Dear Webmasters:
After a few months off with my new baby girl, it’s nice to be back. Thank you all for your kind notes and patience over the past few months.
As discussed previously, each quarter we will review and consider adding new plugins to our platform. This quarter, we felt it was important to offer an easier way to integrate social media feeds into your site. You will now find three new Themify Builder modules: one for Facebook, one for Twitter and one for Instagram.
If you are new to RJ Web Builder 3.0 or just need a refresher, please review our most recent webinar. Back to the Basics explores WordPress and how to use it, including how to edit HTML, manage calendar settings, add PDFs, and organize files.
The next live webinar training session is on Monday, July 1 at 3:00 PM EST. In this webinar, we will review the Themify Builder modules and explain the different content layout options available such as Accordion, Button, Callout and Widgetized area. We’ll discuss the different module types to help you determine how to best format your content. Our developer, Jared Shih, will be leading this webinar, and I will also be available to answer any questions you may have. Please register in advance for this webinar.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. If you can’t make it, the recording will be posted on the home page of the help site and in the RJ Web Builder group in The Tent.
We've heard lots of concerns about the Events Calendar plugin lately. Many of the changes made to address these concerns have been undone due to a recent plugin update and the plugin’s developers offer no time frame on when or if these bugs will be fixed. We are actively seeking an alternative (additional) calendar plugin and will update you soon.
Looking for advice (or have some to give) about RJ Web Builder best practices? The Tent is full of interesting discussions about congregational websites. Take advantage of the RJ Web Builder group in the Tent. Post questions, read comments and interact with other webmasters. If you would like to join us in The Tent, you can request access at urj.org/thetent. If you have any issues, please email tenthelp@urj.org.
Please help me congratulate the congregations who have gone live recently on RJ Web Builder 3.0 (a full list is always available on the help site):
Congregation Emanu-El of Waukesha, Waukesha, WI
Temple Israel of New Rochelle, New Rochelle, NY
Temple Shaaray Tefila, New York City, NY
Joel Emerman
Congregational Websites Manager
212.452.6579 (Central Time)
Quick Tips
How to Set Up a Paypal Feed
Process payments in gravity forms using paypal.
How to Use CSS to Change Layout of Forms
If you ever want to change the layout of a form by adding multiple fields to a single row, you'll want to use CSS Ready Classes. Using these classes, you can easily create more advanced alternative layouts like multiple fields per row and more for the fields in your forms.
Did You Know?
Biennial Is Just a Few Months Away
Make sure you're represented in Chicago December 11-15 at the URJ Biennial! To stay up-to-date on all things Biennial, join the group in The Tent, follow the URJ on Twitter and Facebook, subscribe to Biennial 2019 update emails, and look around the Biennial website.
Don't miss your opportunity to see your congregation on the big screen at Biennial! Submit photos of your congregation's holiday celebrations, social action programs, or anything that demonstrates your community's vibrancy and diversity to the Biennial 2019 photo contest. Winners will receive Amazon gifts cards!
Sign up for the URJ Biennial Resolutions webinar on June 25. Learn how your congregation can engage in the resolutions process.
Apply for the Fain Award. Be recognized for your congregation’s great social justice work. Deadline is July 8.
Monthly Bulletin Tip
Is Instagram really worth the effort? eJP makes the case that Instagram is uniquely suited to fundraising efforts by small non-profits and takes you step-by-step through the process of setup, posting, and linking to your other accounts. While some of their tips are less relevant for congregations, advice on how to strengthen a community online is always helpful.
How to Strategically Communicate Your Vision, Values and Culture Online?
Sometimes it helps to take a look at what other religious groups do online to welcome newcomers and maintain contact with their members. This article from Church Communications takes a thorough look at what it means to match a visitor’s online experience to their in-person experience with your congregation and outlines how best to achieve it.
Fall Holiday Print and Digital Bulletin Ads are Available
Use these Rosh HaShanah camera-ready ads for your congregation's newsletter or bulletin (print or email) and on your website or Facebook page. Also available in the Rosh HaShanah ad collection, use this template to create custom social media ads featuring your congregation's logo for Facebook and Instagram. The template is in PowerPoint format and instructions are included in the file.
Copyright Laws from a Jewish Perspective
Here are five things to know about Jewish music and copyright laws.
Staying in Touch
We are challenged in reaching current webmasters due to high turnover and changes in email addresses. If you are receiving this email, you are the person who was reported to the URJ to be handling your congregation's website. If there are additional people who need to be on this list or if you need to get off this list, please send corrected information to datamgmt@urj.org.