By Reagan Scott
LINCOLN (SNR) - In honor of the Immaculate Conception, the office of communications for the Diocese of Lincoln launched a redesigned diocesan website—the sixth anniversary of the last major update.
While much of the website’s content remains the same, it will provide more information on the Catholic faith along with improved ease of use.
The biggest catalyst for the change was the need for a mobile-friendly site.
“It’s time to get a new update,” Father Gary Coulter, the webmaster for the diocese, said. “The website has functioned well for the last six years, but it’s not quite as mobile-friendly as it could be.”
In 2018 the diocesan website had 245,178 users who viewed a total of 1,814,188 pages on the website. About 80 percent of people who use the website are new visitors.
“People are using [the website],” Father Coulter said. “We just thought it could be better.”
Father Coulter and the office of communications have been working on the update for months and they want to ensure that the new website suits the needs of the diocese.
Father Nicholas Kipper, the diocesan director of communications, said a website is the new “front door” of a church.
“Instead of knocking on the physical door of a church, people look today to a website. We want our website to be up to date, welcoming, and inviting, but also a place where people can find out information about the diocese.”
Father Kipper credited Father Andrew Heaslip and the religious education office with providing so many faith resources for the diocese and said that the updated website will include links to find out more about the Catholic faith.
“We’re highlighting the things we have in our own diocese, along with links to other resources,” Father Coulter said.
About 10 years ago, Father Coulter became the website editor for the diocese, and oversaw the launch of the current site Dec. 8, 2013. He said that updating the website is a continual process, and that there’s always room for improvement.
As part of his job, Father Coulter oversees a team of people who keep the website up to date, and he is very grateful for the work they do. He also answers questions about formatting, what belongs on the website, and content.
It is also Father Coulter’s job to coordinate with the diocese’s website provider, Solutio Catholic Website Experts. As part of the redesign, parishes will have the opportunity to work with Solutio to create or redesign their parish website.
Solutio makes websites free for parishes by selling ads on the site and representatives from the company gave a presentation to parish priests at the annual Priest Study Day this fall.
Father Coulter is excited to be able to offer this opportunity for parishes in the diocese since websites can provide so much useful information.
“For many people, the website is the first contact for parishes,” he said.
While work is still being done on the new diocesan website, Father Coulter and Father Kipper are looking forward to the improvements being made, and hope that users will find the change a good one.
Father Kipper said, “Our goal is that people will find our new website to be helpful, engaging, and catechetical.”
Religious Ed site provides teaching tools
By Reagan Scott
LINCOLN (SNR) - The Religious Education portion of the diocesan website is a tool for those teaching the Catholic faith.
Father Andrew Heaslip, the director of religious education for the diocese, said the religious education website “is an information hub for all major catechetical, faith formation and religious education sources for teachers and those who want to benefit as students.”
The site has three main facets: curriculum, materials and resources.
All of the required curricula for the Diocese of Lincoln can be found under “Religious Education,” which can help educators determine what areas of the Faith to cover in each year. It can also help parents follow the education their child receives in a Catholic school or CCD program.
Materials are included for every class and year of CCD and grade school, as well as a whole year of RCIA. While still in development, the goal is to have lessons, PowerPoints, videos and audio files for the curriculum.
Finally, resources for educators include catechist newsletters and information about different events and programs.
The entire Theology of the Body curriculum is now on the site, and Father Heaslip said that in the future, they will also have the Confirmed for Mission curriculum for evangelization uploaded.
The site gets a lot of traffic, and Father Heaslip said that once a month he gets a call from CCD teachers from other dioceses asking to use materials from the website.
He said, “I’m grateful to see how many teachers are using them for lessons.”
Father Heaslip said that with the updates to the diocesan website, the content will be even more accessible, and he hopes people will be interested in what the site has to offer.
