Web site gets new look, structure;
features 5 focused content areas

The Southwest Texas Conference Web site got a new look Sept. 28.
The page at www.umcswtx.org is now a portal to five specialized content areas:
> Administrative resources and forms for such items as church insurance, clergy pensions and clergy wellness.
> Programs, ministries and events.
> Mount Wesley Conference Center.
> New church development and congregational transformation.
> Witness online.
The main page features news and video reports about the way Southwest Texas United Methodists are living out their faith. The page includes a search engine to help users find information more quickly.
“A Web site is always a work in progress,” said Douglas Cannon, communications and public witness director. “The medium is interactive, two-way. That allows us to respond to user needs as they develop.”
The design overhaul reflects more than a year of research and planning, Cannon said. The Communications and Public Witness office gathered input from focus groups with laity, considered e-mail feedback about previous content and analyzed how people were using online material.
“We’ve redesigned the Web site several times since it first went on line in 1997,” Cannon said. “But this effort is the first systematic overhaul of the total structure and communication approach.
“We’ll wait for feedback from users to determine if we have improved the way we communicate online.”
HeCreate, www.hecreate.com, designed the site.