When the Sunday Web started – some 8 years and more than 400 reviews ago – I can remember how difficult it was to find good sites in this country and how I would often have to look to American sites that were leading the way with new, cutting edge ideas.
Now, there’s been an explosion of websites and there’s no problem finding a class leading .uk example. The quality has risen enormously and the software available for developing a website has become both more and more sophisticated and easier to use. I well remember the process we had to go through to upload a new file to a site back then – now it really is little more than the click of a mouse.
All these developments have meant not only a proliferation of websites but also a huge expansion in the range of people who have a website.
All this was brought home to me as I saw the winners of this year’s Christian Web and New Media Awards – the third such annual competition. It can be found at christianbloigawards.com. There were no fewer than thirteen different categories for people to enter and the standard is really high – both design and content.
There are awards for large churches and small churches, for Christian organisations and Christian music – the list goes on. The one I looked at first, though, was the People’s Choice Award which went to a wonderful website, and a worthy winner in my view, that of the Benedictine nuns in the Holy Trinity Monastery at East Hendred – found at benedictinenuns.org.uk. From the homepage – where there’s a photo of three beaming nuns – it’s clear that the site is well laid out and designed, and it’s up-to-date, so important for any site that’s hoping to attract repeat visitors.
Working through the site, I discovered that it comes complete with podcasts (very rare when the Sunday Web started) and blogs (unknown, as far as I can remember) – common features of many sites these days. In fact, the awards include prizes for not only the Best Christian Blog but also the most inspiring leadership blog, the best Christian blog for under-25s and the best newcomer blog. Here, the one that attracted my attention was the prize awarded to fourteen year old Anna, the youngest entrant – faithfulcatholicgirl.blogspot.com. It’s a very competent site – well designed and worth a visit.
