CN reporter Benedict Tang takes a look at parish websites in the archdiocese.
|
|
The Novena Church website, `one of the best on the Net'.
Grades A, B, C, D and N were awarded the following websites based on four criteria: Purpose, Maintenance, Organisation and Appearance -- A being the highest, and N meaning Needs Improvement.
Purpose: A website must make its purpose clear to the user and support consistently throughout the site.
Maintenance: A site must be updated regularly. New materials or services must be added on a regular basis, and broken links must be extremely rare.
Organization: Features and options should be clear to the user, it should be easy to navigate and its structure should be clean and sensible.
Appearance: A site should be visually-pleasing.
The official website of the archdiocese, it features the Presentation Ministries, with on-line teachings last updated on Dec 4,1996. The only page that gets updated daily is the One Bread, One Body reflection. Most of the pages have not been updated for more than a year.
A plus point is that it has a directory of priests and church organisations.
Purpose : C Maintenance : D Organisation : C Appearance : C
Another good-looking parish website. Unfortunately is also not being updated regularly. The site provides information about the Jesuit community, on top of the usual information about its priests, Mass times and the like. Full of potential.
Purpose : A Maintenance : B Organisation : A Appearance : A
A basic site giving information on its history, priests, Mass timings and the like. There are also links to the websites of its parish groups, their meeting times and venues. Its Mass bulletin is also here, giving the latest happenings within the church, including application forms for infant baptisms which one can print out and send.
Purpose : B Maintenance : B Organisation : B Appearance : C
Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
One of the better looking parish websites in Singapore. While most of the pages are still under construction, there are application forms for RCIA and baptisms, together with the Mass bulletin. The site is set to grow.
Purpose : A Maintenance : B Organisation : A Appearance : A
Church of the Nativity of The BVM
This site was last updated in June last year. There are the usual links to its groups, and photos of the church. There is also an account of the trip to Malacca made by its RCIA group.
Purpose : D Maintenance : F Organisation : D Appearance : D
Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea
A typical parish site with links to its history, ministries and Mass times. Unfortunately, there isn't a page which is regularly updated to draw back its visitors. The pages are informative but tend to get stale after a while.
Purpose : A Maintenance : C Organisation : A Appearance : B
Probably one of the best Singaporean church sites on the Net. There are articles on Mary, the Redemptorist saints, their way of life and on the youth. An interesting feature is that one can also submit petitions online. Jokes on every page also help lighten up surfers. Excellent overall.
Purpose : A Maintenance : A Organisation : A Appearance : B
There are many broken links, and the site has not been updated for months. Nonetheless, there are links to information on St Teresa of Lisieux and the church.
Purpose : C Maintenance : D Organisation : C Appearance : C
The Catholic News (June 27 1999)