Are you an e-Synagogue?
Is your synagogue taking advantage of the Internet? How do members and prospective members find out about all the programs your congregation has to offer?
To assist synagogues with their communication needs, the USCJ provides commercial quality Web hosting services at no charge to affiliated congregations.
Internet Hosting Services Available to Affiliated Congregations
- Web & E-Mail Hosting - Your synagogue website (up to 250 MB) will be located on USCJ's Virtual Hosting System, maintained 24 hours a day in a secure Web hosting facility. We offer both Windows and Linux hosting plans for your domain. We can host basic Web pages as well as your advanced multimedia applications, with support for RealAudio, Quicktime, and MIDI files, Perl/CGI/PHP/ASP scripts, as well as Databases (Access, MySQL, MSSQL). All accounts include domain email, Mailing Lists, AntiSpam and AntiVirus.
- Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions - Microsoft FrontPage is a collection of Web authoring tools and interactive features. We support FrontPage features if you chose that software to build your Web site.
- Virtual Domain Name Hosting - Get an address like www.YourSynagogueName.org for your Web site. (USCJ does not charge for hosting but there is a registration fee to obtain a domain name on the Internet.)
- Virtual Domain Name E-mail and Mailing Lists - Once you have your own domain name, receive e-mail at an address like rabbi@YourSynagogueName.org with AntiSpam and AntiVirus features. You can also create Mailing Lists to send bulk email to your members.
- Synagogue Listserver - Establish an automated mailing list for your members to distribute information and discuss topics of interest to the community.
- Script Library - Access a collection of scripts written for your use, including a hit counter and guestbook. Use scripts to collect information from visitors to your site and have the information e-mailed to a designated member. Or password-protect selected folders that you don't want available to the public.
- USCJ-Spider Listserv - This online community of synagogue webmasters is the best source of support for volunteer webmasters.
- Website Statistics Application - View and analyze statistics such as how many visits your site's getting and detailed information about your visitors and most popular pages.
- Chat & Discussion Scripts - Web-based live chat rooms and threaded interactive discussions for your synagogue to use, or connect with other congregations around the world!
- Support - The USCJ Information Technology staff is available by phone or e-mail to answer your questions, provide advice, and assist you with any special needs.
Getting Started Now
It's easy to get started. Find a member who's interested in becoming the "spider" for your congregation. Anyone who's interested and reasonably comfortable with computers can learn to make a basic Web site. This person should also know enough about the congregation that he or she can contact board members and staff to obtain event information, messages, etc. to include in your site.
Once you've identified such a "spider," the synagogue president or other authority should contact Martin S. Kunoff, USCJ Information Technology Director at kunoff@uscj.org, providing the name and e-mail address of the volunteer. We'll contact them with further instructions about publishing the website.
Often USY chapters are interested in developing their own Web site. We encourage congregations include interested teen participants in any Web projects and to maintain a close relationship between youth and adult Web site volunteers.
