Something I’ve been waiting for for two years: we’ve done a major revamp of our HopeForLife.org website. (“our” being Herald of Truth) Special thanks to Tamie Ross for recommending web designer Travis Langley. He’s done an outstanding job for us.
The site is designed as an outreach site, although I think Christians will also find encouragement there. It’s built around a four-part presentation of the good news:
- There is hope.
- Hope is found in God.
- Jesus is the way to God.
- You can choose this life of hope.
One of the key parts of the site is the profiles page, with 10 video testimonials. I think you’ll be moved by the stories you see and hear there. There are also some written resources, 2 Bible study courses, and a contact page where people can ask for help finding a church, request prayers, or ask a question.
I’d like to ask you to take a look at the site and let me know what you think. I’d especially like to ask you to try and watch a video or two. We are trying the VideoPress video presentation plug-in; it delivers high quality video, but some people have had trouble watching the videos because of what that quality defends. Try the videos and let me know if they work for you.
Well a few initial reactions…
I like the layout of the site; seems to have a very easy to navigate feel to it. My other first reaction was…”two-tone green background with a blue content box?” interesting choice of colors…seems a bit of a poor contrast, but that could just be a personal preference. As for the pages, the only one that seems to really need some work is “events”. I’m sure the hope is that this will fill up with speaking engagements etc., but for now it just looks strange having just two events in there…and even stranger, when you click on an event it takes an unnecessary jump to a new page that has no more detail than the user has just looking at the event on the main page.
Under “resources” the phrase “interactive dialog” made me excited to think maybe there was a way to chat live with a minister or do something interactively with another person, but alas it was just a another link to the contact form. : )
The only other thing that struck me was the term “profiles”. I know this was a carry over from the old site, but the more I think about it and approach it as a new visitor…I’m not sure really what to make of profiles. It seems to conjure up a lot of insinuations that just aren’t really a good fit for this site. Maybe something softer like “Our Stories” or “Journeys”…I don’t know..something like that maybe.
Anyway, I think it’s a big step in the right direction. Most of this stuff may just be my own personal preference anyway. Good to see the site is growing and continuing on strong. HFL 2.o should be a hit!
Thanks, Skye… that’s a very helpful analysis. That thing about “interactive dialog” is also a carry-over from the old site. We may want to look at that.
Grace and peace,
Tim
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