Technically proficient. Lovingly designed. Utterly tasteless.

[elfs]

A hat tip to Fark for leading me to what has to be the most excessive, unnecessary, and over-the top web site ever made for a church. Ever. Check it out: New Birth Ministries. As a web designer, I'm appalled.

Comments

[dougs.livejournal.com]

I'm slightly amused that when I search for the pastor's name on Wikipedia, the first hit I get is a page entitled "100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time".

[dougs.livejournal.com]

And you'll have seen today's Sinfest...

[taerin.livejournal.com]

That intro is far more appropriate for a movie website, or perhaps the site of a prime-time news broadcast. Not for a church.

[(Anonymous)]

Sadly enough, as a former fundy myself, I thought the intro was good for the intended audience.

With Java 1.6, though, the main page locked up Firefox. :) (I can't avoid the snark about Evangelical Christianity accepting you just as they are, kill -9 the rest.)

One thing, though... a FITNESS center? For crying out loud.. and it's called Sampson's, because you HAVE to take the obvious biblical allusion.

http://www.newbirth.org/samsons/

[jenkitty.livejournal.com]

So, that's a trailer for a new movie about religious superheroes?

Dear gods, the effects... and the music!

[mo-hair.livejournal.com]

bwah!!!! did i read correctly... bishop and his "first lady?" is that and ecumenical term?

thank god i didn't have the pleasure of listening to the music.

oh, and sampson's fitness center has a massage special. of course it does.

[hlmt.livejournal.com]

That was fucking hilarious. =)

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

I was kind.

[jenk]

I brought it up in IE.

* The flyout menus appear to be operational before they're complete or even legible. Specifically the text and outline are there but not the background. To the user it appears the menu text is meant to be read against the main page text.

* The menu design gets screwed up - the words move vertically depending on which flyout is highlighted.

* Some of the menu "separators" overlay the actual menu, reducing legibility.

* Music on a website should NOT default to "play". Especially not when I'm running iTunes.

* The music in particular is cheesy fake-organ. Not even faux-organ. Ick.

* "Marketing and Sales" on the ministry list seems a bit confusing. Hard for externals to find & not exactly what people are probably looking for on the "ministry" page.

Marketing and Sales consists of media sales, external sales, external advertising and our Called to Conquer Bookstores, which provide a wide selection of Christian books, tapes, videos, music and accessories for the congregation and general public.

I'd change "Bookstore" to "Books and Resources" on the main page instead.

* Pop-ups are annoying and disabled by default on most current browsers. Don't waste your time.

* To much cutesy animation on areas you don't want to draw the eye immediately. Grow up.

* According to the history page, the Rev Long was elected "Presiding Bishop of Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship" some years ago. Will that term end? Or is "Bishop" a title in other ways? Does he have oversight of other churches?

* GET AN EDITOR. The glossy website and wide range of activities seems to be "seeker-sensitive" (aka church for unchurched) but the Godspeak, spelling errors, and sheer hyperbole gets in the way ("In 2006, Bishop Long was honored by the King family to officiate the homegoine ceremonies for Mrs. Coretta Scoot King, wife of the late Martin Luther King, Jr.") It's Coretta Scott King, moron!

...Okay, going to stop now.

[threnodym.livejournal.com]

So that intro, is that a promo for an FPS, a new military initiative, or the pilot for one of those epilepsy-inducing kids' cartoons?

[nbarnes.livejournal.com]

*jaw drop*

Check out who did the work

[(Anonymous)]

Things become a bit more interesting (depending on your point of view!) when you check out the site of the designer, SharperFX (http://www.sharperfx.com).

It appears he does a lot of religiously themed work.

It also becomes rapidly apparent that the same music -- or the same percussion track -- is repeatedly reused in his work.

Now... where did I put that bucket of bleach? I need to soak both my eyes and my ears.

Bryan.

This is your church on steroids

[brandywilliams.livejournal.com]

My jaw is still dropped.

[bolindbergh]

Visiting with JavaScript disabled reveals this little gem:

You need to upgrade your Flash Player Or please enable Internet Explorer to view blocked content

So maybe you're expected to be parochial when working for a church?

[lisakit.livejournal.com]

Um, shouldn't that thing have an epilepsy warning or something on it?

And it has a feature that I absolutely hate in websites, but is common in alot of government and community sites. It's way too busy.

But you're right. It's, well, impressive.