New Diocese of Manchester website goes live

Ian Kimber (Rochdale Online Technical Director), Bishop of Manchester Nigel McCulloch, Ann Mummery (Diocesan Communications Officer) and Pauline Journeaux (Rochdale Online Managing Director)

The Church of England's Diocese of Manchester launched its new website at a special meeting of the Diocesan Synod last night (Monday 23 June).

The website was developed by the Web Solutions team at Rochdale Online, who worked alongside the Diocesan communications team to produce a site that will support the clergy, the churches' parishes and the mission of the church.

Diocesan Communications Officer Ann Mummery said: “Rochdale Online provided us with a first-class service. Their quote was competitive and they provided a comprehensive project plan."

The site was officially launched by the Bishop of Manchester Nigel McCulloch at Manchester Cathedral.

The diocese consulted the clergy over what they wanted from the new site and as a result, for the first time ever, ministers will find a single page that brings together essential information, news and resources.

Rochdale Online developed a site that is fully content managed, which means the communications team at the diocese can update the site without having to rely on Rochdale Online to deliver updates for them.

Ann Mummery continued: "We worked to an extremely tight schedule and throughout development communication was good and the project progressed smoothly. The functionality of the content management system gives us a very flexible framework with which to work in the future.

"We have been impressed with the dedication of the staff at Rochdale Online and how much they have achieved in the time available.

"We are delighted with our new site which is colourful, attractive and easy to maintain.”

Rochdale Online's technical director Ian Kimber said: "We collaborated constantly with staff at the Diocesan Communications Department.

"It was a complicated site to develop but we were able to deliver on time and within budget."

The site uses a range of colourful graphics and has feature buttons that link to key areas, while Google search technology allows users to search anywhere within the site.

The site already contains more than 400 pages and will continue to grow as the communications team at the Diocese continues to add more and more content.

Visit the Diocese of Manchester website at: www.manchester.anglican.org