L571 "Information Architecture for the Web" Project 3 - Action Plan and Website Expansion

Implementation: Management

Currently, the website’s status is published online. The pastor, church board and youth supervisor are reviewing it. After the grading process is finished for this class, I plan to move the website to a shorter URL address that doesn’t have advertisements. This will make it easier for the users to remember the website address. They are also more likely to keep using the site if there aren’t annoying pop-up advertisements on it. However, I’m leaving on Geocities until after grading because I have a friend who has a hosting service, and he can’t help me move it until after winter break.

The people who have been essential in creating the website will still continue to be important to manage it in the future. Those people are the church pastor, church board of elders, youth supervisor, the various Junior Church teachers, and even the children in the church. The pastor will provide original content and guide me to know when to change online content myself. The church board will provide judgment whether or not something should appear online. They also may write original content from time to time. The youth supervisor writes original content and provides vision for the direction the website should proceed. The Junior Church teachers provide supplemental content and appear as content in photographs. The children themselves also provide support as they appear in photographs and write short bits of information for the website.

I will be using various resources to manage the Children’s Ministry website. First, I will using related printed material written by the church that they have given me permission to publish online. I will also use my XHTML and Dreamweaver textbooks to help me remember how to code different features. I will use the Bible to help me make sure content doesn’t conflict with what is contained in scripture. I will use related online websites to help me decide what to write about on the church’s website and what links to list. Some of the keywords that I would like to searching with to include web resources are: Christianity, Christian education, character education, family, community service, child development, Moravian, Jesus, God, Bible, church, Sunday School, and vacation bible school.

The youth supervisor and I have come up with several goals for the website’s future. First, the website’s “What’s New?” page will be updated every time something new is added to keep people informed of recent additions. Next, the website will be something that is useful especially to the parents in the church and to unchurched parents in the community looking for a church home. In time and as my experience with web development expands, the website will be more interactive with polls and surveys (that work right) so we can gauge the temperature of the people who use the site. The website will continue to have changing photo galleries of current children’s ministry activities so people have new things to look at. The website will grow in its content of Moravian traditions and culture so people can learn what the denomination represents.

The plan I have for the website will have to be one that requires complete volunteer support because the only paid position in the church staff is the pastor. (We’re a small church.) I would like to get some parents with home internet access to let know of link rot when they find it. It would also be nice if I had other people in the church who are interested in Christian education to search the Internet for more quality resource links to include on my external link page. I plan to have current lesson topics on the website, but this will only work if the Junior Church teachers keep the communication lines open with me in a timely fashion.

As far as a timeline goes, the next step is for the website components to finish its final grading for the class. Next, I will move the website to a better URL address with the help of one of my friends with a hosting service. Next, I will heavily promote the website. This will be accomplished by giving out bookmarks with the URL to the Junior Church children, parents and Junior Church teachers. I will also put the URL in the church weekly church program, on the church bulletin board, and on the PowerPoint morning announcements that play before Junior Church. I will also ask the pastor to put the URL in the monthly newsletter. Then I will continue the same level of content, updating every 2 to 3 months. This will include changing information about Junior Church curriculum, recent photos from events, and adding anything else the pastor wants to enhance the website. While I do this, I will be reading more about web design and coding so I can let the website grow as my skills grow. I plan to read the usability textbook by Jacob Nielsen that the professor recommended with the course.

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Implementation: Maintenance

Maintenance is important so a website is not created and left orphaned in cyberspace. In order for a website to be dynamic and important to its users, it should be a living document that is refined and grows through time as the organization that created it grows. The current whole church website is an example I hope not to follow. It was created by a church member, and it was never touched afterwards. No one looks at it now, even though it is listed in church documents.

I have thought of several ways to keep my site maintained and healthy. Something I am already doing is to include an email address on every page of the site. This is so if a reader has a concern about content or something that doesn’t work right (like a link), he can email me and tell me what’s wrong. Another thing I can do is check the website every 2 to 3 months myself to see if something needs to be updated. I can also ask volunteers to help me maintain the site as well by searching for new valuable content, being liaisons to the different groups who post information on the site, taking pictures for me at events, and providing feedback on the website’s technical and usability issues.

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Implementation: Evaluation

Evaluation is a way to find the strengths and weaknesses of a website. It helps you know where areas need to be improved and what you have already done well. I have thought of several ways to evaluate the children’s ministry website. One that I have already done is have my peers use the site to judge the site’s usability, content, technical issues and overall appeal. With their comments, I decided to choose a better font style to hopefully increase how easy it is to read. I also took down uncompleted pages until they were ready for publication to add less confusion. Another thing I can do is have some experts look over the website and give their opinion. There are two kinds of experts that would be helpful for this site. The first is someone who has experience with Christian education. That person would judge the content. Second, a person who has experience with web technical and usability issues could look at the site and judge the corresponding areas. The Junior Church teachers could judge it for how well it meets the information they need to “be on the same page.” I could also find other Christian education websites and compare my site to those. This could help me to know what I have included that should be there and what might not need to be there. I also could continue to grow in my web design skills so I can be a more effective website evaluator.

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Part 2: Advanced Applications - Website Expansion

My advanced web development elements are rather simplistic in nature, but they were challenging for me. The reason why is I have never worked with Javascript or CGI’s or programming language before. I felt like I struggled to get these few things to work, but my hope is I will grow in advanced web elements through time and with the help of experienced tutors to scaffold my learning.

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Technical Component 1

The first technical component I added was an Javascript that gives the current time and date at the top of the page. This is an effective use of technology because people may want to know when they accessed the material if they decided to print it. It’s also a handy way to know what time it is when viewing the website.

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Technical Component 2

The second technical component I added was another Javascript. This one changes the status of what is shown at the bottom of the window screen when rolling over a link. I did this script to the menu bar links. People may want to know a bit more information about what the linked page contains. This rollover information can provide this information for them.

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Content Component

Since the completion of Project 2, I have added a few new bits of content to the Children’s Ministry website. First of all, I added a Christmas Photo Gallery. These are pictures showing off the children rehearsing for the upcoming Christmas Day worship. No names are included. One thing I know is that everyone loves to see themselves in print whether it’s on TV, in the newspaper or online. Parents especially love to see pictures of their children doing ANYTHING. Pictures are also a great way to advocate for the church programs to show the children having fun and learning at the same time. This new content is linked, for the time being, on the entry page for its timeliness.

Another thing I added was an attempt at a Christmas survey form. The questions on the form are the same questions I asked the children at church. I posted the children’s responses by a link at the bottom of the survey. No names are included, but I did say how old the child was so readers could see the differences in how they responded. I thought what the children stated could be incredibly meaningful in what they have actually learned about Christmas from the church, their parents and their peers. This new content is linked, for the time being, on the entry page for its timeliness.

I have not yet posted this, but I have already put the process into action. I am having the pastor fill out a survey talking about how the children’s ministries at church are doing and the vision he has for them in the future. When he is finished filling it out, he will mail it back to me in a self-addressed stamped envelope. Then I will post his original content on a “Pastor’s Thoughts” page. I think people want to know what the pastor is leading any part of the church. This content will be linked to a new category on the menu bar called “Pastor’s Thoughts.”

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Website Information:

Author: Emily Morris
Website creation date: December 5, 2005
Last revision date: December 5, 2005
Coding Validation: W3C Markup Validation Service