This year I have had the opportunity to visit quite a few church websites this year. The links are on the right are to those churches where I have friends in attendance. All are good examples of what church websites should look like, even though they are all quite different.
Some thoughts on church websites:
Not having one in the first place
Having a website is all about marketing and advertising, letting as many people as possible know about what you are doing. Hopefully this results in more people visiting the church and becoming members of the congregation.
Today if a church doesn’t have a website then it’s not reaching it’s full potential. Not having a website usually means that there is no one in the congregation either willing or able to produce a website, you won’t see any large congregations without a website. The layperson could be excused for questioning the existence of a church if they have no website.
Updating
You need a dedicated Webmaster who is very efficient. After all, what’s the use of trying to attract people to church through the website if the information is outdated. Old information gives a similar impression to not having a website. That is that nothing is going on here or that no one could be bothered telling us what is going on so I’m not going to waste my time. Or worse still, this church mustn’t really exist.
Appearances
Some websites can be overly elaborate with all sorts of things flashing onto the page. This can make it difficult to view if you don’t have a lightening fast connection. The best ones I have seen are very pleasant to look at yet are quite simple in their layout. Their simplicity lends well to easy navigation. If someone is able to navigate easily then they are more likely to explore the website further.
Added extras
Some thoughts on church websites:
Not having one in the first place
Having a website is all about marketing and advertising, letting as many people as possible know about what you are doing. Hopefully this results in more people visiting the church and becoming members of the congregation.
Today if a church doesn’t have a website then it’s not reaching it’s full potential. Not having a website usually means that there is no one in the congregation either willing or able to produce a website, you won’t see any large congregations without a website. The layperson could be excused for questioning the existence of a church if they have no website.
Updating
You need a dedicated Webmaster who is very efficient. After all, what’s the use of trying to attract people to church through the website if the information is outdated. Old information gives a similar impression to not having a website. That is that nothing is going on here or that no one could be bothered telling us what is going on so I’m not going to waste my time. Or worse still, this church mustn’t really exist.
Appearances
Some websites can be overly elaborate with all sorts of things flashing onto the page. This can make it difficult to view if you don’t have a lightening fast connection. The best ones I have seen are very pleasant to look at yet are quite simple in their layout. Their simplicity lends well to easy navigation. If someone is able to navigate easily then they are more likely to explore the website further.
Added extras
- Podcasting
- Not many churches I have been to do this yet. As long as you have someone who knows how to record sermons in a digital format I believe it is quite an easy process. It’s also a good way of reaching the masses. It’s the way of the future as far as distributing audio is concerned. Even burning onto CD’s now is so old school. If your church already does podcasting then they are truly pioneers of their trade
- Sermon notes
- Sometimes in conjunction with podcasting, sometimes on their own, churches publish the notes of the sermon. I have found these very useful in the past.
- Other Downloads
- Eg rosters, advertising material. Useful but possibly not essential for a church just starting a website.
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