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ChurchWeb Help
(If this is your first time here, please read the Overview first)
Overview
How To's
Administration
Overview
ChurchWeb is a completely customizable content management system for churches. It allows login by church members to view/edit their profile, submit prayer requests/events, and view custom content just for them. To understand how to customize it to look the way you want, you need to understand a little of how it works.
The look is controlled mostly by the theme that is selected from the Site Options in Administration. It specifies if outside corners are rounded, background color or image, and what dynamic content is included in the header. Depending on the theme, the colors may be hard-coded or (in the case of most) can be edited very easily from Theme Options. Here is a simplified layout:
Header: How much of this is customizable depends on the theme. It is usually broken up into three areas: Left, Middle, and Right. Each one can contain any thing you want and can be edited from Theme Options. The Left usually displays the church logo. The Middle could display a special anouncement. If the Right is left blank on Theme Options then it will display the event marked as the special event.
Footer: This can be edited from Site Options and will always be centered. This is good to display a copyright message.
Blocks: These are "blocks" of information that can display content that you can edit or can be pre-determined content that you select from a drop-down list. They can be displayed on either the right or the left and you can control the order. The blocks on the left may not always be displayed depending on what is in the Center Content area and how it is setup. The blocks can be setup from Blocks in Administration. Their color, size, and shape is controlled by the theme.
Center Content: This is the main area and it can contain two types of files: Modules and Pages. Modules are files that display pre-determined content such as the Prayer module which displays prayer requests. A Page (which itself is really a module) displays custom content that you add and edit from the Pages screen in Administration. Modules and Pages can be activated or deactivated at anytime if you do not want them accessible on your site. Modules are always displayed in the Contents block but Pages can be specified as having a link or not having a link. Some modules will display the right blocks while other do not. This is pre-set in the module. Pages can be specified as displaying the right blocks or not. You would setup a custom Page if there was not a module for the content you want to display. For example, since there is not a specific Bus ministry module, you could just add a page and edit the content.
How To's
Getting Started
After receiving an email with your server setup information, there are some things you will want to do before letting everyone know your domain name. Some involve the web hosting server and some involve the ChurchWeb administration page and SoulTracker. Here are the items in the preferred order:
- Login to the Server Control Panel. [Go to the Control Panel Help]
- Setup email accounts from the server control panel. [Go to the Control Panel Help and see section on "Setup Email Account"]
- Setup spam filtering to eliminate junk mail. [Go to the Control Panel Help and see section on "Setup SPAM Filtering"]
- Setup email accounts in your email software such as Outlook Express if not done already in step 2. [Go to Self Help]
- Go to your site and login as the administrator. [Go to Administration]
- Click on Site Options to enter your church information and select your theme. [Read Overview if you haven't already]
- Click on Theme Options to configure the look of your theme (ie., colors and graphics).
- Review the rest of the administration pages to add the content of your site.
- Add church members to SoulTracker so they can login to ChurchWeb! [Go to SoulTracker Help]
- Submit your domain to the search engines so people can find you on the web! [Go to the Control Panel Help and see section on "Submitting to Search Engines"]
- Submit your domain to church directory websites.
HTML Editor (Must have Internet Explorer 5.5 or above)
On many pages you will see a large text box with a button above it that says "Use HTML Editor" (See screenshot). There are two ways to edit the content of these pages:
- If you know HTML or need to use Javascript on a page, then just edit the plain text in this text box.
- If you don't know HTML or just want to easily edit the text just as if using a word processor, just click the button and the editor will load. (See screenshot)
If you need more space to see what you are editing, click the  button to open a new window for the editor which you can maximize. Do NOT close the original window while editing or your edits will be lost. When finished editing, click the  button and then click "Save Changes".
Editing Text:
First, highlight the text and then click the appropriate button on the toolbar. These work the same as in your word processing software. You can change the font, size, emphasis, paragraph justification, indenting, listing, text color, and use the background color to highlight text!
Hyperlinks:
To link to another page, you must know the address (or URL) of that page. One way to get that address is to view that page in your browser and copy the address from the address bar. You can link to articles, pages and any module such as missionaries. Once you have the address, type the name of the link where you want it to appear and highlight the name. Then click the  button on the toolbar of the HTML Editor. You will see a window that looks like this:
Type or paste the address in the URL box of the window and click OK. The example above would link to custom page with an ID of number 1. You have now created a hyperlink! You can do the same with pictures as text. Just click the picture to select it and you will see small boxes around it, then click button and do the same.
Inserting Images:
To insert an image, just place the blinking cursor where you want it to be and then click the  button on the toolbar. This will load a new window called the Image Manager (See screenshot). This will show you small images (thumbnails) of the picture files on the server. Once uploaded and displayed here, you can click the image and then click the OK button. The image will then display in the main HTML Editor window.
Uploading Images:
Once the Image Manager window is loaded (see above), click the Browse... button to select an image file on your computer. ONLY upload files with the extension of .gif, .jpg, or .png. These are the image file types that browsers will display. Also, it will save you a lot of time uploading if you reduce the size of your images before uploading. Image files from a digital camera are typically very large due to the high resolution and these will create HUGE images on a web browser that will take up more than the screen. Once the file is selected, click the Upload button. Once the file is uploaded, a thumbnail will display along with the other images. You will then be able to select it to insert into the HTML Editor window.
Editing Images:
When viewing the thumbnails of images on the server, click the  button below the image you want to edit. This will load a new window for editing (See screenshot). You can crop, resize, rotate, and measure the image. Just click the appropriate funtion and some options will appear at the top of the window. Once you have selected the options and selected the part of the image with the crosshairs, click the green check to see the results. If you are satisfied with the way it looks, click the save option of the left and then just click the green check after the filename and type has been specified.
Deleting Images:
When viewing the thumbnails of images on the server, click the  button below the image you want to delete. After confirming, it will be deleted.
Inserting Tables:
Just place the blinking cursor where you want it to be and then click the  button on the toolbar. This will load a new window where you can specify the dimensions and options. Then click OK and the table will be inserted and you may edit the cells.
Limitations of the HTML Editor: (These will NOT affect MOST users)
- Javascript - You cannot use Javascript on a page AND the HTML Editor. Because the editor is programmed in Javascript, if you add Javascript code, it gets executed immediately and the code does not save with the page. Only the result of the code gets saved. The workaround is to NOT click the "Use HTML Editor" button and just add the necessary code and save it. It WILL work when the page is viewed.
- Forms - You cannot use the
Administration
The key to updating your website with ChurchWeb is the administration web page. Once you login from the main page with an administrator's username, it will bring you to the Administration Page. There is a menu (See screenshot) which appears at the top of every page within Administration. The top of the menu displays the version of ChurchWeb your website is on. Each time this changes, you may notice improvements! Below this are a few handy links to this help file, your server control panel, and the webmail login. Finally, below this there are several links for each section of Administration:
Admin Home (See screenshot)
There are four things you will see on the main page:
New Prospects
If anyone has filled out a contact form through the Salvation page, then their name will appear here. It will also show what response page they were on when they filled out the form and the time and date they submitted it. If you click the View link, it will bring up a new window with all the prospect's information in a printable format. Just click the printer icon on your browser's toolbar to print it so you will have the information to make a visit! If you click the Post link, it will put all of their information into SoulTracker as a prospect. If this is a duplicate or a test, just click the Delete link to delete it.
New Prayer Request Submissions
If any members have submitted prayer requests, they will appear here. Click the Approve link to add the request to the prayer request page or click the Delete link to remove it.
New Event Submissions
If any members have submitted events to place on the calendar, they will appear here. Click the event title to edit/post the event. Click the Delete link if you do not want it posted on the calendar. This allows you full control over what goes on the Events calendar!
File Upload
Missionary photos should be uploaded from the Missions administration page. All other image files should be uploaded with the Image Manager that is a part of the HTML Editor. Media files (Realaudio, Windows Media, .pdf, and .doc) that are to be associated with an Article should be uploaded from the Article administration page. If you would like to upload any other file, this is where to do it. Important: When you make a link to this file, make sure you use the EXACT same name with the EXACT same letter case. The server treats files case-sensitively and will not be able to find your file if you do not link to it with the same name it was uploaded with. The best practice is to always upload files in lower case and without spaces between words. Sometimes spaces in filenames can also cause a problem.
Site Options (See screenshot)
This is where you may edit very important information such as the name of your site and your contact information. You also select the theme via the drop-down box which shows the available themes. Search engine keywords are words that people may search on to find you. This helps the search engines to know what your site contains. Lastly, you can edit the footer message that displays at the bottom of every page. Just click Save to save the changes and your site instantly displays those settings. Note: If you have Contents Buttons, you will need to reload the page in your browser after saving to see the new buttons.
Reply Email: This is the address that displays in the address block.
Notification Email: This is the address that notifications are emailed to when a prospect submits information and a prayer request or event is submitted.
Articles (See screenshot)
There are two types of articles: Bible Messages and Lessons. Both may be added, edited, or deleted from this page. This page gives you a list of all articles sorted by type with the essential information and a link to edit each one. Any article can be deactivated or activated at any time. When deactivated, all of the article's information remains in the database but becomes inaccessible to users of the site.
Adding an Article: Click the link at the top of the list that says Create New Article. This brings you to a form that allows you to specify all of the article information. The title is the name it will be listed as to users. Who can view this? determines who can view the article. You may limit it to just members who have logged in with their username and password (they only have to do this once per visit to the site) or make it available to everyone who visits the site. Display right blocks? determines if the article will take upthe right block area of the screen or allow the right blocks to be displayed (if there are any). The content area is where you actually put the text and images of the article. This is done with the HTML Editor. Media files must be uploaded through the Media page of an article.
Editing an Article (See screenshot): Click the Edit link that appears on the same row as the article you want to edit. This brings you to a form that looks similar to the adding article form. It allows you to edit every field of information and instantly update it by clicking save.
Media Files: You can upload four types of media by clicking the Media link that appears on the same row as the article you want to edit. Once uploaded, links will automatically be generated to these files when a user views the article. The very first time you load the media page, you may be prompted to download the Java 2 Platform. It may take up to 30 minutes to download on a dial-up connection and then it will install automatically. This is a one-time process that you will never have to do again. This enables a special uploading program to easily upload large files as audio sermons tend to be. Next, it will popup a warning window (See screenshot) but if you click "Always", you will never see it again. After this, you will see the media page with a row for each media type. After the file type name, you will see "No File" if no file has been uploaded of that type for this article. If one has been uploaded previously, you will see "Delete?" and a checkbox to check if you just want to delete that media file and remove the link to it. No matter what is displayed, you will see gray box that says "File" on the far right. Click file to select the file on your computer that you want to upload. After you click "Send", you will see the progress of the upload displayed in the bar to the right of "File". Once the upload is done, the progress bar will say "File Done!". You may then download more or click Create Links. After uploading or checking to delete files, you MUST click the Create Links button or nothing will be done with the files.
Backup (See screenshot)
The backup is fairly self-explanatory. Enter a password twice and then click download. You will then be prompted to open or save the file. Click save and choose a location on your hard drive to save it. This will be good to have if you ever accidentally delete anything.
Bible Verses (See screenshot)
This lists the verses that will randomly display in the Bible block. To add a new verse, just input the book, chapter, and verse. The verse text will pull from the Bible database automatically.
To add the Bible block, follow the procedure to add a file block below using either the Bible or BibleImage file. The difference is that the Bible file will display the verse in plain text in the block. The BibleImage file will display it as an image.
Blocks (See screenshot)
There are two types of blocks. One type is based on a file that you can select and the block's content is pre-determined by that file. The other type is based on html code or text that you enter and is not tied to a file.
The main blocks page will display a listing of the blocks setup with their configured position, weight (order of appearance), type, status, and who it is visible to. You can click to edit, activate/deactivate, or delete them. If you deactivate a block, it's settings are still saved but it will not be visible to anyone. It will only appear in this listing. If you delete a FILE type of block, it will not delete the file and you can set it up again later.
New Blocks: On the main blocks page at the bottom is the form to setup a new block. The title field will be the heading of the block. If the block will be based on a file, you can drop down the list and select the file. If you specifiy a file, the content field will be ignored. If you do not specify a file, then the content field will be what is displayed in the block. The position determines what side the block will appear on. If you specify a center position, then the block will always be displayed in the center content area at the bottom of whatever page you are on if the right blocks are viewable. The block can be specified as viewable to everyone who looks at the site, members only (logged in), administrators only, or visitors only. A visitor in this sense is someone who is not logged in. Note: If you deactivate or delete the Login block, you will not have a way to login and you will need to contact support to re-enable.
Editing Blocks: Click the Edit link that appears on the same row as the block you want to edit. This brings you to a form that looks similar to the adding block form. It allows you to edit every field of information and instantly update it by clicking save.
Changing the Contents block to have buttons instead of text links: Click the Edit link on the same row as the Contents block. Drop down the filename list and select ContentsButtons. Then click Save Block and this will create buttons that either change color or indent when the mouse moves over them. You may have to then reload the page or click another link to see the buttons.
Member Directory: By default, the Member Functions block displays a link to a member directory which only displays those Souls in SoulTracker as having a status of Member. It is possible to switch to a different block which will display a link to a church directory showing Souls with the status of Member or Regular Attender. To do this, click the Edit link on the same row as the Member Functions block. Drop down the filename list and select Church. Then click Save Block and it will be instantly changed.
Contents (See screenshot)
This page will show a list of the active Modules and the Pages set with a link in contents. This will allow you to adjust the order in which the links appear in the Contents block. Just click the arrow of the direction you want a link to go and it will move that direction by one row. Please note that whatever module has been put in the Homepage will always be at the top of the Contents links. If the weights get out of sequence for some reason, you can click the "Fix Weight Conflicts" link at the bottom to renumber them.
Events (See screenshot)
This page allows the quick addition of an event. If you designate the event to be the special event, then that event will appear in top right hand corner of the header as long as you have not specified other content for that area in the Theme Options and you are using a theme that displays the special event. If you have created a Page for this event, you can specify a link to it in the Event Description. For example, if the Page ID was 20, you would enter the html code as follows in the Event Description without the beginning and ending quotes: "Click for details". Or, if you don't want to make a special page for the event, just type the details in the Event Description. Don't forget the Who, What, and Where as well as who to see with questions and how to contact them.
Editing and Deleting Events: To edit or delete an event, just go to the Events page by clicking the link in Contents. Find the event on the calendar and click to view the details. You will see a link to Edit and a link to Delete it.
Home (See screenshot)
This allows the editing of the home page content. This will be displayed by a module specifically designed to be the home page. Just use the HTML Editor to edit the content and then click Save Changes.
Missions (See screenshot)
This page displays a listing of the missionaries that will be displayed in the missions directory. You can also edit the main missions page. When someone clicks the Missions link from Contents, they will see the main missions page. This page is to give general information about missions at your church and maybe hightlight some missionaries. On this page, you should have a link to the missions directory. This has not been hardcoded to give you the most flexibility in displaying the link to the directory. When editing the main missions page and inserting a link with the HTML Editor, link to "modules.php?name=Missions&file=dir" without the quotes.
Editing the main missions page: Click the "Edit Main Missions Page" link. From there, just use the HTML Editor to edit the content and then click Save Changes.
Adding a mission: Click the "New Mission" link. From there, fill in the fields and click Save. The Field textbox is what country or people group they are a missionary to. Tip on the picture file: If you scan a 3.5 inch by 5.5 inch card at 300 dpi, you can reduce the size to 25% and save as a .jpg. That will make the picture display at a good size.
Editing a mission: Click the "Edit" link on the same row as the missionary to edit. This will display a form very similar to adding a new missionary. If you have previously specified a picture file, you will now see a checkbox with Delete? next to it. If you check the box and then click Save Changes, you will remove the picture and be able to specify a new one.
Modules (See screenshot)
Modules are files that display pre-determined content such as the Prayer module which displays prayer requests. They display this content in the Center Content area of the website. This page will list all installed modules with their title, status, and view setting. All active modules will have a link displayed in the Contents block. Only one module can be made the put in home which will be the default page when someone comes to your site. The module in bold is the one in home and you cannot deactivate this module when it is in home.
Changing the Home module: Any module can be put in home by clicking the link. As of now, there is only one module specifically designed for the home that will display the Home content and it is named Home. Custom home modules can be created relatively easily. Please email support@ifbtech.com to request.
Editing modules: Editing modules can only change the custom title (what displays as the link text in the Contents block) and who can view it.
Pages (See screenshot)
The displays a listing of custom pages that you can create and edit if there is not a module that is designed for the content you want to provide. Pages can be activated or deactivated at anytime if you do not want them accessible on your site. This will allow you to work on a page and not make it accessible until you are ready. This will also allow you to cut off access to a page but still keep it saved to activate again such as something pertaining to a holiday.
Create a new page: Click the "Create New Page" link. This will display a form where you can specify the page title, who can view it, whether there should be a link to it in the Contents block, and whether you want the right blocks displayed when viewing the page. Use the HTML Editor to edit the content and then click Save.
Editing a page: Click the "Edit" link on the same row as the page to edit and then it works the same as creating a new page.
To link to a page, enter "pages.php?ID=#" for the hyperlink url replacing the # with the Page ID number listed and do not include the quotation marks.
Special Note: Page ID 1 are the directions to your church by default and linked to by the Address block. If you display the Address block then this is page you want to edit for the directions. Please don't delete this page the Address block will have a link to a nonexistent page.
Prayer Requests (See screenshot)
Users who are logged in can submit prayer requests and these must be approved from the main Administration page. This page shows a listing of all approved prayer requests with who requested them and when. These can be edited or deleted. Also, you can edit the main prayer page content from here. This content displays above the list of requests on the main prayer page when clicked on from the Contents block.
Editing the main prayer page: Click the "Edit Main Prayer Page" link. From there, just use the HTML Editor to edit the content and then click Save Changes.
Adding prayer requests: In the Member Functions block, click the "Prayer Requests" link. Click the "Submit New Request" link. Fill in the fields and click Save.
Editing prayer requests: Click the "Edit" link on the same row as the request to edit. Edit as necessary and click Save Changes.
Salvation (See screenshot)
The Salvation module is the most exciting part of ChurchWeb! This allows you to create custom responses to the Gospel message and obtain contact information from prospects that can be posted into SoulTracker and followed up! This is how it works: When a visitor to the site clicks on Salvation or some other link to the Salvation module, it displays the content of the "main" response content. This would most likely be the plan of salvation. Then, at the bottom of that page would be a link for each other response you have configured other than the "thanks" response. So, someone could click that "Yes, I have trusted the Lord as my Saviour just now!" and be taken to content for that response encouraging them in their new life in Christ and prompting them for their contact information. You can also have another response if they reject the Lord and response for that. You can have a response for Catholics, Muslims, Mormons, etc. as many as you want.
There are two responses you cannot delete: main and thanks. The "main" response is the main page that first displays and the "thanks" response displays after someone submits their contact information.
Creating a new response: Click the "Create a New Response" link. This displays a form to specify the name, link text, and whether or not to display the contact form on this response page. Use the HTML Editor to edit the content and then click Save.
Editing a response: Click the "Edit" link on the same row as the response to edit and then it works the same as creating a new page.
Theme Options (See screenshot)
The page allows you to customize the look of your selected theme. You can also save the current theme's settings as a new theme!
To see examples of available themes, click here. There are a few basic themes and all other themes are just customizations of those themes. The basic themes are:
- Default - uses the Heading Background color as the background color of the right header area
- Plain - uses the White Space color for the background of the entire header
- Horizontal - header is same as Plain except has top 5 contents links below header instead of welcome message
Most of the example themes were created by switching to the Plain theme and then saving it as a new theme. Then colors and graphic styles were changed for each one as explained below.
Customization Options:
Change the colors of all aspects of your theme by double-clicking the text box with the color code of the setting you want to change. A small popup will be displayed and show the current color of that setting. Just click a new color and the color code will be changed in that box.
The heading type can be either text or graphics. Choose text for a fast loading site using the colors selected above. If you choose graphics, then select the heading and button (if using the ContentsButtons block) style.
Edit the content of the left, middle, and right areas of the header by using the HTML Editor. Click Save Changes to instantly change the look of your site! Note: If you have Contents Buttons, you will need to reload the page in your browser after saving to see the new buttons.
If you leave the top right area completely blank, then the event marked as the special event will display in this area. | 
