Image
  • Home
  • About
  • How it Works
    • FAQ
  • Pricing
  • Theme Options
  • Portfolio
  • Blog
  • Sign up/Contact

Archive for design

Avoid the Website Sneeze

October 4th, 2014

sneezeJonathan Malm had a great post this week about how a snapshot of you sneezing captures you at your worst, and how lots of churches give visitors a snapshot of themselves sneezing on Sunday mornings–the visitors leave, but they can’t unsee that snapshot.  Do read his post here.  It will help you think about Sunday mornings and visitors.

But also think about your website.

Every single time someone visits your website, they get a snapshot of your church or organization.  And it’s not just limited to Sunday mornings, it’s 24/7. That’s why it’s so important to keep your website updated and tidy.

Are your website visitors catching you sneezing?  Here are some common sneezes:

  • Dozing Sneezes: the website content is outdated
  • Cold Shoulder Sneezes: the worship times are not up front & visible without a scroll
  • Boring Sneezes: long blocks of text that do not get quickly to the point, especially about the history or theology of the congregation.

The visits to your website matter! They may be your only chance to connect with a potential visitor. Be intentional about your website. Do your best not to let them catch you sneezing!

Categories Uncategorized
Comments (0)

Rule of Thirds

April 10th, 2014

gridWant to help your website look more professional? Pay attention to the “rule of thirds”.

The Rule of Thirds is a design principle stretching back to ancient times. It’s related to the Golden Ratio of Pythagoras and Euclid. Architects and artists (including Leonardo da Vinci) have used it for centuries. Your mobile phone camera invites you to use the Rule of Thirds by overlaying a grid in your viewfinder.

The Rule of Thirds divides your visible area – whether you’re dealing with a website screen (not the entire page!) or an individual photo or image – into a grid of nine equally spaced squares or rectangles. The columns are all the same size and the rows are all the same size. This might give you nine squares, if your original image is a square – but most often it gives you rectangles.

Place important elements on your page or in your image along these lines or their intersection points, to create a greater sense of balance and interest.

Here’s an example:

compare-rothirdsNotice the natural tendency to center the important element creates a less “interesting” image than placing the rock formation on the left-third line.

While the basic layout of your website can’t be altered without changing your WordPress theme, you can apply the Rule of Thirds as you put content on the page. For example, an image with text wrapping around it should only be about one third of the width of the content area. (Because the Visual Editor in WordPress is not a true WYSIWYG editor, remember that you will need to “play” with the size of an image, checking how large it looks in the content area by looking at the page that visitors see on your site.)

Of course, occasionally rules are broken – for instance, you might have an image that is very narrow and will stretch across the entire content area. But paying attention to the Rule of Thirds will go a long way toward helping your site look more professional.

Links for helping you to apply the Rule of Thirds:

  • More about the Rule of Thirds
  • Tips for using the Rule of Thirds in images
  • Applying the Rule of Thirds to Websites
Categories Uncategorized
Comments (0)

Cart

Recent Posts

  • SSL & Encryption Changes Will Affect Almost All Sites
  • Avoiding Image Copyright Issues
  • Let Your Theme Keep You Looking Good!
  • Get Google Apps for Nonprofits for Free

Topics

audio beginners blog columns comments communication content management Content Managment Systems design email events Facebook flyers forms Home Page images layout links meetings menu mobile news feed newsletters optimize pages PDF photos posts print newsletters registrations responsive rsvps scheduling SEO site content site speed social media terminology Twitter typography user experience video volunteers Wordpress WP theme
Affordable Church Website Program
Copyright © 2021 All Rights Reserved

Site built with Affordable Church Website Program
This site uses cookies: Find Out More