Parkway is a smallish church of about 200 members situated in a middle-class residential neighborhood. Invigorated by a transformation process, and with a new pastor, Parkway needed a fresh website to illustrate its identity and life to visitors. With staff cuts, it also needed a site easy to maintain by volunteers.

Design

Parkway’s people are warm and friendly, and it has a very full calendar, as well as ties to strong ministries. It also supports a widely-recognized preschool. I drew colors from the prominent stained-glass window in the sanctuary to create a muted warm background punctuated by vivid blues and reds.

With a priority on visitors, the most prominent content is an image slideshow and short list of top visitor questions. Visitors decide quickly to stay or leave a website, so clear imagery and basic information help answer their questions quickly. Below this the homepage is devoted to activities and ministries. Each item links to more content, and subpages give links to related subjects. Those looking for information on the preschool are quickly directed via the header.

Features

The whole site is built on WordPress, which allows anyone given a password to create and edit content. Graphics, such as the header and ministry buttons, were created custom to reflect Parkway’s unique personality. It’s search-engine optimized with a custom script in the “Upcoming Events” section to hide events that have already passed. It uses Google Calendar for full activity listings and Google Maps for directions. It also has a plugin to upload mp3 files of sermons and play them directly from the website.

Full disclosure: I’m a member and former staff of Parkway Presbyterian Church, and designed the site prior to making web design my full-time job.

Parkway has since made changes to the original design on their own. I wasn’t involved in the later changes and can’t speak for them.