More and more churches today are switching to WordPress for their website hosting needs. It may originally have been designed with bloggers in mind, but the vast pool of plug-ins and templates now available makes it an attractive choice for full organization websites. Recently, it just got better.
Series Engine
In July, developer/blogger/church-communications-director Eric Murrell released a new WordPress plug-in called Series Engine. Written with churches in mind, this plug-in allows you to display recent sermons and related information in a visually-friendly format. Users can easily select sermons by series or topic. But the fun doesn’t stop there.
Series Engine offers the following features:
- No Nerds Required: The Series Engine plugin installs in seconds. Simply activate the plugin, enter the shortcode on any Page or Post, and pick your colors. Series Engine does all of the heavy lifting for you… There’s no need to know HTML, CSS or any other geeky acronyms!
- Bring Your Own Video: Use the video you already have! Series Engine is built to use simple embed codes from Vimeo, YouTube, and just about any other video hosting service. It’s the best way to get all of your content in one place.
- A Social Darling: The Series Engine media browser automatically creates buttons to share your content through Facebook, Twitter, email and more. Your visitors are only one click away from sharing their favorite content… Getting the word out has never been easier.
- Edit Once, Update Everywhere: Work smarter, not harder. The special Series Engine menu in the WordPress admin portal allows you to update your Messages, Series and Topics from any web browser. One save updates every page, post and podcast!
- More Than a Media Page: You can create a great media page with Series Engine, but that just scratches the surface of what it can do. The custom embed code generator allows you to post specific Messages, Series or Topics within any Page or Post.
- Works With Widgets: If you know how to “drag-and-drop,” you know how to add Series Engine content to any widgetized area in your Theme. From simple lists to detailed sections, you can add exciting new features to your site before you even finish your coffee.
- A Podcasting Powerhouse: Series Engine makes it easy to create any number of custom Podcasts using the content you’ve already entered. Use the Podcast builder to provide a name, graphic and a few other details, and you’ll be up and running in iTunes in no time.
- Looks Good on the Go: Are you ready to go mobile? Series Engine includes special code that gracefully downsizes your media for smaller screens (in most Themes with a mobile view).
- And Much More!
Check out this video for more information:
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Series Engine is available for $99 on seriesengine.com, and comes with free lifetime updates.
Is this something you would use?
Chris Ruddell
I'm an Associate Pastor in the United Methodist Church and I serve as a trustee for Saint Paul School of Theology, with campuses in Kansas City, MO and Oklahoma City, OK. I'm also the author and creator of Church Tech Blog, at www.churchtechblog.org and the founder of Church Phone Apps at www.churchphoneapps.com
I need this to my church page, but its too spensive 🙁
Pioter,
A one-time fee of $99 is a very fair price, and not at all too expensive for the functionality provided. I’m sure a generous church member could make a one-time donation to help purchase a license for use.
$100 may seem like a lot. 1) It’s a fair investment for your site, especially when you consider larger churches pay 1000’s for this custom functionality. 2) Would you really think $100 is expensive in any other area of ministry? 3) Other premium plugins of this caliber generally require a yearly subscription. Series Engine is a one time cost.
This is so awesome! Thanks for sharing this item!
@Jason – No problem – let me know how you find it!
@Ploter – Yes, often the best tools cost precious ministry dollars.
Has anyone tried this yet?
What are your thoughts?
I want to buy it and probably going to but I just wanted to see what anyone else thinks.
Hey Dale! I know this may be three years late. 🙂 but I just came across it. I use this plugin personally and use it for churches whose websites I build. It is pretty solid all around and fairly simple to use. A few minutes with their manual and you’re good to go.