel into the future. It was also an awesome opportunity to connect with our podcast listeners who travelled a really long way to get together…and that was just awesome to meet some of them face to face. We plan on doing more in the future all over the US and we’re looking for churches that want to host it. People can contact us from our website if they want more info on hosting a conference.

Yannick:

You use Drupal for Geeks and God and promote it as well. Could you tell us why you like Drupal and why churches and ministries should consider it as a CMS for their websites?

Matt:

I’m a big fan of Drupal as a platform for web development. It’s not appropriate for everything but for many of your standard web sites it makes for a great platform. I like Drupal as a developer because of its community of developers and its drive implement good solutions taking advantage of the latest technology trends.

I think churches should consider Drupal because Drupal and the available add-ons provide a lot of functionality out of the box you would need to pay tens of thousands of dollars to develop. Couple that with the support companies like Acquia and you have a stable system, backed by support, where the goal is to provide a quality product to content publishers.

Bob:

Drupal rocks. We’re total fanatics about it (but don’t let that discount everything we’re about to say). Drupal is an Open Source CMS which is really more of a framework than it is a closed management system. I always tell my clients that “We can build anything you can possibly dream up” with Drupal, and that’s 100% true. Unlike some other CMS packages, Drupal is intended to be totally open and totally modular which makes building VERY powerful customized websites affordable and solid. Drupal has a huge development community and thousands of plug-in functionalities all at your disposal. This is good for long term support, security and assurance that your Drupal-built website will be supported for many years into the future. Drupal is perfect for churches because it’s so user and community based. It’s developed to be a very user-centric system which means that churches can build very powerful social-networking-style church websites, which is where every church should be headed. Did I mention that it won the Best Overall 2008 Open Source CMS Award for a second year in a row? Yeah. It’s rocks that much.

Yannick:

What are some of the modules that you think might be useful for a church website running Drupal?

Matt:

There are more than a few useful Drupal modules and they depend on what kind of church website you are building. If you are building a community site Organic Groups is a module to consider. The basic modules of Views and CCK will be used on most sites. Beyond that it really depends on what you want to do.

Bob:

One of the most crucial modules for churches to get to know and love is the Organic Groups (OG) module. This module is a great way to build smaller interactive communities on your church website. Each ministry, each small group, or each organization within your church can become a small online network where people can join the group, post content into that group, have it’s own calendar, photo galleries, and much more all in little silos on your church website. It’s a core piece of every social-style church website I build.

Yannick:

You recently redesigned the Geeks and God website. What prompted the redesign and what are some of the challenges you faced and things you learnt that you can apply to other sites in the future?

Matt:

We had wanted to redesign the Geeks and God website for a long time. The previous design came from a 12 hour, mountain dew filled, cram session. The design was filled with bad code, there was design debt from doing things the way Drupal used to do them, and the design was targeted at being a podcast and we have grown into a community. It really felt yucky.

In the redesign we migrated everything to a solid data model. We cleaned up most of the design debt leaving the site fairly clean. In order to do this we had to take the site offline for several weeks. Bob converted the design to one that’s easier to read. In the architecture we added more features to aid the community.

The big lesson I learned is try to do it right the first time. Taking the extra time up front can save you a lot of grief later. And, always have a sound data model to store all of your information.

Bob:

The original Geeks and God website was built, as they say, “Back in the Day”. The site was built back when Drupal didn’t contain many of the most powerful and flexible functionality that it does today. So, by running that older version of the system we weren’t getting many major benefits that is in the newer software. Also, Matt and I were both relatively new to Drupal when we built the original site. We’ve built dozens upon dozens of websites on the platform since that original build so we never stopped learning what makes a better website (in both design and development). We wanted to pour all that knowledge into a redesign.

Most importantly, however, we never dreamed when we first built the site that a community would form around the podcast. We originally envisioned the website as a simple tool for delivering podcast episodes. But, since it started, a massive community has grown up around the show and we just didn’t build the site to support or cater to that. So, we’ve made many ‘community-centered’ changes with the redesign that should offer much more functionality for the awesome people that hang out there.

Yannick:

Could you tell us how you both came to faith in Jesus Christ?

Matt:

I’m a Christian lifer. I was raised by Christian parents in a Christian household. There is no great conversion story in my life.

That being said, I’ve had a few ‘God Moments’ where God revealed himself in some very powerful ways. I’ve, also, had my rocky moments with faith.

Bob:

I’m a ‘lifer’. I was born into the church, into a very dedicated Christian family. To be totally honest, I’m not really into having a “came to faith” story because, in my life, God has moved slow and steady, bringing me up through small and subtle life changes. I didn’t have a conversion moment. I didn’t have a single ‘ah ha!’ moment in my faith walk and I think that can be a very powerful fact if you understand it correctly. I don’t think God always works in a flash-bang sort of way…I think more often than not he works in the ‘every day’…the mundane….to enrich our relationship with him. It takes a lot more work to grow your faith when there’s no ‘new found faith’ or new emotional charge, but I think that’s what also makes my faith so solid and reliable…I’m running a faith marathon with Him running beside me and he gives me what I need to be sustained.

Yannick:

Is there anything else you would like to add before we close?

Matt:

Technology should be used in a way that meets the needs of the ministry in the way God is calling that ministry to be. This means the off the shelf solution for a business is often inappropriate and inadequate for churches because they aren’t businesses. They need a solution that’s different. A solution built to support them in their mission.

Bob:

I think, personally, I want to caution churches when it comes to technology (I know, that sounds counter to what I normally might say). Technology is an amazing tool but also a VERY distracting one (on the caliber of sex or money). I see many churches (and technologically savvy Christians) who think that ‘getting my church to understand and use technology’ is the most important thing. I’m starting to see lots of churches forget what Church is about. I’ve seen technology, media, and fancy production put Jesus Christ and his Message (which is MUCH more powerful than any technology) into the backseat while putting technology in the driver’s seat. I suggest that every church think long and hard about which technology they pursue and WHY their pursuing it. Is it just to keep up with the secular Jonses? Is it just to entertain people so they come back for more whiz-bang? Or, is it being used to spread the already powerful message of Jesus Christ? It’s a question I ask myself, personally, every single day.

Logos RefTagger

2008-10-08T02:27:54Z

A few weeks ago, I got an email from Dan Pritchett of Logos Bible Software about a tool they’ve developed called RefTagger. In a nutshell, it’s a lightweight piece of JavaScript that parses the content of a page and creates excerpt bubbles containing the referenced scripture and a link to bible.logos.com to read the complete passage. On the Logos blog, there are numerous articles on how to add RefTagger to your own site. There are instructions on using it with Blogger, Drupal, MediaWiki, Movable Type, phpBB and WordPress. Currently, over 2400 sites make use RefTagger.

What I found to be really helpful is that they provide a configuration tool, in order to build the script to your liking. You can custom tailor such settings as Bible version, additional commentary via the Libronix digital library, and whether or not RefTagger links open in a new window, to name a few. You can also opt to exempt certain tags from being targeted for enhancement. As you adjust the various options, you can see it change live in the code preview area. Likewise, you could also make the tweaks by hand, if you prefer.

One thing I was initially concerned about, from a JavaScript standpoint, was a potential for a negative impact on the speed of page rendering. With the script referenced in the <head> of a document, if the page was text heavy, it would take longer to parse its contents, looking for possible text matches to Bible references. Thankfully, Logos really gets it because they instruct users to insert a reference to their code before the close of the </body> tag. This allows the full page to load, after which the parsing can run its course. This results in maximum efficiency. It is also the method that Google Analytics recommends.

Another really cool thing about RefTagger is the ability to customize the look and feel to match that of your site’s design. Below is the default light yellow appearance, and an example of a custom bluish grey theme. As you can see, all aspects of the appearance are customizable, from colors to fonts.

So, without belaboring the point, I hope that you will take some time to check out RefTagger, and see if it might be a good fit for your blog and/or site. Additionally, if you have any feedback to give to Logos on how they might improve RefTagger, then please feel free to voice that in the comments on this post.

Terry Storch

2008-09-05T04:37:22Z

A few months ago, I asked Terry Storch of LifeChurch.tv if he would field a few questions for Godbit. Busy man that he is, it’s taken a little while, but I am happy to say that it’s been worth the wait. Terry’s is a story of passion for pastoral ministry, the journey of an author, and a true technologist at heart.

Nathan:

You have quite an accomplished track record. Formerly the Technology Pastor at a mega church in Dallas, you now spearhead the Digerati team at LifeChurch.tv in Oklahoma. You’ve had to keep abreast of advances in new media, but also manage groups of people in a spiritual setting. Have you found the coexistence of theo-tech to be exhilarating, exhausting, both?

Terry:

Thank you Nathan, and thank you for the opportunity to be on Godbit. This is a great community, and I am excited to see what is going on here. As for my track record, it truly is a God thing! I am not nearly that good, or talented. For some reason though God keeps showing up in the middle of things that I am working on. It is my continual prayer not to mess up what He is doing.

Onto your question… is theo-tech exhilarating or exhausting? I find theo-tech to be 100 percent exhilarating! It’s my passion, and I know without a doubt that this is my true calling. It can certainly be exhausting, but I find that is the case with just about everything. Simply having the opportunity to do what I do is truly a blessing and is exhilarating. LifeChurch.tv is so supportive of theo-tech, and understands the mission critical nature of leveraging technology for the Kingdom.

Nathan:

Along with Brian Bailey, you co-authored the book Blogging Church. It seems an unlikely topic for a printed text, yet is so relevant in our always-on, plugged-in society. What was it like writing that book, and how did the idea come to fruition?

Terry:

I give Brian all of the credit for “The Blogging Church.” Brian was approached with the idea and frankly needed a “pastor” to partner with on the project, and there I was. We are great friends, and at that time we working together at Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas. Our partnership was natural. Brian and I teamed up on the project, but in reality Brian was responsible for writing most of the book. My core role was the interviews, podcasts and some of the more relational necessities. As you can tell from this interview, I am not a writer!

When we began breaking down the concept, and really putting structure to the book, it quickly became challenging. We wanted to reach a wider audience than just the technology person, so we narrowed the focus of the book to focus on broader concepts, and higher level information. It was extremely important that we connected with church leaders and pastors. If we could reach and speak to them, we knew the technology geeks would ultimately appreciate it.

“The Blogging Church” was a great project, and we have seen and heard some awesome stories of how it has positively impacted so many churches and ministries.

Nathan:

Aside from being a mentor in a fast paced team environment, you also wear the pastor hat from time to time. How do you fulfill your professional duties and still manage to reserve enough time each week for your family? What advice do you have for other Christian professionals, trying to advance in their careers but also be true to their familial calling?

Terry:

Honestly, I struggle in this area like so many others do. I am a natural work-a-holic. Then factor in that I love what I do and would be happy to do it 24×7 / 365 without blinking an eye, and you have a recipe for disaster! Nathan, it is sad to say, but after 10 years of marriage, and over a decade of working in ministry I am just now starting to get better. I have a beautiful wife and two young daughters that need me, and frankly they are much more important than my personal ministry or job.

Don’t get me wrong, I still work very hard, and often I work a lot of hours. I think hard work is Biblical! However, several factors help to maintain a better sense of balance.

First, I have amazing people who I trust who speak truth to me; call me out when I need it; and mentor me. Some would call this accountability. I simply call them friends. They are guys that will kick my butt when I need it, and will encourage me when I need it. At the end of the day, these are guys that see me lay it all on the table. If you are reading this and you do not have those people in your life… YOU NEED IT!

Another key for me is, “Being where I am.” That sounds a little strange, but it is so true. I work very hard, and I still work a lot of hours. I have found that one of the most important things for me is to be very concious of when I am home with Robin or with my girls, and to actually “BE THERE” with them. It is so easy for me to physically be with them, but to mentally be somewhere else. So in the last 6 months I have been praying about this and working hard to be where I am. I still have a lot of work to do, but wow, this has been great for me.

Nathan:

The politics of code platforms can sometimes be as fierce as loyalty to a sports team or alma mater. I know that your team initially settled on CodeIgniter for your PHP needs, but seemed to use a variety of JS libraries. What decisions went into the selection of the various frameworks used at LifeChurch.tv?

Terry:

I have a great team, and I trust them. I am not a micro-manager, or a granular leader, so most of those decisions involve me from a macro level. The team comes together at a micro level and will pull the trigger on it. My leadership filter usually asks the questions regarding aspects such as scale, speed of development, or whether we can we give it away, but I learned a long time ago to hire talented people and let them do what they do best.

We are now a Kohana PHP + jQuery shop. Technology changes so fast. I often remind the team that we are not married to any technology, and that we must stay focused on what is the best tool for the job, period. As I type this, a few of our developers and I are preparing to fly to San Francisco for a Google developers conference. So who knows what we will be developing with next week? Python, ROR? Who knows? I do know we will not be married to any of them.

Nathan:

What sort of planning process goes into the design and development of LifeChurch.tv ideas, including the flagship dot-tv site, as well as some of larger domains and one-off promotional sites? Do you guys use extensive wireframing, or just delve straight into design and code?

Terry:

That is a great question, and the answer can be different on each project. My personal preference is the rapid development from design, but that does not always work depending on the size and scope of the project. Also, each team member brings their own style. I like that and the flexibility that it brings.

One thing that does not change is the “marinating time” on the white board. I am very visual, and the best way for me to flush out ideas and concepts requires large white boards with lots of colors. When I start drawing, something magical typically happens. Then we will go from the white board to some sort of high level scope document that will coincide with wireframes. After that, we move to design and to development.

I am a HUGE fan of 37signals’ book Getting Real, and recommend it to anyone who as not read it. Jason and his team really gets it, in my humble opinion.

Nathan:

I know you’ve used outside contractors (such as Andy Knight) to great effect in the past, but are currently on the lookout for in-house web design + JavaScript Jedi. How do you balance the workload of what gets handled by the internal LC team, and what you bring in third party resources to handle? What type of technical skills and spiritual maturity do you look for as a tech pastor?

Terry:

As a team we often say we have more ideas than we have the ability to execute. I think that is just part of the DNA when you in an innovative environment like LifeChurch.tv. What I have found in this type of environment, is that there is not a one size fits all model for project execution. We try to balance all aspects and ultimately strive toward being good stewards of the resources we have. That being said, I typically use insourcing mixed with outsourcing to achieve optimal results.

Frankly, we are always hiring for the Digerati team. Even when there are no official job openings posted we are always going to hire gifted and talented people that are passionate about leveraging technology to impact the Kingdom. If you are reading this right now and are interested in learning more, hit me on Twitter @terrystorch.

Nathan:

Your current focus is on YouVersion, which is a way for people to take and share notes on Bible verses, virtually writing in the margins their scriptural insights. Please share more of the vision behind this project, and where you see it going: mobile, and beyond.

Terry:

Wow, YouVersion has blown our mind over the past year! This project started as a thought, and it quickly blew up into reality. Actually, it was less than 90 days quickly!

Honestly, YouVersion is one of the most exciting, and one of the most frustrating projects I’ve worked on. It has had indescribable impact. The short version of the mission for YouVersion is “scripture engagement.” Over the past year we have seen the YouVersion.com website gain a lot of traction, and it has grown in an overwhelming way. Just yesterday we pushed out an update that took YouVersion to 31 Bible translations in 16 different languages.

Right now, a huge focus for the YouVersion team is language localization for all three current YouVersion properties (Web, Mobile, and iPhone). We are so passionate about localization we had to stop development for a bit, and build a dynamic localization tool for YouVersion. We needed a tool that would help us empower volunteers from around the globe to translate in a simple fashion. That tool is now functional and in the hands of our volunteer team, and we plan on rolling out localization to YV Mobile and the YV iPhone app really soon.

YouVersion Mobile is major effort for us because we believe there is great power when people have the Bible in the palm of their hands all the time, everywhere. A common statement we make is: “The future is mobile, and the future is now!” YouVersion Mobile debuted April 29th, and adoption has been lightning fast. I am not aware of any other Bibles available on your mobile device that are FREE and offer 31 Translations in 16 languages.

Then we have to look at the YouVersion iPhone Bible App! The only words that come to mind are HOLY COW! Here are the quick facts about the app as of Aug 30th. We launched July 11th, with 274,512 unique users who have spent 485,326 hours reading scripture.

Version 1.2 should release from the Apple App store very soon, and will include all currently available Bible Translations and languages. It will also be localized to English, French, German and Spanish and have A LOT of new and cool features. We have some amazing things coming down the pipe with the app, but our big focus is offline. We plan on releasing an offline version very, very soon.

Nathan:

Last but not least, please share your testimony. How did God get your attention, and show you the calling he had for your life? What has changed since you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?

Terry:

This be a long response, but I will try to make it as brief as possible. The bottom line for me is that I did not grow up in a Christian home. I didn’t become a Christ follower until 1994, when I was 21. I was very, very spiritually lost, living a very, very spiritually lost life and found myself in a very, very empty parking lot of Ed Young’s church on accident late one Saturday night. Sunday morning rolled around, and I decided to try it out. I had tried just about everything else, so what the heck. It was that day, my first day in church in who knows how many years that God used Ed to speak directly to me. I gave my life to Him, and my journey with Christ began.

Jesus messed me up! I started volunteering at the church like crazy. At the same time my business career was taking off like a rocket. The dotCOM days were really good to me those next few years, but there was just something “different” about volunteering at the church. I loved it!

After volunteering for almost 5 years, I joined the staff at Fellowship Church. FC was amazing, and the opportunity to serve under the leadership of Ed Young was priceless. My passion for Christ grew, and my passion for leveraging technology to impact the world for Christ grew. In 2007 God “moved” our family, and we joined the LifeChurch.tv team, and Jesus is messing me up again. 6.684 billion people on this Earth, and they all need Jesus… Thus begins the journey to leverage technology to reach them all!

EdgePoint Church

2008-08-11T19:10:28Z

URL: edgepointchurch.com

EdgePoint Church are clearly going for a theme of “church can be cool”, and the website conveys this message well. The visual design is textured, layered and a bit grungy, presenting a cohesive atmosphere without going too far over the top.

The home page call-out (“Don’t Come Here—For Regular Church”) is a bit edgy. That may not be my personal preference, but it works with the theme of the site.

The color palette sings in harmony and matches the theme. Typography is also well done, with effective and careful use of sIFR for headings. Images include transparent PNGs, with fixes for Internet Explorer.

Information architecture is clear and sensible, with obvious navigation throughout. One navigational challenge might be that two of the main nav bar items are duplicated in the three subsidiary call-outs (When & Where, Are Jeans Evil?). Also, Kids Rock doesn’t seem to match with the others.

The content is good overall, and the tone matches the theme perfectly. Some examples of nice touches: blog entries (which might not be frequent) are dated only by month. The photo gallery on many pages has snapshots of “real people”; always a plus. The lightbox effect attracts attention, and podcasts are well done. Same for the blog section: love that sticky note treatment.

Contact and Directions are well done, but I’d add the contact information in SEO-friendly text somewhere on every page.

Some items for consideration:

Visual richness comes at a cost in page weight, with the home page for example at over 950kb. Even with broadband, it takes a while for the main logo to render.
The Media landing page seems a bit sparse, so perhaps add some thumbnails of each media type to the landing page?
Add some future events to the “events” box, or cause that box to disappear otherwise.
Without CSS support or images enabled, the primary name of the church doesn’t show up.
A print stylesheet would be helpful, especially on the Blog section.

Jonathan Longnecker and Nate Croft from FortySeven Media built the site using Expression Engine, which is clearly used to their advantage.

Under the hood, the code is good throughout, with at least the home page valid to XHTML 1.0 Transitional. A few minor errors are scattered about some pages, including an some empty ul elements, and the Blog has some extraneous ending p tags. Personally, I’d also prefer not to use class names like “leftcol” and “rightbox”. Of course, the site was launched a while ago, so many of these considerations might be handled differently now.

In an e-mail, Jonathan mentioned a few back-end features that aren’t apparent from the outside:

The podcasting and Youtube integration is pretty cool. Podcasts can be uploaded and tagged in EE and that info feeds in to iTunes automatically. And for YouTube all they have to do is put in the 11 character identifier and EE takes care of the rest.

I’m using the gallery modules for the pictures and lightbox to display them. Also a handy thumbnailing CSS trick so the thumbnails are all the same size. sIFR for the headlines, too.

All in all, excellent work and a good job to Jon and Nate.

Note: Like all the church sites Featured here in the Godbit Project, edgepointchurch.com is a good example of a site that is well-designed and built. Any suggestions are hopefully constructive, and shouldn’t imply that this reviewer could do any better. Personally, I have learned from each of the featured sites.

ALA Survey 2008

2008-08-02T18:04:50Z

A List Apart – 2008 Survey

If you work in information architecture, web design or development, be sure to take the A List Apart survey. Last year’s was the first of its kind, and they are continuing the annual tradition. Maybe it’s just me, but the questions seem a lot more streamlined this time around. So, just like last year, I am urging you to take about ten minutes and make sure to give your professional feedback. Your anonymous information will be used to compile an overview our industry. For instance, this is the distribution of job titles from last year’s participants.

The findings of the 2007 survey were pretty cool, showing overall demographics such as age, salary breakdown, and education levels. The results of the survey were all bundled into a comprehensive PDF report that anyone can download. Here is an example of the varying degrees that people hold in our sector.

Personally, I am excited to see the results of this year’s study, as they’ve had time to refine their questions and iron out some of the kinks in the survey process. I also think it’s good to have hard statistics to better understand what we do, and elevate the level of perceived esteem to that of other IT and creative jobs. If you work in a full time, part time, or volunteer capacity in or around web related processes, please ensure that your voice is heard. Take the survey.