Archives

Startup church web site launched at EdgeCommunity.com.

A new church starting in Lakeport, California will be aided by a strong web presence developed and hosted by BitSculptor.

Featuring OAF-maintained event calendar, recommended web sites, Digital Ink articles, news items, audio clips, and more, the site will be used as the main communications portal for Edge Community.

With its modern look and "edgy" content, the site has already received rave reviews from many visitors. But don't take our work for it: check it out for yourself.

Banjo Hangout discussion forums are hoppin'

The recently opened discussion forum at BitSculptor's own Banjo Hangout is fast becoming the #1 online meeting place for banjo players worldwide.

After just a few weeks of being "live," the discussion forums now contain over 3,200 message postings from over 400 active members. Topics ranging from beginner technique tips to heated debates on the world's best bluegrass musician have given this community plenty of fodder for discussion.

Forum discussions are archived and saved in a completely searchable database, turning the discussion board into an ever-growing resource created and maintained by its contributors… a true online community.

Riverside Community Church site goes live with enhanced content management and secure online member directory

When an fast-growing urban church began to look for a company to partner with in developing an outstanding web presence, BitSculptor's range of services appealed to them because of our mix of quality, custom site development coupled with powerful online site administration tools (OAF). The new Riverside web site features our new "myChurch" application which combines custom homepages for site visitors with a secure, online member directory. Visitors to the site can sign up for a myRiverside account and gain immediate access to a personal homepage which they can customize themselves to display just the information they're interested in. Additionally, site users who want to be listed in the online directory can apply for permission to be listed. (Note: Church staffers must approve the application before the user can gain access to the directory, keeping the directory private and secure.) With a growing weekly attendance of over 1,200, Riverside will be using the site primarily as a means of communication to current and potential attenders. Audio, video, text, and photo content is spread throughout the site and updated by a group of site administrators. See it live: www.riversidepeoria.com

Madeson Photography web site goes live

BitSculptor has completed the development of the Madeson Photography web site, located at madesonphotography.com.

Based in beautiful Lake County, California, Lyle and Deanna Madeson have spent many hours capturing the birds, wildlife, vineyards, and natural beauty of the area. Their interest in photography has also taken them to Alaska, the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, the Amazon Jungle, the southwestern and southeastern United States, with plans to visit Africa in the near future.

The site was designed using black, white, and greys to keep visitors focused on the beautiful photographs for sale throughout the site.

BitSculptor developed custom site management tools which allow Lyle and Deanna to update their galleries, pricing, and more through a simple, secure, browser-based interface.

The site also includes BitSculptor's powerful site search tools, allowing visitors to easily search for photos by keyword, title, and description.

Banjo Kit guide subsite completed.

The extensive Instruction Manual for Assembly, Finish, and Setup of the OB-250 Banjo Kit has been completed for client Gold Tone of Titusville, FL. Originally written and photographed by banjo setup specialist Richie Dotson, the text and images were modified and formatted to fit into the overall Gold Tone site structure.

Although it is an extensive guide, effective use of hyperlinks and standard navigation tools make it easy to browse and understand.

Our prayers and condolences go out to the victims of today's tragedies.

Regatta Watercraft Rentals site goes live

As the newest watercraft rental service in Lake County, Regatta Watercraft Rentals needed a strong web presence which would appeal to tourist traffic who would search for services online before visiting the county. The site relies on a strong visual image and basic textual content to communicate the essentials to visitors. The overall goal of the site is communicate core information (rental rates, watercraft specs, etc) to the target audience (potential watercraft rental clients). Check them out online at: www.regattawatercraft.com

Bell Shoals Passion Play web site completed in under one week

Performed at the Florida State Fairgrounds each year, Bell Shoals Baptist Church's Passion Play is a huge production with a cast of over 500 and an attendance in previous years of over 8,000. Attendance this year topped 10,000, helped in no small part by a new, appealing web presence. This site was developed to deliver information to potential attenders. Site content includes sample photos, a trailer video, ticket purchasing information, and other details. Developed in only 5 days, the site saw several thousand visitors per week in the days leading up to the Passion Play event. The site will be updated annually to deliver each year's event information to an audience of thousands. Visit BellShoalsPassionPlay.com

ShoreLife Church redesign completed.

With a church just blocks away from the headquarters of software giant Oracle Inc in trendy Redwood Shores, CA, Pastor Garrett Brown's church site needed a modern look and feel.

We redesigned the site to make it load quickly and cleanly, with easy to scan text and pictures. More photos are on the way, but the new site has already generated lots of positive feedback from ShoreLife members.

Check out the ShoreLife site.

Delivering content to user's desktops - podcasting tools rolled out for church web sites

BitSculptor recently implemented podcast creation tools for two of our church web site clients (Riverside Community Church and Bell Shoals Baptist Church).

What is a Podcast?
Podcast is just Apple's well-branded term for an audio broadcast using RSS (Really Simple Syndication), a common Internet technology which allows you to subscribe to content feeds. This content is then downloaded to your computer or MP3 player automatically, allowing you to browse new information (or new audio) without making you go online to seek it out. Essentially, the beauty of podcasting and RSS is that the web comes to you.

Why Podcast?
Churches who regularly post message audio files on their site can increase their exposure and overall listening audience by podcasting their audio. Podcasts can be added to popular directories, giving churches exposure in otherwise untapped areas. Podcasting also helps ensure that your content (in this case, the message audio) reaches the listener's computer, instead of waiting for the listener to take the initiative and download the audio themselves.

How Do You Create a Podcast?
BitSculptor's new Podcast creation tools make podcasting a breeze. Coupled with other tools in our OAF toolset, creating a podcast is as simple as selecting an MP3 file from your computer and uploading it through our simple forms-based interface. The complex work of creating an XML file, saving the MP3, etc is done by our code in the background.

View Riverside Community Church's Podcast Page