Tag: Beacon Falls Congregational Church

Website Designed: Mission Accomplished

I think it looks pretty nice and the church members seem happy too!

Back when I was unemployed and looking for something to do I offered a free website to a civic or non-profit organization. The site has been mostly finished for a while, but as of today it’s “live” and the Internet home for the Beacon Falls Congregational Church. I think it looks pretty nice and the church members seem happy too!

A huge part of making a site like this is getting the content. That’s where Joe and Liza Whitehead came in. They created everything you’ll see and read. Their contribution was crucial.

I’ll still be available for the church should anything go wrong, but mostly it should just run!

I’m glad I did this. Doing a good deed can be its own reward.

What’s My Font?

Boy wish I knew what that font was? It’s tough to replicate when you can’t even name it.

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you know that during my period of “expanded sofa time” I offered to produce an organization’s website for free. I’m in the midst of doing that now for the Beacon Falls Congregational Church. So far they’re happy.

Don’t look yet. Their old site it still there!

The church has certain iconic elements in use that will also be on the website. There’s a beautiful fan design and the distinctive font used on the sign you see above.

Boy I wish I knew what that font was? It’s tough to replicate when you can’t even name it.

OK–I won’t tease. I now know the font is University Roman Normal. Finding out what it was was half the fun!

I headed to Identifont and began to answer a series of questions about my font. Did it have serifs? What did the “q” look like? Since the church’s logo only has three upper case letters and about a dozen lower case most of the questions were answered “not sure.”

What started as 7,644 possible fonts was quickly whittled and whittled and whittled again. Identifont threw up its hands with only 30 possible matches left. It took a few seconds more to find my match.

I’ll use this font for the logo by converting it to an image. It won’t appear elsewhere. Designing for the Internet has lots of restrictions. Webpages only display fonts already installed on your computer&#185! It’s doubtful you’ve got this one.

&#185 – This restriction will soon be lifted, but for compatibility sake not yet.

Free Website: The Journey Begins

He was in his early 40s and at his computer working on the site when he passed away. Tragic story.

I am excited for the Beacon Falls Congregational Church. They’re the folks for whom I’ll be designing a website–winners of my “good deed.” They’re excited too.

There’s a backstory here. Beacon Falls Congregational Church has a website, though only partially finished. The designer, a member of the congregation, died suddenly. He was in his early 40s and at his computer working on the site when he passed away. Tragic story.

My contact is Joe Whitehead whose wife Liza originally nominated the church. We spoke tonight.

As I mentioned earlier this is meant to be a learning experience for me too.

My first goal was to introduce Joe to the concept of a CMS (content management system) and how a little work now will save lots of time later. I explained the difference between static and dated content.

I left Joe with homework; a list of things to compile before we speak again. Once that’s done let the games begin.

We Have A Winner

Congratulations to Beacon Falls Congregational Church. I hope you put the new website I’m going to design for you to good use!

Back on March 31 I posted an entry titled “My Good Deed Offer.”

If you’re involved with a small charity or civic organization listen up. I want to make you an offer. Among the skills I’ve been honing here in my “off season” is web design. I’d like to design a website for a small charity or civic organization. I will do it for free, no strings attached.

Congratulations to Beacon Falls Congregational Church. I hope you put the new website I’m going to design for you to good use! Thanks to over 1,200 of you who voted.

My next step is to meet with someone from the church to decide what they’d like to see in the look and functionality of the site. I have some suggestions too.

It’s good practice for me and something nice for them. Win-win!