Your Church Media: Widgets

What is a Widget?

A widget is a “chunk” of HTML code which commands content to display on a page. The great thing about a widget is you don’t have to know anything about HTML or writing code to utilize it. You just plug in your information and the Web site embeds content for you.

What Can I Embed?

With widgets you can embed (click the links for examples):

Blogs

Post entries from any of your ministry website's blogs on any page.

Blog entries posted on a website's homepage

News and Events

Add a widget to your homepage to display your website's latest news and events. Or add a widget to a page or blog entry listing a specific ministry's news and events.

News and events embedded into a website's homepage

Photo Galleries

Show off your ministry website's photos on any page with a gallery slide show.

Photo gallery embedded in a news item on our demo website

Products

Embed your site's products (CDs, T-shirts, DVDs, etc.) inside news items or blog entries.

Products embedded in a blog entry on our demo website

Flickr Slideshows

Incorporate your Flickr photos, sets, and collections into your iMinistries website.

Flickr slideshows embedded in a ministry website page

Twitter Feeds

Display your most recent tweets in an ad and show it site-wide. Or embed it in any page. You can limit the number of tweets shown and add a custom heading ("Pastor Dave's Tweets").

Twitter feed embedded in an ad on a ministry website's homepage

Interactive Google Maps

Enter your ministry location's address to add a Google map on any page (About Us, Contact Us, Ministry Information). Users can zoom in and out and get directions to and from this location, making it easier for visitors to find you.

Interactive Google map embedded into a ministry website's "Service Times & Directions" page

YouTube and Vimeo Videos

Gone are the days of pasting embed codes into your HTML editor. With widgets, just paste your ministry video's ID (found in your URL) and embed vidoes on any page. You control the size of your video, making it possible to embed them into ads.

Vimeo videos embedded into a ministry website's "Videos" page

MP3 Players

Turn any page into a jukebox, a spot for your latest sermons, or a host for your new Podcast. Just upload your MP3 file through Content Administration and paste its URL into this widget and add anywhere.

MP3s embedded into a ministry website page

How do I use the Widget Feature on my iMinistries Site?

You can embed widgets on any page that uses an Editor (news, events, blog entries, pages, ministry descriptions, ads, etc.). Here are the steps to adding a widget:

1. Create or edit the desired page or item.
2. Click on the widget button in the editor toolbar.
3. Select the type of widget you want to embed.
4. Fill in your information, choose your preferences, upload any files (MP3), and click Add.
5. Save your page or item. To preview the widget, click on the green arrow next to the item in Administration.

MORE INFORMATION ON WIDGETS

"Web widget" – Wikipedia.org
Widgets in Action – iMinistries.org