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In February 2010, the United Church of God Media department began working on a project to redesign and reorganize UCG's Web presence. The project was started to meet a number of needs that the United Church of God has in preaching the gospel on the Internet, especially as we move further into the information age.
The Internet project team determined the best solution was to combine all UCG websites into one large "mega" site that would provide better access to all of the Church's online content.
All content from ucg.org, along with gnmagazine.org, beyondtoday.tv, wnponline.org, verticalthought.org, thisistheway.org and vcmagazine.org have been merged into the new UCG.org website. The same trusted biblically based content found on these sites will now be available in an easy to use website that allows you to view content by topic, keyword, author, publication and other searchable formats. If you have bookmarked or shared links from one of our websites those links will still work and will be redirected to the appropriate content on the new website.
The Internet team has improved the usability of the site by updating the frontend visual design and utilizing content management software to dynamically update the content; thus making it easier to access information and share the material with others.
Relevant content when and where you need it
The new website is designed to focus on content that will be relevant to what you are looking for. A team of diligent part-time workers and volunteers has spent hundreds of hours cataloging (assigning topics and keywords) all the articles, sermons, commentaries, videos, audio files, Beyond Today programs, booklets and other material the United Church of God has produced over the past 16 years. In doing so, the site's content is dynamically linked from one resource to another helping you find the answers to your questions.
The new site also has improved usability for mobile phone users. A simpler website will be delivered to your phone that will allow you to browse recent posts, listen to sermons or search for a local United Church of God congregation.
While you study the Bible, you can use the website's powerful search engine to help guide you in your study with relevant articles and videos. Or start your Bible study by visiting the Bible FAQ section.
Interactions and Connectivity
Website visitors now expect interaction and connectivity when they visit a site. On the new UCG.org site, Web visitors will be able to sign up for a personal account and become members of the site. This personal account will enable you to bookmark and store links to your favorite material, comment on content and create a profile that will make it easier for you to connect with other users.
When creating a profile, the site will ask you for information such as interests, occupation, hobbies, etc. After entering the information, the site will recommend content relevant to those interests, based on the information provided.
If you (as a registered user) choose to share your information, you will be able to connect with other people who have similar interests—biblical and otherwise.
New Web features you can look forward to using
Here is just a brief list of some of the new features on UCG.org.
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· Website user accounts.
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· Author pages with bio information, photo and content produced by that author.
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· Online chat with other website user account friends.
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· Powerful and enhanced search engine.
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· User friendly mobile version.
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· MP3 recordings of various booklets and publications.
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· Recipe section (biblically clean).
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· Commenting on posted content.
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· United Church of God congregation finder (by zip code).
The entire Internet team is very excited about the new website and the opportunity this will give the United Church of God to preach the gospel more effectively to all the world. We hope the new UCG.org site will be a helpful resource for you in developing a meaningful relationship with God and with other people.
Video Transcript
Peter Eddington (Media Operations Manager)
The Internet is one of the most important things we do when it comes to preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom.
Aaron Booth(Internet Manager)
We found that the old Church websites, ucg.org…gnmagazine.org were just to cumbersome for people.
Tom Disher (Senior Web Developer)
The Web has evolved in the past 15 years. UCG came out with a website right off the bat and it was on the cutting edge when the Internet was in its infancy.
Peter Eddington
In the past we organized our websites around our publications, in many respects - around the Good News magazine, around World News and Prophecy around Vertical Thought . But now, we are organizing our website around topics and subjects. So that users can go to the site and have it customized for what they are interested in reading about.
Tom Disher
The new site is a complete rebuild from the foundation. The programming is different…we are using new technology…we are using a database driven site.
Peter Eddington
If someone is doing a search on a topic like the Sabbath they will see results where that topic is being mentioned in the Good News magazine, perhaps in Vertical Thought , Beyond Today . So there will be video clips related to that subject. They'll see results from blogs in the past. And so, not just will they go to the gnmagazine.org website and just see Good News magazine content on that subject, they will now see content across the board from all of our publications and efforts.
Tom Disher
When you register for an account and give profile information, the site can recommend articles and sermons and audio.
Aaron Booth
You can tell us basically what you like as far as topics. If you like prophecy, do you like Biblical archaeology, do you like finances. Based on those topics and then based on maybe your occupation or your hobbies we'll be able to recommend to you articles that we have within our site or videos that might be of interest to you.
Tom Disher
We have over 20,000 pages including audio, video, sermons, articles, blogs, commentaries bringing them all under one site, under one advanced search engine to help you find new content and what you are looking for is such a powerful tool because it's going to give the user exactly what they need when they need it.
Peter Eddington
And so we have had a number of people where their only job was to go back and read our material and decide what category it fit in, decide what keywords were best assigned to that article or that material. So that down the line its part of a vast database so when people search on that topic that article will come to the fore.
Aaron Booth
Our goal with this site is kind of two fold. One - we want you to build a relationship with God. And through the material on there will help you personally to build that relationship. The second aspect is that we want you to build relationships with others of like mind who believe the same thing you do.
Tom Disher
Connecting with friends is so important. There's other people out there who live the way you do or starting to understand things you are starting to understand. And if you can walk together with somebody else throughout this and send messages to each other and encourage each other it's going to be so valuable for people. So every author on the site, everybody that’s produced videos, blogs or commentaries will have a bio page so you can see a face. You can know a little bit more about that author. You can connect with that person and become friends with them. So if you have a question about their article or if you want something clarified you can chat with them live on the site in real time. And get instant feedback…its connecting users to content producers immediately.
Aaron Booth
We hope that the members will feel proud of the website. They'll feel, "Hey this is something I can share with others…if I know a family member…if I know a friend who is suffering because of an illness, because of a death or grieving," then I can feel, "Hey our Church's website will help you. It's easy to use. It's got lots of information on it. Go to the site. Go to ucg.org."
Tom Disher
We've created a website that’s not just about the organization anymore. Now it's about the end user. It's going to connect with people where they are in their walk.
Peter Eddington
We encourage each of you to go try out the new site at UCG.org. We believe it will be a wonderful experience for you. A lot of work has gone into it. We encourage you to explore…to search…to signup…make an account and become a user and start to interact and build relationships yourself at UCG.org.
