Website accomplished!

I finished my first ever real website. There will always be minor edits, and some are coming as early as this week. But, I got the bulk of it done and posted. I don't know how long I spent on it--80 hours?

The thing I feel most satisfied with is that everything is 100% compliant with the W3 standards (which are the standards of coding). I have not seen any church websites that actually are 100% compliant. But, it is hugely important. Browsers load compliant web pages more quickly, and that is especially true with Internet Explorer 8.

Also, blind computer users are able to use screen reading programs to hear what is on the page.

Sonoma County has an abnormally high number of webdesigners because the Santa Rosa Junior College is well recognized in the digital arts field as one of the most influential colleges in the world (for example, Adobe products cost less for SRJC students than for Adobe employees, and about half as much as they charge the average college student).

Because SRJC-educated webdesigners know about web standards, it's all the more important that a local organization has a validating website--or we're not maintaining a high enough quality of programming to appeal to those people who happen to know a thing or two about html. It may seem insignificant, but everything we do matters.

Design wise, we wanted to emphasize the Web 2.0 style that is popular (menu at the top, rounded edges, reflections, drop shadows, shiny stuff) because we want to express that we are committed to engaging in dialogue with culture, no matter how fast culture changes. If web styles move on in a year, then the site needs to be redone.

Relevance is more important than longevity.

Also, there is a prominent place for the church's social networks. The church does have a system of authority (pastors, elders, small group leaders, kids' leaders, etc.), but everyone is involved with the church--it's neither democracy nor dictatorship. So, involvement in each others' lives is important, hence the emphasis on social networks.

If you want to check everything out, go to http://www.mwnc.org.

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I've been getting so many long-term projects done lately that I feel like I'm getting over a year and a half long procrastination period (well starting to get over it). From wedding videos to photography editing to ordination papers, I've been a lot more focused lately.