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Best Practices!

MonMondayMayMay6th2013

Screen Resolutions Visiting Church Websites

Posted Monday, May 06 2013 @ 12 PM byDavid Pohlmeier Tagged User Experience (UX) 0 comments Add comment

We talk a lot about responsive websites here at iMinistries. The short explanation of a responsive website states that the website shall scale in size to fit the size of the particular device it's being viewed on. It's interesting to note that there are a lot of different screen sizes. I checked our Google Analytics account and we've maxed out at 5,000 as the amount of different screen resolutions that have viewed the websites on our server. That covers just one year of statistics and almost 13 million pageviews.

As a visual point of reference, here is an illustration of the top twenty screen resolutions visiting church websites on our server in the past year.

The average screen size, based on the top twenty resolutions, is 1,214 x 886.

Over this period of time, the top ten screen sizes are as follows:

1280x800
1366x768
320x480
1440x900
1024x768
768x1024
1920x1080
1280x1024
1680x1050
1600x900

Seeing this makes for a compelling argument for the need to have a responsive church website. Number three on the list is the iPhone. There are so many devices and screen sizes available to consumers. It has been speculated that by 2014, more internet traffic will come from mobile devices instead of traditional personal computers (source).

What are you doing to prepare for this?

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WedWednesdayMayMay1st2013

New Free Church Website Template - Samaria

Posted Wednesday, May 01 2013 @ 10 AM byDavid Pohlmeier Tagged Church Template 0 comments Add comment

We are happy to announce the arrival of our latest free church website template. We're calling it Samaria. This new template is a clean, simple, and modern looking site. It features a full-width rotator that is sure to impress.

Samaria - Visit Website

TueTuesdayAprApril30th2013

What Should a Giving Page Look Like on a Church Website?

Posted Tuesday, April 30 2013 @ 11 AM byDavid Pohlmeier Tagged Church Communications 3 comments Add comment

According to the website internetworldstats.com, 79% of the North American population is considered an internet user. The United States alone claims to have 78.1% of it's population online.

This simple statistic tells me two things:

You had better have a good website for your church!
The people in your pews are online and it's important to make online giving an option.

Utilizing a church website to help answer questions about giving and provide opportunities for online giving is essential. A question we get often is "what should a giving page look like on our church website?"

While researching this article I came across a great article at billygraham.org that answered the following question.

Q: Why do churches keep asking for money all the time? Frankly, it turns me off and I think it does the same to lots of others. If people want to give that's fine, but I don't think they ought to be talked into giving money.

A: The Bible says we should give because we want to, and "not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7).

At the same time, churches and other ministries need money to operate; to be blunt, if they don't have any, they'll go out of existence. Even Jesus' little band of disciples had a treasurer, and the Bible mentions several women who "were helping to support them out of their own means" (Luke 8:3). In our own ministry, we have always tried to make people aware of the opportunities we have before us, and encourage them to support us if God leads them to do so.

In the answer he suggests that they are "trying to make people aware of opportunities we have before us, and encourage them to support us if God leads them to do so." This is exactly what I propose an online giving page should do. I couldn't say it any better myself.

The giving page (like every page on your site) should be simple and concise. First, provide an opening statement reminding the site visitor of the importance of giving. Something like this from First Baptist Church Elgin is a great example.

"It is through the generous financial gifts and offerings of God's people that we are able to spread the Gospel throughout Elgin and the World. We are committed to faithful stewardship of all that God would entrust to us. We have the privilege of partnering with God’s work in the World by using our gifts and resources through the local church."

The online giving page shouldn't be used to "preach" at the site visitor. It's safe to assume that a site visitor who views the giving page is a church member or regular attender who has already made the decision to give. It's probably not a page that's getting visited much by the casual site browser thinking of attending your church.

Second, outline the various methods of giving. Be sure to include, along with the option to give online, other methods of giving. Wheaton Bible Church has setup a great page outlining what giving looks like for them. WBC talks about stock gifts, personal property, and "in memory" gifts among many other opportunities available. If your church offers other options for giving besides check and credit cards, be sure to share it. Church members may not even be aware of their options.

If there is a give link on your website, whether it's in the main menu or as a prominent button/call to action, try and avoid linking directly to an online form. Some sort of in-between page outlining giving and providing some context will help ensure a good experience for the giver. Be sure to let them know that all giving is safe, secure, and confidential.

Lastly, I'll leave you with the best example of an online giving page I've seen at a church. The page to view is by New Spring Church. Here is what they do that works:

They have a great video on why to give. This acts as an opening statement.
They are transparent in the fact that they provide an annual report. The giver knows where the money is going.
They answer frequently asked questions. It's detailed and helpful.
They offer financial coaching. Maybe you want to give but can't, they will help you. Awesome.
They outline how to give.

All this is clearly outlined and displayed on one simple page.

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Best Practices!

Samaria - Visit Website

According to the website internetworldstats.com, 79% of the North American population is considered an internet user. The United States alone claims to have 78.1% of it's population online.

@iMinistries