Web Matters
By Glenn A. Lucas
At the most recent
Basic Mission Planter Training, we discussed the importance of a website as
part of the overall marketing and outreach strategies of new church plants. In
today's culture, people learn a lot about a church from its website, and the
lack of a web presence can reflect poorly. Below are some things to keep in
mind as you design and work with your church's site:
1. Brand
Your web site is part of your branding. It is important to
create a site that will communicate what you want about your church. People
will learn what you value from the content and look of your web site. They will
decide whether your ministry is worth visiting.
2. Goal
What do you want your web site to accomplish for your
church? Is it a communication tool for current members, an outreach tool for
potential guests and members, or both? What do you want users to think, feel,
and believe about your church? You need to answer these questions to design an
effective web site.
The Center for U.S.
Missions recently redesigned its web site to make navigation and event
registration easier.
Some new features include a forum for registered users and a blog.
3. Dynamic or Static
A cardinal sin of many church web sites is out dated
information. Visitors to your site want to see content that is current and
relevant. It is better to have a simple site with a welcome, your location, and
times of worship, rather than a site listing past events that is rarely
updated.
If you are going to have a dynamic site (i.e., updated
regularly), it is important that someone in your church be appointed to
maintain the site and its content. Your church should have a policy about what
can be posted and where on the site.
4. Keep It Simple
Another problem with many church web sites is that they
overwhelm the visitor with information on the home page. Google is a huge web
site and company but their web page is simple yet functional.
- Decide what is most important
to share on the home page.
- Decide what other content you
want to share online and what sub pages are needed to share that content.
- Choose simple and clean
graphics.
- Choose a simple and clear
navigation system.
- Limit the number of fonts,
sizes, and styles you use on the site. Too many fonts in various sizes and
colors look messy and unorganized.
- Design cross platform and
cross browser. While PCs are still dominant in the market place more and
more people are using Apple computers. There are a plethora of web
browsers. Each handles content slightly differently so you should test
your site on different platforms with different web browsers.
Your web site communicates a lot about your church. It is
important that your church knows what it wants to communicate and design the
site with that goal in mind. Keep it updated and simple.
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Rev. Glenn Lucas is the Director of Training for the Center for U.S. Missions.
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