Church of God Ministries today unveiled a revamped website (www.chog.org), with a fresh new look and improved navigation. The site is titled "Official Site of the North American Church of God: Transforming culture by being the body of Christ".
The re-design is a welcome change, as the previous website was hardly attractive, difficult to get around, and too narrow for today's computer monitors. A new consistent menu system at the top of each page will make it easier to find what one is looking for, and the site is generally much more colorful and appealing.
I also noticed the introduction of a section surprisingly called "Chog Blog" (I knew I should have trademarked that name!). There are 14 different blogs listed with RSS feeds. It would be great to have more of our national office staff blogging, let alone Twittering, etc. But, unfortunately, I am not sure they get the blogging thing, as the execution is way off the mark. Almost of all the blogs represent topics or departments - far from the personality-driven nature of blogs. And, both technically and in terms of usability they are not following standard blog formats. So, it will be frustrating for people to work with.
Other new "eCHOG" features include discussion forums and CHOG Tube.
I know that websites are always evolving, and I am sure this one will as well. On my wish list, for now, is better handling of RSS feeds for news stories. It's there, but not properly setup for easy syndication.
What do you think of the new website design?
The re-design is a welcome change, as the previous website was hardly attractive, difficult to get around, and too narrow for today's computer monitors. A new consistent menu system at the top of each page will make it easier to find what one is looking for, and the site is generally much more colorful and appealing.
I also noticed the introduction of a section surprisingly called "Chog Blog" (I knew I should have trademarked that name!). There are 14 different blogs listed with RSS feeds. It would be great to have more of our national office staff blogging, let alone Twittering, etc. But, unfortunately, I am not sure they get the blogging thing, as the execution is way off the mark. Almost of all the blogs represent topics or departments - far from the personality-driven nature of blogs. And, both technically and in terms of usability they are not following standard blog formats. So, it will be frustrating for people to work with.
Other new "eCHOG" features include discussion forums and CHOG Tube.
I know that websites are always evolving, and I am sure this one will as well. On my wish list, for now, is better handling of RSS feeds for news stories. It's there, but not properly setup for easy syndication.
What do you think of the new website design?
1 comment:
Lloyd,
Thanks for the feedback on the revised website. We are attempting to make positive changes as time, resources and the operating platform allow. You have made some excellent suggestions, many of which we are already pursuing.
I encourage you and all your readers to take an active part in making this site a useful tool for sharing, communicating and resourcing. Start a discussion, provide a comment, submit a resource, video or other material. And always, send me your suggestions for improvements.
And to honor CHOGblog, note we have labeled our blog section in the plural – CHOG Blogs.
Hope to see you for a more detailed discussion at NAC.
Blessings,
David
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