St Barnabas Website designer Andrew Wright, shares what you can expect to see on the new-look St Barnabas website.

What's new?

To the public, you'll notice the design by Beck & Caul has brought the website in line with the branding of the church - lots of blue and green tints. The home page has everything a new-comer to the church might need to get connected. Photos have been updated, and will continue to be as new photos come in.

The most significant part of the new website is just how easy it is going to be for those with access, to update its content. This should mean content such as news and events will change more frequently as things arise. I worked with Tania (my wife and St Barnabas communications specialist) to connect the website with Hail (which is the platform this Connect newsletter is produced on!) to cross post between the two so the newsletter and its individual articles and events can be posted to the website in one hit - meaning no double handling which will be a massive time saver.

Why was it important for St Barnabas to invest in its website?

A website is often the first place someone will go to find out about an organisation and so you want it to reflect you as a community as much as possible. It's like a virtual handshake - you want to make a good first impression, and after that, you want them to want to learn about you more, to dig a little deeper. 

What can new-comers expect to find?

The home page provides a number of ways for people new to the church to connect. Whether it be attending a service virtually via YouTube or Zoom, to signing up for our newsletter, listening to a sermon in their own time, or just seeing what's happening in the church community, all of it can be found on the home page. 

Those who want to 'dig deeper' will then find out more about us and the services we offer under 'Get Involved' and 'Community' which showcases the different groups St Barnabas has for various demographics.

What's on there for parishioners?

'Resources' is a great place for parishioners to know about as it is where things like the pewsheets, latest news and events, The Mooring Post magazine, recorded sermons, devotionals and other resources can be found.

'Get involved' also has information on the various groups running within the church that you can join.

What was a highlight for you working on this new-look website?

It was great to have the opportunity to revisit an old website I had previously worked on. Even though only three years has passed, so much has changed in the web design world to make things look better, and make them easier to edit and to manage long term.

What was the most challenging part?

There were some parts in the design plan that weren't straightforward in translating them into web design and so I had to create some custom elements myself to make them work.

Anything else you'd like to mention?

St Barnabas has been quite forward thinking in terms of its investment in digital communications and outreach and many churches are now also starting to see the need to follow suit. There's a move towards viewing a website as just something you're supposed to have, to something that is actually a tool and a means to interact not only with your congregation, but with your wider community. It has been a privilege working with a number of other Anglican churches to reach this goal.

Click the photos below to see how the St Barnabas website has changed over the years.