Overview Of SeekerWorks.NET™

Here are reasons why you should use SeekerWorks.NET™ Church Management Software:

It's available from any device, anywhere, at any time…

Any device with a browser connected to the internet can use it, regardless of its operating system (phones, tablets, laptops, etc.), or whether or not it has a keyboard or mouse (e.g., Touch devices work as well). We definitely heard about this with our Windows® products, with questions like, "Does it run on a Mac/Linux/Ubuntu/Android/iOS?" It does now- they all have browsers. Your data is literally at your fingertips.

You get two websites for the price of one…

www.SeekerWorks.NET™ is for staff and volunteers, and a
{subdomain}.SeekerWorks.org™ Attendee portal is for everyone else ('cccartoonville' is used in this case for the 'Community Church of Cartoonville' demo church).

One caveat: You'll get an error if you try to save changes to any of the demo data in Community Church of Cartoonville. But, you can create your own organization and update anything you want in it, free for 30 days.

It's easy to use for many reasons… (skip ahead, if desired)

Generally, you can click/touch any button or menu option to go to a screen (or page) for that option. All pages were optimized for a 1024 x 768 display, but they will automatically adjust to fit any sized screen or window. Use <F11> to switch your browser to full-screen mode if your screen is smaller than that, or click/touch the browser's customize button and select the full-screen icon, usually to the right of the Zoom features.

If you <right-click> on any menu button, link, etc., you can open new screens/pages in as many new browser windows or browser tabs as you want. And, although we don't recommend using it on update screens, you can generally use the browser's <back button> without incident to go back to the previous page. But, the way browsers are designed, you may have to click it a few times to see what you want. Or, simply use the Exit (Exit) button instead to go back to a list or menu, since that is why we included it.

It is designed to be…
- responsive to any device's browser window
- accessible for those with disabilities
- multi-currency
- multi-lingual
- time-zone sensitive
- culture sensitive
- PCI-DSS compliant
- OWASP compliant with their top 10 list
We use reCAPTCHA on certain pages to ensure we are interacting with a real person, instead of a hacker using a bot or program to gain access.

It is secured with OAuth2 protocols that allow you to log in with external social media and other Open Authorization services, currently Google, Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft, or register and log in with a local account saved in SeekerWorks.

If you register for a local account on any of the 3 SeekerWorks websites (.net, .org, .com), those credentials automatically work on all 3 SeekerWorks websites. Also, you may want to enable pop-ups for these sites, allow cookies, and allow javascript. But rest assured: we do not host any third-party advertisements on any of our sites. None of the cookies we use contain any private information that would run afoul of Data Privacy laws.

All pages are encrypted with SSL/TLS certificates that use 'https' instead of 'http' to secure, encrypt and protect the privacy of data shown on any of those pages. We also use Anti-Forgery Tokens on most screens to prevent hacking and other attacks trying to compromise data.
It uses breadcrumbs on all web pages…

All pages use 'breadcrumbs' to show you which menu options were picked to get to where you are (e.g., 'Home > Documentation > SeekerWorks.NET > Overview' as shown at the top of this screen).
It has a Main Menu button row…

The Main Menu buttons appear above the screen titles and show the main areas in the website, which you can touch or click to select (e.g., Home, Blogs, Documentation, etc.)
It may have Sub-Menu buttons…

There may be a related Sub-Menu button bar that appears right-justified below the main menu bar with additional options relevant to the menu button selected previously.
It uses List Screens…

"What are my options? I don't know. Show me a list first, but don't overwhelm me with hundreds of choices in a drop-down list… or force me to search for something first…".

Generally, list screens show a List of values (or items, or rows) that already exist for the menu option chosen.
- A separate Drop-down list determines how many rows you can 'Show' per screen at a time (e.g. 15, 25, 50, 100 rows per screen).
- The list screens have paging buttons you can touch/click to move around in the list:
  top of the list,
  page up X rows per screen,
  page down X rows per screen,
  bottom of the list.
- You may also reposition the list by typing a 'Starting From' value related to the sort order of the list (e.g., show everything equal to or after the letter 'd'.)
- An Add button may appear also, allowing you add a new value to the list.
- Each item in the list may have an eyeball button on the left you can touch or click to see more detail for that item.
Or, it uses Detail Screens with the same look and feel…

Generally, detail screens show detailed information about the list item selected to let you to change it, or add a new list item. In some cases, there are multiple detail screens for a list item, because to put everything on one screen becomes un-manageable.

The buttons at the bottom may include one or more of the following:
- (Save) will update the database with new data values you provided.
- (Undo) will re-load the screen with the latest saved data values.
- (Add) will clear the screen so you can create a new set of data. Remember to click (Save) before and after clicking (Add) to save any changes made or added.
- (Remove) will permanently delete the set of data from the database and remove data values from the screen.
- (Done) will combine the (Save), then (Exit) actions into one click, unless there are errors.
- (Exit) will return to the previous screen.
- A pick list button appears on some screens, which, when clicked or touched, will pop-up another browser window with a list of values you can pick from (which is why you'll need to enable popups for these websites).
  
  It may also provide a way to add a new set of values to that list, or (Unlink) the current detailed information from a list item (e.g., create a new household by unlinking a name from the current Household ID).
  
  Any selected value is passed back to the original browser window or tab where you clicked or touched the (…) pick list button. Then, it should re-load that screen using the new ID/ISN of the passed value.
It uses footprints…

Most detail screens also have what we call a 'footprint' line towards the bottom, showing information about when the list item's values were last updated (e.g., As Of: {date/time} By: {user-id} In: {screen/program name} Log: {log id counter} ISN: {internal sequence number}).

This information makes it much easier for you to know whether a new list item has been added to the database or not-- if the footprint does not appear, or it shows an ISN of -1, the list item does not yet exist in the database.

If it does show an ISN value, the {log id counter} is used to prevent concurrent updates, giving an error and re-loading the screen values from the database when the saved counter doesn't match the submitted counter. This may occur when two or more people are updating the same value(s) at the same time.

Lastly, this also helps our support staff troubleshoot issues or find program bugs much faster than trying to recreate problems without that information.
Every page has a Site Map link at the bottom…

The Site Map page shows the structure of each of the websites. Every active web page appears, with the Menu option breadcrumb of each page, a link to that page, and a Screen Title for the page. If you can't find something, go to the Site Map and use the browser's Find capability to see if there's a screen for what you're looking for.

You don't need experts to change your own portal website pages…

You can save money and modify your {subdomain}.SeekerWorks.org content yourself. You can change your portal's main web page and modify/add/remove all 'Home/About', 'Home/Care', 'Home/Connect' and 'Home/Serve' web pages yourself using an open-source WYSIWYG editor called 'TinyMCE'. It also has a button to add or modify raw HTML for those of you who are more adventurous.

There are separate buttons to add/remove images outside of the HTML editor, which are stored in the much-cheaper Blob storage, rather than in the SQL database directly.

These images can be referenced in your pages using "live tags", such as [image1] to center the first image, [image2Left] to left-justify the second image, [image3Right] to right-justify the third image, etc., or [carousel] to show up to 9 images in a rotating carousel. You should endeavor to size the images to the width/height you want, rather than adding HTML attributes to size them.

Your attendees can immediately use the Portal capabilities… (skip ahead, if desired)

Your {subdomain}.SeekerWorks.org attendees can immediately use the following capabilities "out-of-the-box" or after a bit of set up:

Online Giving…

Anyone can give online (with an ACH or a credit card).
Learn more »
Online Calendar…

Anyone can browse the calendar and see detailed event information. They can also register for upcoming classes or seminars and pay any fees at the same time (see below).
Online Information…

Anyone can browse the 'Home/About', 'Home/Care', 'Home/Connect' and 'Home/Serve' pages you've created in SeekerWorks.NET using the Website maintenance functionality mentioned above. Remember to log in and type 'Home/Refresh' in your browser's address bar to reload your pages after you publish changes to them.
Online Library…

Anyone can browse library entries for past video and audio recordings, small group materials, etc. The catalog entries can have artwork and a binary attachment (up to 50 MB), or a URI Link to your video or audio recordings, such as YouTube, Vimeo, Rumble, etc.
Online Blogs…

Anyone can read any blogs posted by people in your organization. Any logged-in user can also make comments about a particular blog, which you can moderate on SeekerWorks.NET™.
Scheduled Giving…

Any logged-in user can schedule future recurring gifts with an Learn more »
Online Registration…

Any logged-in user can sign up for a future Class or Seminar and pay any fees at time of registration with an Learn more »
Online Forum…

Any logged-in user with 'friend' access can browse or create posts with pictures, or comment on a post using your church's 'Home/Forum' functionality. You can moderate all content on SeekerWorks.NET™, if necessary, and grant or revoke 'friend' access as needed.
Online Directory…

Any logged-in user with 'friend' access can browse directory information for anyone in the church who has not opted-out from the list, with pictures if available. They can click on a phone number to automatically call them, or click on a map pin to get directions to their house from the selected online map provider. You can grant or revoke 'friend' access as needed.
Learn more »
Online 'My' Data…

Any logged-in user can browse or modify their own data and anyone else linked to their household using the (My Data) sub-menu options.
Online Pastoral Care…

Any logged-in user can request Pastoral Care using the (Home/Care/PastoralCare) screen when life happens.

This automatically creates a Follow-Up (Tickler) for the Pastoral Care Event Type chosen routed to the staff or volunteer linked to the related Follow-Up (Tickler) Path.

You can then decide what care is most appropriate, but at least you've been notified that someone needs care.
Learn more »
Online Prayer Wall…

Any logged-in user can create prayer requests.

All non-confidential requests automatically appear on the prayer wall screen (Home/Care/Prayer Requests) for any other logged-in users to pray for.
Learn more »
Online Web Store…

You can sell ministry-related merchandise to any logged-in user. Then, they can pick it up from your location.
Online Follow-Ups (Ticklers)…

Any logged-in user can also…
- request more information about a particular ministry, triggering the Follow-Up Path for it (Home/About options).
  Learn more »
- request pastoral care from a list of pastoral care contact types, triggering the Follow-Up Path for it (Home/Care options).
  Learn more »
- register for any upcoming events or request more information about a class/seminar, triggering the related Follow-Up Path for it (Home/Connect options).
  Learn more »
- browse a list of small groups and ask for more information about small groups in general, or a particular small group, triggering the appropriate Follow-Up Path for it (Home/Connect options).
  Learn more »
- request help to figure out where to volunteer, triggering the appropriate Follow-Up Path for it (Home/Connect options).
  Learn more »
- express interest in serving in a particular ministry in general, or a ministry opportunity in particular, as managed by the ministry leader, triggering the appropriate Follow-Up Path for it (Home/Serve options).
  Learn more »

You can communicate using Texts/Emails/Labels/Mail-Merge…

You can send mass communication to all or selected cell phones, all or selected email addresses, or all or selected physical mailing addresses. You can also receive text messages from any cell phone using your own Twilio account. Use Mail-Merge with Microsoft Word to print personalized letters after selecting and downloading the mail-merge data. Or, print Labels for your mailings.
Learn more »

You can view any of the 107+ built-in reports…

You can view any of the reports as PDFs, or download the related data as CSV files. The reports are organized by Subject Area, which you can select for a filtered list. We'll also build more reports for you, if needed, generally without any additional charge, as part of our continuous improvement efforts.

You can download 'Data Warehouse' Exports…

You can export subject area data and analyze it or create your own reports using your favorite tool, such as Excel, Access, Open Office, etc. These include: