UI for Sermons
Shara Heiniger (Logos)
Member, Logos Employee Posts: 132 
I’ve been posting my sermons for some time in FaithLife Sermons so that I can provide links to them for anyone who wished to read them (including my congregation). I used to try sending only links to the sermons, but my elderly congregation can’t figure out how to actually get to one to read it. So I resumed sending a copy, even though I continue to post them. I deeply appreciate being able to use a website for free, & for the powerful capabilities that you’ve enabled my tiny congregation to enjoy at a “cost” (free) that they can afford. It’s in from gratitude that I also need to write to as your help to make the process much easier.
Here’s why I believe they have a point. Look at the steps (left clicks) required from the web site to be able to read one sermon:
1. From our website (https://faith-presbyterian-church.faithlifesites.com/), scroll down (OK so far) & find one of the last 3 sermons that you want to view.
2. For a non-computer person, it isn’t obvious that there are links on the page (nothing underlined). Only if they think to wave their cursor over the page would they discover a link. (Some members didn’t & reported they couldn’t…) Once you discover that there are links, left click on one.
3. Congregation members expect to start reading. Instead, another window opens. Once again, there are no obvious links. Once someone figures out that waving the cursor over the page will discover links, again they left click. (Part of the following issue, making links consistent, may be my problem as web master in the way I’ve set it up—whether to use the same page or open a new one.) One of the links opens a new page on the same page. The other opens a new page. Inconsistency is a bit confusing, but both links go to the same new page in FaithLife Sermons. Once again, they can’t start reading. Instead, they have to find another link.
4. In FaithLife Sermons, a casual user has to figure out that the tiny section called Files has the only link they’ll find helpful. That is NOT intuitively obvious to someone who hasn’t used the page before. Even more confusing, there are 2 other links on the page, neither of which is particularly helpful in finding the sermon they’re looking for.
a. The link under the desired sermon’s Scripture brings up a collection of sermons. (Do all reference that passage? It is not obvious why those sermons come up, & the one they’re looking for may or may not be visible.)
b. The other link also brings up more than one sermon—once again, not necessarily obvious as to why. (Do they reference the same title? Some text in the message? Tags? I don’t know, either. Elderly congregation members don’t have a chance if they stumble into either of those links.)
5. Once one figures out that the only “helpful” link is the one called Sermon. (I’ve tried to change the name to the name of the message when I upload, but with the new uploader, nothing I’ve tried will do that.)
6. Once they break the code & click on Sermon, a tiny preview comes up. The one I chose had pictures in it, & as a result the preview doesn’t even start at the beginning. Only when I figured out how to make it full screen did I get the beginning of the message.
Shouldn’t a left click on a sermon in the web site take us to a full screen preview as at step 6? My plea is to make the process simpler so my folks (& others similarly internet challenged) will be encouraged to actually use the web site!
Thanks for listening, & thank you so much for a suite of tools we can afford.
Here’s why I believe they have a point. Look at the steps (left clicks) required from the web site to be able to read one sermon:
1. From our website (https://faith-presbyterian-church.faithlifesites.com/), scroll down (OK so far) & find one of the last 3 sermons that you want to view.
2. For a non-computer person, it isn’t obvious that there are links on the page (nothing underlined). Only if they think to wave their cursor over the page would they discover a link. (Some members didn’t & reported they couldn’t…) Once you discover that there are links, left click on one.
3. Congregation members expect to start reading. Instead, another window opens. Once again, there are no obvious links. Once someone figures out that waving the cursor over the page will discover links, again they left click. (Part of the following issue, making links consistent, may be my problem as web master in the way I’ve set it up—whether to use the same page or open a new one.) One of the links opens a new page on the same page. The other opens a new page. Inconsistency is a bit confusing, but both links go to the same new page in FaithLife Sermons. Once again, they can’t start reading. Instead, they have to find another link.
4. In FaithLife Sermons, a casual user has to figure out that the tiny section called Files has the only link they’ll find helpful. That is NOT intuitively obvious to someone who hasn’t used the page before. Even more confusing, there are 2 other links on the page, neither of which is particularly helpful in finding the sermon they’re looking for.
a. The link under the desired sermon’s Scripture brings up a collection of sermons. (Do all reference that passage? It is not obvious why those sermons come up, & the one they’re looking for may or may not be visible.)
b. The other link also brings up more than one sermon—once again, not necessarily obvious as to why. (Do they reference the same title? Some text in the message? Tags? I don’t know, either. Elderly congregation members don’t have a chance if they stumble into either of those links.)
5. Once one figures out that the only “helpful” link is the one called Sermon. (I’ve tried to change the name to the name of the message when I upload, but with the new uploader, nothing I’ve tried will do that.)
6. Once they break the code & click on Sermon, a tiny preview comes up. The one I chose had pictures in it, & as a result the preview doesn’t even start at the beginning. Only when I figured out how to make it full screen did I get the beginning of the message.
Shouldn’t a left click on a sermon in the web site take us to a full screen preview as at step 6? My plea is to make the process simpler so my folks (& others similarly internet challenged) will be encouraged to actually use the web site!
Thanks for listening, & thank you so much for a suite of tools we can afford.
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