UUCD’s New Website 

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by Nancy Cullen

The old website needed updating and we pitched in. With time on my hands and experience adding content to WordPress websites, I began work on the new website in November 2021 – hoping to be finished by January. The process is like assembling a puzzle. WordPress, described as ‘a free, open-source content management system’, has templates, evolving features, and is used by over 40% of the top 10 million websites. The new https://uudanbury.org/ also will work on mobile devices or tablets, and uses UUA’s best practices for accessibility. 

It was collaborative: 

  • UUA (Unitarian Universalist Association) offered a template for congregations, guidance and a user-tested structure. 
  • Carl Tichler set the template up and offered technical support. 
  • Margaret Henderson offered decisive input, leadership perspective, and expertise in writing and proofreading. 
  • Melody Levy gave good suggestions, photos and design skills with text and images created for Facebook. 
  • Mary Ann Kulla did Photoshop editing. 
  • Barbara Myers and Reverend Kathleen proofread and gave helpful feedback. (You can do this too!) 
  • Sherry Kyriacou is becoming familiar with updating it. 
  • Jon Dupree provided troubleshooting and a depth of technical knowledge. 
  • I also used content from the old site and the Comment. 


You may notice: 

  1. We write a lot. Here are UUA’s tips on writing for the web- Use fewer words and design for skimming. I am trying to follow this.
  2. Mistakes. A website is never finished. Tell me about them! You can reach me by emailing Margaret or Sherry. 
  3. Content is repeated. People navigate websites in different ways with limited time; the idea is to make content available especially to people browsing for a congregation like ours. It is not intended to be linear like a book with a table of contents. 
  4. The member portal has a new password. Email Sherry at officemanager@uudanbury.org for the new password. It may change again to secure our content. Hacking happens. 
  5. Newer photos. We need newer photos. If you have good photos of our activities or photos representing our ideals submit them. Tell me if you object to a photo that makes you look ten years younger! 
  6. Content missing. If you are part of a committee or activity that needs to be included tell us.