Recommended Links

The links provided below have been compiled to support and encourage churches to become more independent in their website development needs. If you have a suggestion for the list and think it would help others, please contact us with your recommendation.

Software

Setting yourself up with the latest web development software and technology can be an expensive process. These are just some of the software we use to support churches realise their online potential. This is by no means an exhaustive list but is certainly a useful starting point for churches planning on developing a website in-house.

Dreamweaver - A website design and development tool

Photoshop Elements 8 - Essential photo editing software

FTP Software - Upload your website to your domain, easy to use

CutePDF - Create PDF documents easily and for free

Faststone Capture - Captures on screen elements and converts to image file

Nero - Powerful audio / visual editing software, perfect for editing recorded sermons etc

RSS Submit - Automatically submit your podcast RSS feed to hundreds of free websites

IBP Business Promoter - A powerful online marketing tool, essential for any SEO campaign

WordPress - The free blog and forum provider

Photography

Getting the photography right for your new church website is vital. The following websites have been compiled to help guide you through some of the key concepts in photography, looking at both techniques and composition. There are a number of books on the market that will help you, see the 'Books and Publications' section below for our recommendation.

BBC: Good Photos - Tom Ang presents top tips on how to get the most out of your digital camera

Kodak: Top 10 Tips - Video demonstrations on how to work through this list of 'Top 10 Tips'

Illistrated Photography: Basic Tips - Learn to take better pictures with basic photography tips

Church123: Church for Photography for Websites - Helpful tips for church specific photography

John Truscott: Photography Training - Realising the power of the visual image

Books / Publications

The publishing market has been flooded with tens of thousands of books relating to website development, from web design to photography. We have used a number of excellent publications over the past few years and have compiled a short list with some of our recommendations. Many of these books are quite technical and require, in some places, knowledge that the book assums you have. The more advanced books have been asterixed.

Dreamweaver* - Classroom in a book in 18 project based lessons

Photoshop CS5* - Classroom in a book, the best-selling series of hands-on software training

Photography: Complete Digital Photography - Guides you through every aspect of digital photography

WordPress - Smashing WordPress, beyond the blog - utilise the power of the WordPress platform

Writing: How to Edit Your Writing, Line by Line - The complete guide to self-editing

Search Engine Optimisation: 1 Hour a Day - Offers brisk advice to help you increase website visibility

Podcasting: A Guide to Podcasting Yourself - Helps choose software, subscribe to the best podcasts

 

E-mail: info@churchwebsitedesign.org.uk