St. James’ Episcopal Church was one of the first websites that the predecessor of Cap Web Solutions worked with. This site, in its older, direct-coded HTML form, served as a testing ground for WordPress conversion back as early as 2007. This old church, which lives right in the middle of the borough of Downingtown, needed an online facelift.
Project:
Give new life to the web presence of this 172 year old resident of the Borough. Convert a 10-year-old HTML site to a new, modern, manageable, fresh, interactive online presence that would appeal to the current membership as well as church shoppers. The site had to be very visual, with lots of pictures, opportunities to add pictures, places for stories and interaction, contact forms, calendars, social media integration, and, well, you get the picture.
Solution:
WordPress Framework: Genesis by StudioPress
Theme base: Outreach Pro
This project brought together a number of complimentary solutions. The Outreach Pro theme is well suited for a visually stimulating website, and it lent itself smoothly to the vision of the church website project team. The site is responsive and incorporates a Google Maps integration so that visitors can get directions directly to the church from their smart-phone. Events are advertised in the blog and include an RSVP form that communicates directly to an organizer. Photo Galleries add a bit of excitement as new events are brought to life through the website. The Rector’s sermons are available, along with the monthly church newsletters. Several sign-up widgets on the site enable visitors to quickly subscribe to the blog or the monthly newsletter, daily blog updates, or even all of the communications through the Visit Us page.
Customizations for the home page layout, header images, slider imaging, and post display were just some of the tweaks we made.
Take a look at the new site. Better yet, stop in and visit one Sunday morning. The service times and a handy map are right there on the home page.
