How To.

[StubbyD]

David (and anyone else)

I was browsing the podcast topics and it set me to thinking - Do you have anywhere on teh forum or website (I've only briefly scoured both) any "How To's" on various topics?

If not, it might be something you could persuade various folks to write up so that the same questions don't need to be asked time and again.

Nothing too complicated, but using podcasting as an example it could start off with a brief description of what the topic is, what it means and then either a step by step how to go about it or a list of things to consider for the subject matter.

It could then be posted up as a sticky in a how-to section of the forum which is read only and any additions or changes can be added by yourself over time as the more knowledgeable on a subject come along.

For my part I intend to write up how I went about getting our Church on the web and what lessons I learnt. I say intend but time will tell :)

[flutem3]

Hi,

I think "how to's" are a good idea. However, there are a zillion tutorials out there which tell us everything under the sun. However, it is nice to have information which is specific to what one is doing. We were discussing this on UMConnect, and Mike Johnson set up the following:

http://www.archdaleumc.com/resourcewizard/wizard.asp

Anyone can contribute to it or have their church listed. I don't know about churches other than Methodist churches, but I guess you would have to ask Mike about that. There is a place that says "show all resources" which will give you an idea of what is there.

I have put lots of them on there my very own self. :D

Carol

[StubbyD]

Cool find Carol.

I did confess I hadn't looked too hard but as this site is dedicated to helping out, having how-to's, IMO, is just a natural next step.

[David Gillaspey]

Hi Stu,

Well, there's the website that hosts this forum, Great Church Websites (my site), and then there's this forum. They should be thought of as two separate entities.

As for my website, you're right ? I should have tons of how-tos, and/or links to articles on other websites, because of the name, "Great Church Websites." The problem is lack of time. (Also, there's a problem with just linking to other websites, which is that links decay and go bad over time.) So now my home page explicitly explains that I only focus on doing a few things well. That includes hosting this forum, maintaining a database of church home pages (accessible by paying a membership fee), and keeping a list of CMS (content management systems) vendors.

I am passionate about training, so I would love to have a lot of tutorials on my website, but again, there's that problem of time. (I'm a family man attending school part time and trying to start a church.) Also, there's the question of, what would the tutorials be about? In my world, people design websites with Adobe Dreamweaver and create images with Photoshop. Since launching this forum, which I host and administer, I've learned that the majority of church webmasters don't (and won't ever) use Dreamweaver or Photoshop, mostly for the lack of money.

I did create one online tutorial and made mention of it here:

http://www.greatchurchwebsites.org/forums/showthread.php?t=511

but it's still in development, though I already have put many hours into it. Unfortunately, there really is a lot to be done to make the tutorial of professional quality (in terms of interactivity). I made the tutorial for a class at art school (Art Institute of Portland). I learned my grade for it just this morning: B-, which actually is a fair grade for the project.

Your post made me think of one thing I could do, however: make a list, on the forum, of some of the more helpful threads (about, for example, podcasting). The problem I have with all forums, including this one, is how hard it is to find something you're looking for in the forum archives. Compiling a list in one place (one thread or post) of helpful topics would help to overcome that. This won't happen right away, however. It will probably be late December before I can compile such a list. I have a couple other long-delayed projects to work on first, now that I'm temporarily, at least, unemployed again. (My most recent contract job just ended. FYI, none of the membership fees to my website go into my pocket; I can't legally pay myself a salary, which requires board approval. So membership fees are used to pay expenses for the site.)

But back to the question of tutorials. I have thought about asking visitors or forum members to suggest topics for tutorials. Then at least I know what the tutorials should be about, rather than just pour time into something that might not really be useful. I'm trying to learn Adobe Captivate, so I do need projects like this to gain experience with the program.

Sincerely,

David Gillaspey
President
Great Church Websites

[StubbyD]

Thanks for the reply David.

I wasn't expecting you to have to create all the content and having quickly looked at your tutorial I wasn't even thinking anything that in-depth. More a list of things - such as with podcasting you could have a list that simply says ...

1. Equipment to create
2. Place to host
3. Means to advertise it - RSS
and perhaps a brief intro on what it is or what it does.

This is a HUGE over simplification, but you get the idea :)

problem of time. (I'm a family man attending school part time and trying to start a church.)

Snap - except for the Church bit. Instead I'm a family man, working full time, attending college part time and serving my God wherever and however I can.

[JackWolfgang]

As for my website, you're right ? I should have tons of how-tos, and/or links to articles on other websites, because of the name, "Great Church Websites." The problem is lack of time. (Also, there's a problem with just linking to other websites, which is that links decay and go bad over time.) So now my home page explicitly explains that I only focus on doing a few things well. That includes hosting this forum, maintaining a database of church home pages (accessible by paying a membership fee), and keeping a list of CMS (content management systems) vendors.

David, if you think any of my posts can be expanded into tutorial pages, let me know and I'll do it (i.e. expand it for posting on GCW)!

I am passionate about training, so I would love to have a lot of tutorials on my website, but again, there's that problem of time. (I'm a family man attending school part time and trying to start a church.) Also, there's the question of, what would the tutorials be about? In my world, people design websites with Adobe Dreamweaver and create images with Photoshop. Since launching this forum, which I host and administer, I've learned that the majority of church webmasters don't (and won't ever) use Dreamweaver or Photoshop, mostly for the lack of money.

You started that GIMP tutorial, and I for one use GIMP!

[David Gillaspey]

David, if you think any of my posts can be expanded into tutorial pages, let me know and I'll do it (i.e. expand it for posting on GCW)!

Hi Jack,

That sounds like a good idea. Would you consider doing a weekly or bimonthly (twice monthly) column instead? Each column could expand upon an existing forum post of yours, or be original. I (that is, Great Church Websites) would be willing to pay a small sum for each, to compensate you for your time. (Those details we would work out offline.) I wouldn't want to start anything until after the first of the year, however, so you have time to think about it.

My heart is for non-professional (volunteer) church webmasters, so both my website and this forum are aimed toward that readership. Thus I would want articles or columns to be aimed at the same readership. However, you've hung around the forum, and actively participated in it, this long, so I'm sure you're already comfortable with this.


You started that GIMP tutorial, and I for one use GIMP!

Certainly, I would love to create and post a series of tutorials on such open-source programs as GIMP and Audacity, focused on the critical tasks in each. In fact, if time permitted, I would like to reproduce every lesson in Adobe's Photoshop CS2 Classroom in a Book using GIMP. (Same with Adobe's Audition Classroom in a Book using Audacity.)

Sincerely,

David Gillaspey
President
Great Church Websites

[mrbelfry]

I'd do some php tutorials if anyone was interested. I'm happy to do it for free to give back to this great community

[Faithhb_lutheran]

I can add some marketing expertise to the table.

[chrisb_ebc]

Do I smell Blog? Perhaps that would be a better organized place to do something like this? Perhaps not. Just a thought.

[David Gillaspey]

Hi Jack, mrbelfry, Kyle, Chris, Stuart, and others,

Sorry I couldn't respond sooner. I've been out all day running errands.

I welcome your interest in contributing to Great Church Websites. (Chris, you were only specifically raising the question of should it be done blog-style, but I'll include you anyway.)

Great Church Websites has much potential to be a positive impact on the Kingdom, but I would be the first to admit that potential is not currently being realized. The reason for this is the shortage of time and expertise on my part. Your offers to contribute content are greatly welcomed, therefore, and give me hope that Great Church Websites can begin to reach its potential.

As for the timing, well, Christmas is usually a very busy time of year for people, both personally and in their ministry, so I don't expect to make any changes on my website til after the first of the year. We can talk in the meantime about the kind of content everyone would like to see added to GCW (and would be willing to contribute if possible). Meantime, one thing I can do to facilitate this, is to work toward switching to a CMS (web content management system). This is something I've thought about doing for some time, but there has been little reason til now to make the switch, given the current content of my site.)

I've had the opportunity to work with TYPO3, so I would likely choose it for my content management system. (Either as a standalone install or as part of the Web Empowered Church download package, http://webempoweredchurch.com.) With this, I could empower contributors to upload their own content, subject to moderation.

By writing this, I am not ruling out the use of a blog, Chris. That option is still on the table.

Thanks again to all. You encourage me greatly.

Sincerely,

David Gillaspey
President
Great Church Websites

[Faithhb_lutheran]

That sounds great David

[GuruGreg]

I don't know how many of you read my church website blog over at http://www.ifjesushadawebsite.net, but this is some of what I've been trying to do. A few months ago I did a whole tutorial on basic CSS use, and I'm always looking for more inspiration.

I'd also be welcome to partnering up with someone (or several people) who could also bring their expertise to the site, provided that our styles meshed well.

[David Gillaspey]

A few months ago I did a whole tutorial on basic CSS useHi Greg,

Yes, I remember now that you posted about that before. Thanks for reminding me/us.

Sincerely,

David Gillaspey