More linking options and the custom design story

Sep 4, 2020 by

Diane Kern

What we're excited about: 
More Document links

Document and PDF downloads are a popular feature, so we felt it would be helpful to improve the ability to easily upload documents for sharing in more places than just a single module. 

Now, you can upload a document link for easy sharing in the following ways:

• A Buttons Section - Send users directly to your document with the click of a beautiful button.

• Links Module - Include document links among page links to other internal and external resources.

• Event Entry - Allow your event page to open directly to your event flyer with all the important details.

• Linked page - Have a linked page in your site navigation go directly to your document, like a student handbook or lunch menu calendar.

How easy is it? Simply go to the settings dialog for any of these features and select the link type. Your link options will include: internal, external, and (now) document. After selecting "document", upload your file or choose from an existing document in your file manager!

Latest Features

There's always something on the horizon! Keep an eye out for these new features.

1

Moser theme offers “Call to Action” buttons

When using a Buttons section in the new Moser free theme, you now have the ability to be even more specific with a “Call to Action” option found in a button’s settings dialog. The call to action field allows you to add distinct text under the button description, giving visitors even more of a reason to click!

How can you use it? Let's say you have a button titled “Parish Festival,” with a description that reads, “St. John’s festival is August 24-26.” Great! Now, when tickets become available to purchase online you can add a call to action that highlights the invitation to “Buy tickets now!” This new field will help your button pop and give your online visitors a little more direction.

2

View Transaction Details more easily

In our July release notes, we shared several ways the eCatholic Payments’ Donor Management tab greatly improved for viewing and finding information. Well, add to the list “pagination.” This basically means that if you have more than 50 donor transactions to view, you can easily jump to more pages of detailed entries by using the page arrows set just above and off to the right of the table.

Developer's Updates

We’re always improving! Here are updates we've made to existing features and functionality.

1

Use more than one Links and Documents modules

It’s quite possible that one time (or another) you may have wished to include a Links module or Documents module more than once on a page. Well, go ahead, because now you can!



Think about it: Maybe your youth group has a service page that lists out various opportunities for the summer. Now, you can place all the information, schedules, sign-up links, and permission forms in one, easy to read section, so your visitors can see everything they need at-a-glance. Go ahead, layout your information in a variety of ways using multiple Links and Document modules where they fit best!
 

2

Alternate aliases for a single page

Want more paths for people to get directly to a single page? Simply create alternate page aliases. An alias is another name for the URL for a specific page. It allows you to choose a specific or shortened URL for easily getting visitors where you need to go.

Read more: How to add an alternate alias to a page

When does it make sense to use an alternate alias on a page?

• A page with more than one use - Your page at "churchname.com /st-john-welcomes-you"; can easily be shortened to "churchname.com/welcome" for easier sharing in printed material or announcements. However, that welcome page also has the parish registration form. So in addition to "/welcome", a second alias such as "/register" could also be helpful.

• An old alias or website page that changed - Sometimes a page existed on an old website platform and that old alias may still be out there on printed materials, or easily recalled by parishioners or school families. Now both new and old aliases can send people to the right place.

3

Horizontal batch report with more account details

eCatholic Payments users may have noticed that their PDF generated accounts and subaccounts batch report has a new layout. The report is now horizontal which allows room for an additional column showing member ID and any memo information. Now, when a new report is generated, bookkeepers and admins can see the member ID for each transaction as well as any recorded memo regarding the gift or payment, such as, “for building fund.”

The new layout has also swapped the placement of the organization name, and the account and subaccount names. Account names will no longer be cut off if there is is a long organization name (e.g. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish).

Inside eCatholic

Here's a "behind-the-scenes" story or inside peek about eCatholic and our amazing team!

Our eCatholic team loves to launch new custom design websites! Seriously, what could be better than helping an awesome parish, ministry, school or diocese achieve all of their digital dreams?

So far, this year (especially summer), has been filled with more custom website designs than ever before. In 2020 alone, our team has carefully crafted a total of 30 sites that are now "live". While we love celebrating that exhilarating moment of activating a new website, we happen to love the journey even more. Our customer's stories and mission is truly what inspires our team through every step of the custom design process.

So, for that reason, from that moment of the first client meeting to the very second of going "live," the eCatholic Custom Design team works to capture a truly unique website perfectly fitted to an organization’s mission, values, and people. The entire process is a pretty awesome story itself - and even a little intense at times!

“Due to all of the time, effort, and sense of responsibility, the moment of going live with a new custom site is filled with feelings of anticipation, excitement, and even ... anxiety!”

- Cindy Russell, eCatholic Custom Design Coordinator

Want to know even more about the eCatholic Custom Design process and meet the design experts working behind-the-scenes? Check out our latest blog post, and even peek at a few of the site samples we've shared on our Custom Design Service page.  

Photo Caption: Custom Design Coordinator Cindy Russell snaps a photo over Zoom with an eCatholic client (located in France!) after "going live" with their new website! The Centre International St. Joseph recently completed a website that incorporates five languages! You can check out their website here.