Something for Nothing

News and information provided by others

It's a good idea to include as much useful information from other trusted sources as you can. Some organisations provide Newsfeeds which can be incorporated into web pages (though they may not be advertised much and can be difficult to track down). Newsfeeds can make your website more useful, as well as making it more dynamic, without you having to do any updating yourself. This site's right-hand column contains an example of a newsfeed.

decorative image - newsFor the local community at large, it is possible to include things like local / regional news headlines and weather reports directly on your own web pages. Alternatively, you might feature a Twitter feed.

For the work of the church, things may be a bit harder, depending on your denomination. Although (or possibly because) it's been around for ages, this technology appears to be not well understood in some quarters. Again, in the absence of a suitable newsfeed, you might be able to find a Twitter (or Facebook) feed you can use instead.

At best, you will find it possible to include relevant news and prayer updates from your national / regional denominational organisation , plus news from your favoured development agency. And at worst... see the "bad news" section below.

Other available feeds include various Bible verse options.

Adding feeds to your website may need some modest technical skill, but a suitable Content Management System can make it easy.

Bad news about newsfeeds

Newsfeeds are not as common as they used to be, unfortunately. There has been a general decline because individuals have tended to move away from keeping up to date with newsfeeds aggregated through a newsreader program, to following (for example) hashtags on Twitter.

Many 'central' Christian organisations (dioceses, Christian charities, etc.)  have 'gone with the flow', dropping newsfeeds from their sites. In doing so, they miss the vital point that newsfeeds are a great way to provide content to other websites. In my experience, this hasn't come about as conscious decisions, but is simply a consequence of low levels of in-house knowledge and expertise coupled with lack of sector knowledge on the part of the developers they employ. So... if you would like to see local church websites supported with plug-in content from central/regional sites... ask. You may be able to help change things.

Last updated: July 2019

 

 

 

Verse of the Day
John 11:25
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;”

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