The Lord's Prayer: Case Study - 30.03.10

Author of Study: The Reverend Dr John Belham AKC

Overall Aim of Website: To be a voice for the Lord beyond the parish boundaries.

Website Address: www.lords-prayer.co.uk

Content: Photographs, images, varied text, podcasts, response, payment and donations facilities
Pages: 23 pages and 1 RSS feed
Visits per month: Between 5,500 and 6000 visitors from 62 countries
Podcast downloads per month: Between 2,500 and 3,200 per month
Website Launch: September 2007

Background and experience of the Church Website Design Project

It was way back in 2000 that my son and I learned some HTML in order to put up a simple website to offer sample chapters from a newly-published book on the Lord's Prayer. By 2006 it had become apparent that it would be helpful to offer the whole study as a revised and abbreviated podcast series, so recording began.

However, expanding the simple site to accommodate the podcasts was beyond us and finding appropriate and financially possible help was proving almost impossible.

It was at that point that I received an unsolicited call from Daniel Gibbins (Senior Project Leader) offering website development and assistance. The call came at an impossible moment; I was just frantically packing the last things to take the family on holiday! However, something prompted me not to be too hasty to put the 'phone down and so began a singularly happy and productive time in the development of the website.

Daniel was just setting out on his website design venture and so was not well known. He had mentioned
work done for a colleague I knew and so, regarding that as a reference, I rang to ask my colleague's experience.

He was out but his wife told me that Daniel and his work had been 'an absolute God-send' to them. My own subsequent experience could only be described in the same terms.

Following thorough discussion, we decided to go for a complete redevelopment of the site with some stock photographs and three specifically commissioned shots from Daniel. The result was a fresh and far more attractive site carrying text, pictures and podcasts.

Even after nearly three years I am still delighted with it, especially as it has been continually maintained and updated as fresh opportunities have come to light. For example, we recently totally updated the text to conform to the podcasts rather than to the more extensive book. This was a major task but was accomplished amazingly amicably - without loss of hair or sleep!

In short, I have found Daniel to be very able in website design and maintenance, understanding of
different churchmanships and approaches, patient, efficient and good humoured. So I am glad to support and commend the Church Website Design Project in any way I can.

Rev'd Dr John Belham – Rector of Gressenhall and surrounding villages 1983-2008

E-mail: info@churchwebsitedesign.org.uk