I previously mentioned a deal from Vandelay Design where you can get free WordPress themes for your church or non-profit. Something else they’ve created to help churches is a 28-page eBook entitled Effective Church Websites on Any Budget. The eBook covers a variety of topics including what makes a church website effective, common problems with church websites, keys and options to effective church websites, finding designer, resources and more. It’s a great resource, especially for anyone who is new to WordPress and is hoping to use it to create their church website. You can get the free eBook by following the link below.
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Free WordPress Themes for Churches from Vandelay Design
One of the reasons I started offering WordPress websites for churches is because of the huge need for affordable church websites that are great looking and easy to manage. Vandelay Design has seen the same need and has created a solid deal to help churches out. You can get one of their 3 free WordPress themes designed for churches or one of 2 themes designed for non-profits simply by signing up for web hosting through a specific host they link to. Get the full details here:
Check back here on Thursday for another free resource Vandelay designed for churches.
Life Premium WordPress Theme
Life is a Premium WordPress Theme available from ThemeForest.net that can work well for a church or ministry website. This is not the same as the Life Site Template mentioned on last week’s post. The advantages it has for a church website include the large slider on the home page and up to 6 boxes to highlight specific events, ministries or resources. The home page has 3 different designs that can be used if desired. The them also comes with detailed documentation to help when installing and customizing the theme. Like many of the themes available at ThemeForest, it can be had for just $35.
WordPress for Android and iPhone/iPad
As you may or may not already know, WordPress has apps for Android and iPhone/iPad. I love being able to use the apps to manage comments and with the recent updates you can do even more. But, I’m not one to type long chunks of text using my phone so I probably won’t use it to write posts unless I’m in a situation where I have no other option.
Genesis Church in Spokane, WA Uses WordPress
Genesis Church in Spokane, WA used WordPress in the design of their new church website. They used the Life Site Template (not a WordPress theme) from ThemeForest.net. Pastor Josh indicated that the footer was customized and the site template has not easily worked with some plugins but clearly it has made for an excellent look.
Avoid the Unexpected T_String Parse Error When Activating a Theme in WordPress
I post this only because it is a common issue that comes up when installing a WordPress theme. The issue is when you upload the theme folder via FTP. At some point, extra white spaces can end up in the PHP files and the following error or something similar is thrown:
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_STRING in /home/xxx/public_html/wp-content/themes/StandardTheme_270/admin/functions.php on line 1
It can happen with any theme package or plugin and as you can see that one came from somebody using the Standard Theme.
There are multiple ways around this. You could upload in binary, upload the zip file and extract it on the web server through SSH or the easiest method is to use the built in features of WordPress. For a plugin, you can install the plugin through the WordPress admin and for a theme you can install the theme through the WordPress admin as well if your WordPress version supports it. Both methods unzip the file and don’t corrupt the files.
Parkside Baptist Church in Mesquite, TX Uses WordPress
Parkside Baptist Church in Mesquite, TX uses WordPress. They used the Resolution Theme featured on this site a couple days ago. Resolution can be purchased for $35 from ThemeForest.net. A home page builder comes with the Resolution theme and Parkside made good use of the jQuery slider and the six content boxes for their home page.
Resolution Theme from THB
Resolution is a WordPress theme from THB Themes that works well for churches. It’s clean, simple, has unlimited sidebars and colors, uses Google fonts, custom widgets, custom post types and 2 jQuery slideshows. It’s available for $35 at ThemeForest.net. On Thursday we’ll feature a church that used this theme for their site for an excellent look and feel.
Clifton Community Church Uses WordPress and WooThemes
Clifton Community Church in the UK uses WordPress. Paul Cook of Catalyst Designs designed the site and used the Simplicity theme from WooThemes that was featured on this site 2 days ago. Paul liked using the featured slider and 3 of the box widgets on the home page and smartly used the portfolio feature as the staff page. I like the two navigation menus and the footer containing a lot of the extra content.
Simplicity Theme from WooThemes Works Well for Churches
Simplicity is a theme from WooThemes that can work well for churches. Today (12/20/2011) it’s 30% off and comes with an additional free bonus theme. The featured slider, custom post types, custom fonts, widgets and alternative styles are all helpful for church websites. If your ministry or church has a store you could also use the Simplicity WooCommerce Child Theme as well. On Thursday we’ll feature a church that used Simplicity for their website.
