Website Design Instructions for ministry helpers [last edited12/09/2002] ( email if you have any questions )   

If you will follow these instructions you should be able to produce a very professional and very effective website (that would typically cost the customer several hundred to more than a thousand dollars)  in 5 hours time. Please read the entire instructions one time before starting. Suggest you print this page out and keep it on your desk while you are working.

This page is the equivalent of a whole college semester's worth of web design class combined with 3 years of experience. These instructions will show you how to create a website, submit to search engines, and even how to setup ecommerce.

Definitions: 

• Blank web template = the zip file with blank prescripted pages I sent you.
• Predesigned web template = a predesigned graphic template that is purchased/downloaded/or sent to you by me.
• Design Themes = a native front page feature found by clicking file menu Tools, Theme.
• Pagetemplate.htm = a blank page that is customized with the official theme and navigation of the website you are creating and which will be used to create all new pages so they all look alike.

Attachments:  (please make sure you have these or ask me for them)

• HTM church web design text file
• HTM ministry web design text file
• eGroup setup text file
• eMail setup text file
• Instructions on logo's, flash pages, pictures - see ** at the bottom of this page

Initial Preparations:

1. Create website design request at www.hightechministry.org - click on free website design, then Order. Enter the customers information on the form, but indicate your name and your email address somewhere.
2. Email me the proposed text content and request a design template (if needed). The content we need provided is in the attached file(s) titled 'htm church web design'. You must get the customer to provide this info.
3. Have me purchase a new domain name if they don't already have one. To do so, I need the proposed text content and the website design request.
4. Request web hosting at www.internet-addresses.com/order.htm using the customers information and the newly purchased domain name. Where the form asks for name, put your name followed by the customers name. eg. mark for John Doe.

Start Designing:

1. If you are using a pre-designed template, unzip into a new folder that you create for this website.

        a.  Then, Unzip this Blank Web Template file also unzip the file into this same new folder.

        b.  If you are not using a pre-designed template and plan to use a Front Page Design Theme, open front page and click File, New Web, choose web templates, choose any template or empty web. If empty web simply create a new page and name it index.htm. Then start your design or use a front page theme. Note: you must have a page named index.htm as that will be your home page.
   
2. Create page names and insert pre-scripted pages from Blank Web   

    a. Create a blank page and save it as content.htm. Paste all the website text and content onto this one page. From here, you will paste the text / pictures into each individual page. Cut the content as you go ( and leave the content page unsaved as you remove content in case you forget something ) pasting onto the new pages.

    b. Create page names. Looking at your content, decide on new page names. Example: home, about us, and maybe one other page such as ministries. Note that we have the standard pages in the blank web template already ie. contactus.htm, prayer requests.htm, confirm.htm, directions.htm, penpals.htm, tellsomeone.htm/thankyou.asp, biblesearch.htm, etc. Type your new page names at the top of the content page.

    c. Remove existing predesigned template pages and create a standard blank page template with the chosen theme or predesign. Simply drag all but the index and/or home page into the _private folder to save for later. Save one page without any text content as your blank page template. Save as - pagetemplate.htm  From here, you open this page and resave it as each page name you decided upon in step b.

     d. Start creating pages. Open the pagetemplate.htm and click Insert, File, and browse to each of the prescripted blank webtemplate pages (eg. contact.htm). This will insert the prescripted pages into this new page template. Then after you copy the content from each page into the new page, click File, Save As, give the page the appropriate name.    Open the page template file again and continue this till all pages are created. SpecialiezedPurple text comments are included on each page of the blank web template.

     e. One exception: - thankyou.asp - Open the blank pagetemplate.htm and open the thankyou.asp prescripted page. Highlight and copy the text - 'Thank you for referring us, ---- . '  and paste into pagetemplate.htm. Now switch to html view (tab on bottom) and scroll to the very top. Highlight and copy all the red code between the <%  and the %> which ends right before the <html> tag. Copy and paste into the pagetemplate.htm html view above the <html> tag. Then save as thankyou.asp.

3. Create website navigation (If you are not using a pre-designed template as it will typically have this done already) ( pre-designed templates often use Includes. See d. below)  Click View, Navigation, then drag / drop each page underneath the Home / Index page. (except the confirm and thank you page. drag those underneath contact and tellsomeone pages respectively)

     a. Set Shared Borders -Click view, page, and then format, shared borders, select top - left - bottom for All Pages. When page to the page view click the left border. Click insert, web component, link bars, bar based on site navigation and follow wizard. Choose 'pages under home page' and choose the home page checkbox. Save.

    b.  Set the Bottom Border with the contact info ie. Organization name, website url, address, phone, address, email address. Center on page.

    c. Set the Top Border by inserting the logo (see comments below) or a page banner. For page banner, click insert, page banner. Save. The page banner will read whatever you named the page in the step above when creating website navigation.

Option: create two levels of navigation - Global and Pages under Home Page.  Here, you might put some of the pages such as contact, directions, prayer, email a friend up on the top border and bottom border as global pages. To do so, click view, navigation, and drag these pages to the same level as the home page. Back to Page View. Click on either/both Top and Bottom border areas and click insert, web component, link bars, bar based on site navigation and follow wizard. Choose 'global pages' and  Save.

    d. Includes - many times the template will use Included files for the navigation INSTEAD OF shared borders, or they will use Included files for special messages. This enables you to modify just one file and it will repeat on many pages. Saves time. To edit an include file, right mouse click on the page where the file is included. Choose open in new window. Edit. Save. It will automatically update the pages it is included on. To insert a new Include file - click where you want the message or navigation included, click insert, web component, included content, page, browse, find the page to be inserted, ok/save.

4. To Finish the Recommend Us / Email A Friend page, You must open the thankyou.asp page with front page and click html view on the thankyou.asp page and copy the red code into the new website page template in html view. Paste the red code ABOVE THE <HTML> tag. Then save as thankyou.asp. Next follow the purple instructions for adding in the subject and the email address. Email me on this one if you need help.

5.  To add an eGroup opt in eNewsletter:  have the customer create an account at www.injesus.com.  Then use their login info to retrieve the code to put on the index.htm page.  Login with their info, click MyInJesus, then click their group on the bottom left, then Click promote. Copy the code and click your cursor on the index.htm page where you want the opt in form to be. Click Edit, Paste Special, Select HTML, ok.

a. How to create an eGroup: go to www.injesus.com and click on the mailbox icon on the bottom left side. Enter email address and password, click login, complete the next form, click yellow button, complete the next form, click yellow button. Done.

b. To retrieve the needed code:  login towww.injesus.com if you aren't already logged in (note the 'click here' text in the upper right). Then click MyInJesus tab, click on the group name on bottom left margin, then click the Promote link on the left hand side. Copy the code for the style of button you desire.

6. For Contact, Pen Pals, Gods Free Gift, and Prayer Request pages:  you must set the form properties to insert the website owners email so that they will receive the forms. See purple text instructions on each of these pages. The Gods Free Gift page includes a flash file inserted. Leave it alone.

7. For Directions page - locate a map from eitherwww.mapblast.com orwww.mapquest.com by searching with the church's address. When map shows, right mouse and save to your computer. Then open the directions page and insert. Best to use a close up and a zoom out. (This is not typically needed for rural churches and ministries in Africa...but it's your choice.)

8. Copy and paste the text content from the content.htm page (created above) into each appropriate page. Save each page. The home page should have a 15-25 word opening paragraph on what the website is about and what it is going to do for the visitor and the website owner. It should have a picture or two to help bond the visitor with the website. It should be like a magazine ad in that it is used primarily to grab the visitors attention. It should not be a grab bag of everything in the website. Use the other pages to fill in the detail eg. About Us, or Ministries.

9. Page titles, descriptions, metatags:  Click View, Folders. Then right mouse on each page and choose properties. Give each page a unique informative name of say 6-10 words. On the home page (index.htm) copy the 15 word opening paragraph, then right mouse on the page and choose page properties. Click the Custom tab and click Add at the bottom right. Type Description in the first field and paste the copied 15 word description into the second field. Save.

10. Publish it now:  [note: you will NOT be using ftp. FTP is not compatible with front page websites] You are done and ready to publish to the webserver and then ready to submit to the search engines. To publish to the webserver - within front page - click File, Publish Now, click Web Folders or Network Places icon, type in the fullhttp://www.newwebsitedomainname.org into the blank field, click OK, then enter username and password, then click Publish.

** Logo comments - if the customer sends a logo, insert it into the appropriate location. If no logo is sent to you by them, I will have one made and sent to you - or we'll simply use the page banner feature of the design theme.

** Flash pages - if your template has a flash page, you will need me to edit it with a program editor called Swish. Typically, the flash page will be your index page and it will auto forward into the actual home page called home.htm.  Note that you will have a couple other files as part of the flash page ie. .swi or .swf and a movie.html page. Leave these alone.

** Pictures - a website is much more effective if it has pictures. It is best to obtain them from the customer and have them scanned in. A picture should be a maximum of 400 pixels wide and most often it should be a thumbnail of that say 125 - 250 pixels wide. This will keep your pages fast loading. Avoid overusing pictures on a page - say a max of 2 - 4 pages. To Insert: click Insert, Pictures, From File and browse to image.To ReSize: Click on the image, then click the thumbnail icon at the bottom, or right mouse and choose picture properties. Then specify the desired pixel size of the image and click ok. Then click the image and click the resample icon at the bottom. Click save. To find free pictures:  Click insert, picture, clip art, then on bottom right click Clips Online. You will be able to find free clip art and free pictures from Microsoft to add into your website. 2nd best bargain online. Alternately, you can find professional royalty free pictures for $20-30 many places online. Do a search in google.com for royalty free pictures.

Search Engines:  

Please go to www.hightechministry.org/cbt/searchengines.htm and follow the step by step guidelines on how to submit to search engines for free. This will take about 1 hour.

Ecommerce or Online Donations:

Paypal.com provides free merchant accounts without qualifying with a bank. You can accept credit card donations and only pay a small discount if someone sends you money. This is the best deal on the internet. It is available in many countries around the world. (not available in Africa except South Africa)

Go to www.paypal.com and create a free business premier account. Note: create the account in the same name as the checking account name you will be depositing the money in. Very important.

If your website is an organization and your checking account is a personal account you have three choices - 1. open a business checking account or 2. file a sole proprietor dba and take that form to your bank and have it added to your personal account as a co-owner or 3. open the Paypal account in your personal checking account name but mention the organization name in the Notes field or similar when creating the Paypal account. And consider mentioning it on your website. To see a working version, go to www.hightechministry.org and click on Make A Donation button.

Once you get the Paypal account created, you need to Add a Checking Account. Follow the instructions. Paypal will actually deposit two small amounts in the checking account to make sure it works. You will then need to verify with Paypal what these amounts were. This takes about 3 days to turn around. Once completed, you will be able to deposit money into the account and pay bills out of this checking account!  You can now accept credit card payments and donations!

Exceptions:  if you are located in a country that is not served by Paypal, you can have a friend in another country open a bank account in your ministry name and follow the instructions above. Then, your friend can wire funds from this new checking account to your bank account.

Grace and peace to you,
Mark S Disbrow
www.hightechministry.org
markdisbrow@hightechministry.org