FAQ
- Why should I have a website?
- Why should I choose UK Churches to create my website?
- I have decided I want a website. What do I do now?
- What if I would like additional information?
- What happens after I have decided I want UKC to develop my website?
- What is your site development process?
- What does my personal project manager do?
- What is a Site Map?
- Can I change the sitemap?
- What is a Wireframe Design?
- What does content writing assistance mean?
- How long will it take to develop my site?
- How do I pay for my site?
- How long is my agreement for?
- What do I do if I want to cancel my agreement with UK Churches?
- What happens to the site design once I cancel my agreement?
- What if I want to buy my site outright or the site I want does not fit in with one of your packages?
- What happens if I want to change my existing package?
- How is my website updated?
- I need to know more about emails, domain names and hosting
- Can I get my site redesigned at any point?
- What is an email newsletter?
- Do you offer logo design?
- What is a Photo Gallery?
- What is a Pod Cast?
- I need to know more about Online Giving
- What is UKC TV?
- Can I have flash animation or a flash introduction on my website?
- How are images chosen for my site?
- How do I make a payment?
- Terms & Conditions
1. Why should I have a website?
A website enables you to present yourself to the entire world.
Your website will enable you to:
- Connect - Provide interactivity so that both the church members and visitors can get instant information.
- Outreach - Reach those who are looking for a church or are in need of support.
- Inform - People need information. They need to know when, where, how, what and why. Your website will provide everything a prospective visitor to make a decision to become involved.
2. Why should I choose UK Churches to create my website?
Essentially, using UKC means you can run a professional quality website, and not have to worry about any of it - its all taken care of for you, you have the power to control it and we'll always be on hand to support you and listen to you when you need it.
3. I have decided I want a website. What do I do now?
Click the Get Started button, choose your package and then fill in the web form.
One of our team will contact you to discuss the next steps.
4. What if I would like additional information?
We are very used to providing information for the boards of churches and ministries.
To facilitate this, we can send you a personalised Website Design brochure, It serves as a useful guide for comparing our service provision with others as well as presenting our ideas to your colleagues or board members
5. What happens after I have decided I want UKC to develop my website?
We will send you a copy of our web design agreement including our standing order document.
Once this has been signed and returned, you will then be handed over to your project manager to commence the design and development process.
6. What is your design and development process?
Our 7 step process is as follows:
- Your project manager agrees your sitemap and list of pages
- We receive your content and help you write it
- We create a wireframe or layout based on the key information you want your visitors to see when they hit your website
- We add colour to your wireframe layout
- Once you approve the colour design, the site is then built by our web developers
- The site is presented to you for final amendments
- The site is launched
7. What does my personal project manager do?
You will notice from our design portfolio, that all UKC sites are different.
Our project managers play an important role in ensuring that we maintain this level of design and customer service.
Your project manager’s responsibilities are threefold:
- They gain the necessary information from you about your ministry in order to inform our design team
- They keep the process on track so that your site can be delivered in a timely manner
- They are a source of guidance as to the rights and wrongs of website design
8. What is a Site Map?
Click the image below to see an example of the site map we recommend...
Most of our sites take a similar structure:
Home | About Us | News & Events | Ministries | Multimedia | Donations | Contacts
We find that this is the optimal structure that allows for the widest scope of information without overwhelming the user.
Under each of these categories, further sub pages can be accessed from a secondary menu if needed. For example, for your site, we could arrange the structure like this:
Homepage the home page of the site incorporating links to an event calendar and news.
About Us The vision and history of your ministry, biographies, team.
News & Events - A fully user manageble area of your site with an events calendar, latest news and blogging features.
Ministries Unlimited List of ministries and outreach projects, charity works, affiliations, training.
Multimedia Photo gallery, sermons, music, spoken word or video downloads, documents etc.
Donations - Online giving via PayPal and Covenant partnership.
Contact Us Partners, testimonials, contact details, prayer requests etc.
9. Can I change the sitemap?
Our sitemap is based on several years of developing sites and useability testing.
The key to a successful website is layout and ease of accessing information.
The main number of headings (6 or 7) at the top will remain the same, however you change the title of your headings and you can add and change as many pages as you like under the main headings.
10. What is a Wireframe Design?
A wireframe design is a preliminary design that serves to illustrate how a page will be laid out before details, colour and images are added. As a basic grey laytout design, it is much easier to concentrate on where things are placed rather than being distracted by colours and pictures.
We will create a wireframe for you as the first step in the design phase of our process so we can agree on where things will go on your homepage and content pages.
Click here for an example of a wireframe design.
11. What does content writing assistance mean?
One of the most difficult things to do, is to sit down and from a blank page, write a few pages of text that accurately describe all of your church activities.
Although this is a nice activity for church leaders to be involved in, it can also be very time consuming. In our experience this is one of the areas that can significantly slow down the development of your site.
We have developed a content writing guide as well as having copywriters on hand to assist you.
Once you supply us with the list of pages you think you might need assistance with, we will send you template text that you can then amend to your satisfaction.
12. How long will it take to develop my site?
One main factor slows down the development of any project and that is lack of communication.
Your project manager is in place to ensure that the communication is regular and we have a private admin area that you will be able to use to monitor the development of your site, as well as communicate directly to our design team.
Your site will be built and ready for preview no more than 15 working days from date of the sign off of the color design, provided that you have confirmed the final sitemap and submitted all of the necessary text content, images and any other materials to enable the website to be built.
13. How do I pay for my site?
You pay for your site via standing order.
There is a one off £195 charge that is payable when you return your documents.
This can be paid by BACS or by cheque and it covers the set up of your account. Your standing order commences from the following month.
14. How long is my agreement for?
Your agreement with us is for as long as you would like us to work in partnership with you.
We do not place a minimum time period on your contract with us.
15. What do I do if I want to cancel my agreement with UK Churches?
The steps for cancellation are as follows:
- Notify us in writing
- Cancel your standing order at the bank
- The website will close
16. What happens to the site design once I cancel my agreement?
The site design will be archived and no longer used.
17. What if I want to buy my site outright or the site I want does not fit in with one of your packages?
If you do not want to use our packages and would still like to have your site designed by us, and pay for hosting and maintenance and third party services elsewhere, we will quote you based on your requirements. Payment terms are 50% on commencement and the balance upon completion.
18. What happens if I want to change my existing package?
All you need to do is notify us of the package you would like to change to and our accounts team will make arrangements with you to change the necessary payment information.
Once this is done your project manager will then liaise with you on the changes that you require.
19. How is my website updated?
Your website is updated in the following ways:
- We provide an easy to use system so that you can update news, events and your church calendar. No technical knowledge is needed and we provide training for you if you need it
- Our updates team is on hand to handle all of your updates and changes, and you will be able to use our admin area to communicate any changes you require.
20. I need to know more about emails, domain names and hosting
We provide you with a complete email, domain name and hosting management service.
Email:
We can set up email addresses that send all mail to another email address - this is great if you've already got your personal email set up and don't want the hassle of more accounts and settings.
We can also set up multiple recipients under one email address, this is great for an email address like prayerrequest@yourchurch.com.
We can also provide webmail accounts so that you can access your church mail and respond to church related enquiries, from your church email address which maintains a professional presence.
Domain Names:
We willl register your domain for you if you don't already have one. Domains are usually bought for an initial 2 year period and can be renewed thereafter. We'll also maintain it for the life of your site so you don't have to worry about any complicated settings.
If you already have a domain name, we can arrange transferral to us at no additional cost.
All we need is...
- Name of the company you registered your domain name with
- The web address of the site where the domain was registered.
- The web address of where we can login to administer the domain
- Your Username andPassword
Hosting:
Hosting is the space provided on the internet where your site can be viewed. Choosing a hosting provider can be technical and difficult. Fees are usually paid monthly or annually.
Not only do we design, build and maintain your site, but we'll also host it on our servers free for the length of your time with us. This alleviates the stress of finding another service provider to host your site, saving you the extra cost. Our servers are fast and reliable.
21. What is an email newsletter?
An email newsletter is regular form of communication that you can have with your church members or community to inform them of upcoming events and information of value.
We recommend that you send it out on a monthly basis or use it as a means to announce special events.
Once your site is built we import all of your email addresses into our system and design your newsletter in conjunction with your site design.
22. Redesign every three years
It is important to keep your ministry fresh and vibrant.
As part of our package we offer a free redesign every 3 years to keep your ministry on the cutting edge of technology and design.
23. Do you offer logo design?
We offer a logo design package for a cost of £200.
It includes:
- 100% original designs
- Unlimited concepts
- Unlimited revisions
- 3 day turnaround for first presentation
- Full Color (CMYK or Pantone)
- Final files ready for printing and web use
24. What is a Photo Gallery?
A photo gallery is the area of the site where we include all of your ministry images.
It is an excellent way of charting your growth over the course of the coming years.
Have a look at the sample below.
25. What is a Pod Cast?
Podcasting is a means of placing audio files online so that they can be heard or downloaded at anytime.
We provide a facility for sermons and worship or events to be uploaded so that your visitors can hear them 24hrs a day.
Click here to see an example of how Podcasting works on a church site.
26. Online Giving
Donations allows a visitor to your site to donate any amount they wish as a single payment.
This is standard feature on all of our websites and only requires you to set up an account with PayPal.
Other options available are:
Partner
Partner which allows a visitor to your site to set up a partnership with you, where they can pay a single amount or a regular fixed contribution.
Ecommerce
Ecommerce allows a visitor to purchase ministry products such as books, CDs and DVDs from your online store.
If you require the Partner or Ecommerce options, please let us know the detail of your requirement and it will be subject to a separate quotation.
27. What is UKC TV?
UKCTV is a premium facility that allows you to have a state of the art solution that helps you get DVDs of your sermons and services on your website.
UKCTV provides you access to 1000's of hours of Christian programs so that your church members, their families and visitors have an additional reason to stay on your site longer, and keep coming back for more.
We take care of converting your files and uploading them for you.
*For an additional charge you can have your own church channel.
28. Can I have Flash animation or a Flash introduction on my website?
Flash animations are not a part of our standard provision as they require specific scripting to your personal taste and are subject to a separate design process.
This is charged at £50 per hour.
Flash has the following benefits and limitations:
- Flash is visually attractive and certainly adds a one off buzz to your site
- The Flash player is available in many versions and not everyone has it or wants to download it.
- Using it extensively slows down page loading – one of the principal reasons for people leaving a site
- Animation and music on websites have been found to be distracting and irritating to users. It may be impressive the first time your user sees it, but after that, it becomes annoying.
- Flash hinders search engines from finding and looking through the pages of your site which can impact your search results ranking in Google and other search engines extensively.
29. How will the images be chosen for my site?
If you already have images for your site, please send them to us on CD to:
UKChurches
Kings House
14 Orchard Street
Bristol
BS1 5EH
If you would like to send images to us, you can do so on CD or by using www.yousendit.com This is a free online service.
If you would like to choose images yourself please visit www.istockphoto.com/index.php.
When you get there type your search phrase into the search box and then click go.
You will see a variety of images with reference numbers.
You can be very creative with your search terms and if you let us know the image with the reference numbers you desire, we will arrange for them to be inserted to your site.
This can be a lot of fun!
30. How do I make a payment?
You can make a single payment if there is an outstanding amount on your account or set up your subscription payments for your UKC website package on our payments page here.
Payments are made online through PayPal which is free, secure and easy to use. You do not require a PayPal account to use it, and all major credit and debit cards are accepted.
31. What are your terms and conditions?
Please click here for our privacy policy, terms and conditions and security policy.
Excellent Church Website Design
All of our packages feature the following:
- Customised website design
- Your own Project Manager
- FREE hosting on our servers
- Free domain name purchase or transfer included
- Unlimited email accounts
- Private area for updating your site, no technical skills needed
- Dedicated maintenance and updates support
- Photo, Audio and Video options available
- Send email newsletters
- Online giving options available
- We help you write your content
- Free re-design every 3 years
