“How our church moved from HTML to WordPress and built a new way to connect”
From handwritten letters to instant Whatsapp messages, communication at St Ursula’s has come a long way. Our new website marks another exciting step forward in connecting our church community — building on the faithful work of those who began our digital journey.
The first website in history was launched by British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee on 6 August 1991 while he was working at CERN. (Fun fact: His wife, Angela, was one of the first ordained women in the Church of England. She was ordained, together with Helen, in Bristol Cathedral in March 1994).
St Ursula’s has had its own website since 1996, originally set up by Hector Davie using basic HTML — long before the user-friendly templates and tools we now take for granted. Hector has maintained the website ever since that first launch, joined in later years by Tricia Carrick. Together, they have done an outstanding job keeping our online presence alive and up to date.
A New Chapter in Communications
With the end of our printed Church Newsletter in 2023, and the retirement of the members of the TCom team, who had given so generously to the life of the church, and who had long overseen our IT systems, we recognised the need to rethink how we communicate as a church. A project was launched to find a modern replacement for the magazine and to create a unified, sustainable communications structure — one that shares responsibilities more evenly and reduces the burden on any single volunteer.
The new Communications Team, chaired by Chris Sager, included Maria, Hector, Sue Higson, and Susan Spaelti. Susan brought extensive experience in website design and Microsoft tools, and it quickly became clear to all that the time had come to revamp our website and modernise our IT systems.
Modern Tools for a Connected Church
Our discussions led to the introduction of Microsoft 365 across the church. There were several good reasons for this change. One was cost: our Zoom subscription, introduced during the pandemic, was relatively expensive, while Microsoft Teams offered the same functionality at a fraction of the price. Microsoft 365 also ensures that we always have the latest software and secure cloud backup — removing the need to maintain our NAS system or perform manual updates.
With Susan’s background in web design (she and Karl run a small website firm), she was able to create a beautiful new site for us using a WordPress template. WordPress is widely used, continuously maintained, and offers a huge range of templates and plug-ins.
Pieter Perrett offered to host the site on his own platform, and Graeme Higson offered to assist in further development. Graeme also runs a web design business, and with Susan’s and Hector’s generous help during the handover process, the transition from the old website to our new one went smoothly.
Our New Website and How to Contribute
We are delighted to launch our new St Ursula’s website, complete with a News section where we will try and share all the latest news and information, as well as perhaps have some interesting articles as in the magazine of old. If you would like to contribute something, please get in touch with Helen and/or David.
Our website will continue to evolve, so if you notice any missing information or errors, or have ideas for improvement, please contact the Webmaster. Your feedback is always welcome.
Working Together in the Cloud
We’ve now moved all our online meetings to Microsoft Teams, and the feedback so far is very positive. The Council and other teams are collaborating efficiently in the 365 Teams environment — though we’re still learning as we go!
If you have experience with these tools and would like to support our IT Team, please contact the office.
Looking Ahead
Our move to new digital tools and a modern website is helping us stay connected, work more efficiently, and share God’s message in new ways. We’re deeply grateful to everyone who has contributed their time, skills, and enthusiasm to make this transformation possible.
Together, we’re building a digital presence that reflects the warmth, faith, and community spirit of St Ursula’s — for today and for the years ahead.
Author: Sue Higson