Website Guru Interview with Christian Computing Magazine, Part 1

Recently, AmericanChurch, Inc. was highlighted in the September issue of Christian Computing Magazine. Following is an excerpt from the cover story interview between editor in chief, Steve Hewitt and Aaron Winn, Radius Web Tools guru for AmericanChurch, Inc.

CCM: What are the greatest challenges ministries face with their websites?

ACI: In a word: under-utilization. Sadly, most ministries under-utilize their website; they simply don't take advantage of the powerful tools available to them to communicate with and engage their communities. Some ministries have websites that were started years ago and are difficult - if not impossible - to update. Others don't utilize a website at all because they think it's too technical or too expensive for them. This is complicated by the fact that there's a pervasive misperception floating around out there that a programmer is still needed to maintain a website. To be sure good programmers are required to start a website, but maintaining one can easily be done by any pastor or secretary with solid communication skills and comfort with basic computer skills (like word processing, etc.).

CCM: How does Radius Web Tools address these challenges? 

ACI: Radius Web Tools is one of the premier website services for ministries on the market today. What differentiates Radius Web Tools from many of the other services out there is how easy it is to use. I've personally met and interacted with the Radius Web Tools team. They're all active in their own churches and so they understand the importance of a reliable, easy-to-use website program that allows ministry leaders to maintain a meaningful website without having to first earn a degree in computer programming.

Radius Web Tools addresses the challenge faced by ministries with outdated websites by making the upgrade quick, painless and quite easy. It helps ministries without any website at all "dip their tow in the water" by providing both DIY and turnkey website solutions that are surprisingly affordable. But the great thing about Radius Web Tools is that you don't have to sacrifice features to get a truly affordable and usable website solution. The single comment we hear most often by new users of Radius Web Tools is "I can't believe how easy this is!".

CCM: What are some of the key elements of Radius Web Tools, and how do they benefit churches?

ACI: Radius Web Tools offers a host of "content" tools including unlimited pages, enewsletters, blogs, podcasts, photo galleries, FAQ's, flipbooks, etc. Rather than restrict usage based on congregation size, everyone pays a low flat fee to use as much as needed. Radius Web Tools also includes a powerful online calendar tool that allows for complex recurring events, detailed descriptions of events, grid views, list views and filtering by user-defined categories like men, women, youth, etc. Also included is a powerful email module that allows ministries to send unlimited enewsletters at no cost and easily manage their own email accounts at their domain.

To read more excerpts from the interview with Aaron, come back on Thursday, October 27th.