http://wordpress.org/news/2011/04/wordpress-3-1-1/

http://blogs.iss.net/archive/2010trendrep.html

EmailBuddy Walkthrough from WebDesign.com on Vimeo.

WP-RELATED SITES

• WordPress Plugin Repoistory
• WordPress Support Forums – If you have a problem, it’s probably answered in the forums somewhere
• WordPress Download Page – Make sure you’re downloading the latest WP for clients
• WordPress Templates Tags Page – Find the WordPress code you need here
• HTML Validator
• CSS Validator
• Weblogs Tool Collection – News and more
• FreelanceSwitch
• Small Potato – Great WP tutorials
  
• Smashing Magazine
• DailyBlogTips – Excellent WP specific tips
  
• Lorelle on WordPress – The queen of WordPress tips
  
• Matt – WordPress daddy
• Free WordPress video tutorials -from iThemes

1. WordPress Plugins : 17 Handy Toolbars For Your Blog
2. 35 Stylish And Modern WordPress Plugins Using jQuery UI
3. 30 WordPress Plugins To Help You Improve Your Sidebar
4. 20 New, Useful And Promising WordPress Plugins
5. 33 WordPress Plugins To Power Up Your Comment Section

Create and share online documents, spreadsheets and presentations. It’s free. You can:

1) Access your documents online from any computer with an internet connection.

2) Add collaborators to your document and Docs will send them a link to access the doc online (no need to send email attachments back and forth)

3) Decide who can view and edit each document (only you, some people, or everyone)

Your church or ministry website is one of the best tools for attracting new visitors.
Recent studies have shown that when people relocate to a new area prior to arriving, or shortly thereafter, they seek out churches they would like to attend by searching on the internet. Having a web presence will allow these new arrivals a way to find you, see what you have to offer, get times & location of services, etc. A custom church website design attracts visitors even more if you make it truly reflect the quality of your ministry and your brand.

Efective, Efficient Communication
Have you ever printed hundreds of letters or flyers only to realize there was a typo, a wrong date, or a misspelled name? Your church website is the best communication medium because it is electronic. Information changes daily for a ministry. A meeting is postponed, someone moves and needs an address change, and there are new prayer requests. How do you keep information current and make sure people are informed? Since a website is digital it is quick to update. If your website has a content management system (CMS) behind it that to gives you total control over updating your pictures, text, etc. then it is extremely fast and easy for your staff to update it. People accessing your website get current info 1 second after your staff makes a change.

Connection
Your ministry website is also one of the top ways to engage the user and the culture. With the amount of time people are spending at work, the subdivision of communities, and the continuous running here and there, Americans are seeking new ways to build community. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, people are not just using the internet to socialize but as a means of seeking information, exchanging advice, and making decisions. The number of American internet users who rely on the internet for decision making has increased by one-third since 2002! Online ministries utilizing the internet have seen significant increases in users who have made decisions for Christ!

Real Life Impact
What does this mean for the average local church? It’s important for the local churches to meet people online, as that’s where they are spending a significant amount of their time. People don’t just look at pages of information anymore. They watch videos, play games, use applications and communicate with friends. Studies have shown that churches with interactive online communities are making congregants feel more involved and empowered to serve." Your website can provide amazing interaction using audio, video, blogs, e-invitations, message boards, etc.

The impact of your ministry for God’s kingdom could be exponentially explosive! With the way people communicate today, websites can play an integral role. For ministries especially, they can connect not only with their members but also to their local community, shut-ins, college students, those abroad involved in missionary work or traveling, etc. The Gospel message and Christ centered teaching can be shared with practically everyone having a connection with the internet. Think of the global effect your ministry could have touching lives, ministering, evangelizing, helping other Christians grow towards Christ-likeness, and, also available for the seeker/searcher 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

What is RSS?

RSS is a set of data formats for sharing information. Think of it as a news ticker like the ones you’d see on old movies. Adding RSS feeds to your browser or other software allows you to create your own news ticker made up of as many RSS feeds as you like. RSS is used by sites with weblogs like Grow and news web sites like the BBC to share, publish and syndicate the content of the sites in a simple form. In RSS 2.0, RSS is short for Really Simple Syndication. 

Why Use RSS?

Imagine for a second you could have the latest information from your favourite web sites delivered to you in a really simple way without you having to visit the web sites or sign up for newsletters. Thats what RSS enables you to do!

Once you’ve set up the RSS feed, the headlines or summaries from a web site will update automatically for you. You get the latest information from as many web sites as you subscribe to. Then if something interests you, you click an individual headline to go to the full information. RSS is not just about news: It can be used to preview whats new in a store (we also use it in GrowStore installations) or preview changes to a picture gallery or any information you wish to be kept up to date on. Many web sites use RSS at the moment including all the major news sites and almost all blogs. Setting it up is realy simple. Try it for yourself using our tips below.

How To Use RSS Feeds

To use RSS you need to grab the RSS feed from a web site. You can do that using a web browser, a bit of software for your computer called an RSS aggregator or one of the Web based aggregation services. RSS Reader is a simple and good free tool if you;re using Windows. The simplest was way to start out is by using a web browser. Below are links and resources for you to use plus a simple guide to using RSS with Firefox.

Browsers that support RSS

• Firefox
• Opera

RSS Aggregators (Software to download and web based services)

• Windows:
• Feed Reader (free) – New & Recommended!
• RSS Reader (free)
• Sharp Reader (free)
• Newz Crawler
• FeedDemon
• Awasu

• Mac OS X:
• Newsfire
• NetNewsWire

• Linux:
• Straw (Free / For GNOME)

• Web Services:
• Bloglines
• My Yahoo!
• NewsGator

Using RSS With Your Browser

Starting out: If you are using a PC or Mac we at Grow heartily recommend IE’s most popular competitor Firefox to you, expecially if you want a fast and simple way to take advantage of RSS. Internet Explorer 6 has dominated peoples computers for a long time but it does not support RSS and it is widely acknowledged as being a security risk. When IE7 is released it will support RSS.

Since the launch of the full version, Firefox has been catching IE’s domination for good reason. Not only is it free and supports RSS in a simple, effective way but it also is better to use than IE and won’t leave your computer so open to hackers or malicious web sites.

How To Add RSS Feeds To Firefox Bookmarks

To use RSS with Firefox look for the RSS icon on the bottom right hand side of the browser window to the right of the in the address bar in Firefox 1.5. It looks like this: ___ and is captioned, ‘Add live bookmark for this page’s feeds’. The icon will only appear when you’re visiting web sites with an RSS feed.

1. Click the icon in the bottom right of the Firefox window on the right hand side of the address bar in Firefox 1.5: ___. Then click the link that pops up to subscibe to the RSS feed to your bookmarks.
2. The bookmarks dialogue will open. Choose where you wish to store the RSS feed bookmark.
3. Go to the RSS feed in your bookmarks to see all the latest headlines for that feed. The headlines will update automatically for you so if you ever want to see the latest headlines from that site simply go to your bookmarks and look – all without having to go directly to the site itself. To view the article or information in detail click the bookmark link as you would any other and you will go straight to that information.

Further Reading

• RSS explaination in Wikipedia

Many churches and non-profit-organizations are hesitant to consider getting a website, because they are unsure of the costs they might incur. In fact, most businesses are surprised to find out how inexpensive a website can be, especially considering the amount of exposure involved. The exact price will depend on the size and complexity of the page and whether we use your graphics or ours, but let’s look at some of the factors involved:

Websites can reduce your print advertising costs, while reaching a much larger audience. If you take a smaller print ad, but point the ad to your website, the print ad can be not only much smaller, but more effective. This is because, unlike print advertising, nothing is in concrete – your website can be changed in moments to reflect current conditions.

The costs you can expect to incur in getting a website include the following:

Website Design costs can range from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars, depending on the complexity of the site. The industrial average for webmasters is a flat $50/hour for actual computer time spent on design or maintenance. A good rule of thumb to estimate how much you should pay for a website that is static is about $100 per individual web page.

Virtual Domain Name Registration will cost from $10 to $35 per year, depending on length of contract and “niche” service used. This is the registration process which gives you sole usage of “yourcongregationname.com” and is recommended for the serious church, but not required. We have the unique opportunity to offer you “your congregationname.elca.us.”

Web Hosting Fees – Costs can range from “free” (not really) to hundreds of dollars per month. Most of our sites reside with servers that generally cost about $15-$20 per month with reasonable set up fees ($15-25).

Search Engine Submission – This is probably the most important service available. Search Engine Services range from about $20 to $40 a month. This service is provided by many standalone submission services and by many website designers as part of their website hosting package (at an additional charge). It is also important to note that some of the most popular search engines are now beginning to charge to be listed in their search engines.

Additional Features – If you want to make a web site more interactive, with feedback forms, connection to database driven information and the like, expect the costs to go up.

Maintenance – Site maintenance is critical once the site is built. If you develop a page and never update it, this can reflect poorly on your congregation or organization.

Contact us for more information on this topic. We can be contacted at leithrugia@msn.com and we are anxious to help every congregation and non-profit have a clean, neat and relevant website. We will work with every organization every budget. All of our websites are custom built.

Disclaimer: This page is designed to provide information only and is not a substitute for advice that is specific to your church or non-profit. Before acting on any of the information above it is important you seek further advice from a professional who has taken into consideration the nature and circumstances of your business.

Here are some examples are for a congregational site, but they may be adapted for other agencies:

• The full name, location, mailing address and phone number for your congregation. Make this prominent on the home page and available or easily accessible through a “Contact Us” link on every page

• E-mail link to the pastor, or some responsible congregation staff member or leader, as well as the Web steward

• A link or button to the ELCA home page: http://www.elca.org

• Use dynamic content, such as the ELCA Web feeds, to place regularly changing news headlines, prayers, and bible verses on your site. This is fresh content, you don’t have to maintain! (http://www.elca.org/webfeeds/)

• Augsburg Fortress also provides instant Web page panels and RSS (content syndication) feeds, including a Bible Verse of the Day and Festivals and Commemorations at http://www.augsburgfortress.org/rss/

• Prominent, easy to read worship schedule

• A calendar or weekly event listing – a helpful reference for members and a window into congregational life for visitors

• Features that welcome visitors to the congregation (area map, driving directions, photo of the church, building map, frequently asked questions, nursery information, links to information about the community)

• Features that are evangelistic (devotional materials, prayer request section, messages connecting faith to daily life).

• Descriptions of your ministries with contact information for team leaders

• Staff and volunteer leader profiles and a description of whom to go to for what

• Congregational directory, in a password protected area

• Forms to collect data to support the congregational program and member needs: time and talent survey, professional services directory, Sunday school and vacation Bible school registration forms

• Audio or video clips of sermons or transcripts, previews of upcoming sermon topics.