JMECA Launches its New Website!
Please visit us at www.jmeca.org.uk and take a look around. We’ve had more than a ‘face-lift’. The site has been restructured to make it easier for you to find what you are looking for and we’ve added lots more information which we hope you find interesting and useful such as up-to-date news from around the Province, featured projects and more information about JMECA and the funds we manage.
Why we decided to change it
The Jerusalem and Middle East Church Association moved into the digital age by launching its original website in 2002 and the site served its purpose well, giving JMECA a presence on line where people could find out about the Association and the Province it supports, read Bible Lands on screen or download it and make on-line donations. However, life in the digital world moves quickly and the site was beginning to look very dated when I joined JMECA in May 2010. The need for re-developing the website had already been suggested by its original web-designer and administrator Peter Chapman.
The key issue with the old site was its inability to engage with the visitors who happened upon it through search engines. As an interim step Peter redesigned the layout of the site and included a “News” area. However, it was agreed by the board of directors that a more significant overhaul was necessary in order to meet the objectives.
What we set out to achieve
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To present a dynamic view of the work of the Anglican Churches in the Middle East, and of the involvement of the JMECA in supporting this work
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To provide easy mechanisms for visitors to request further information on our the work
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To promote donations from visitors in support of the Province
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To be easy to manage, edit and update by authorised members of the Trust, both for text and illustrations
It’s been a journey
After a review of possible website design and development companies, three were shortlist to provide proposals and we have been extremely satisfied with our final selection of Effusion (www.effusion.co.uk) as our partner in the development process. It’s been a real challenge and huge learning curve for the directors and me but the team at Effusion have guided us through it, listened to us and always come back with solutions.
Does the new website meet its objectives?
From my point of view it is certainly easy to manage and edit but that is the least important of the objectives we set out. Of more importance is whether you find it an engaging website that is easy to navigate and find what you are looking for. So please come and have a look around and drop me an email to tell me your views. A real advantage is that the site can evolve further over the coming years so your feedback can be instrumental in how we take it forward.
Your Feedback would be really appreciated
Email me via the website
Aesthetics:
Does it look nice? Does the style suit JMECA?
Functionality:
Can you find what you are looking for easily?
Content:
Does it contain the right information? What don’t we need and what have we missed?
Engagement:
Did you want to find out more? Look at other pages? Will you visit it again? How often?
