Back to School: WebTalk 101

Pop quiz: How's your website looking today?

• Just like it looked last week...or last month?
• Is your content primarily fresh, but a casual glance would say it's cluttered?
• How about the navigation - is it clear?
• Does the layout make sense upon landing?
• What would your visitors say? What about your members?

These are a just a few invaluable questions to ask - and keep asking - because your church's website is priority number one when it comes to external communications.

Whether your site is established, in development, or heading for a revamp, might those questions serve as a springboard to consider these greater principles, offered by ChurchJuice.com. Download the complete whitepaper to drill deeper.

SEVEN BASICS VITAL TO A GOOD SITE

1. Cater to the guest
   
   This is the most important thing you can think about when designing your website. As a church, we're called to bring people to Christ and as we mentioned in the intro, your website is where you'll be making your church's first impression...
   
   
2. Remember your regular attendees too
   
   Your members and regular attendees have much different needs from your website than visitors do. Figure out what goals ministry leaders want to achieve with members online. Do you want members to use the website as a way to learn how to get connected in various ministries? Do you want...
   
   
3. Clean front page
   
   We always want to make sure people have all the information they need, but it doesn't always have to be on the front page. Text heavy front pages can be a big turn off. Folks just don't want to filter through a sea of words to find the one thing they're looking for. People are visually orientated. For example, provide an area for info for visitors and then link to other pages...
   
   
4. Staying up to date
   
   Commit to keeping things up to date and your website will better appeal to visitors and may become a place your members regularly visit. Your church won't look relevant if Christmas information is still there in March. Some churches have found success is decentralizing website content updating. They've put specific ministry leaders or rock star volunteers in charge of updating certain areas...
   
   
5. Embrace existing technology
   
   Your church members are already using social media, so why not meet them where they're already at? You can always use these tools as a way to push people back to your website for more information. Here are some very basic ideas for using various online tools...
   
   
6. Be authentic to who you are
   
   Like any sort of communications, don't pretend to be something you're not. A church that's more traditional probably shouldn't have a website that has a grungy look. Along the same lines you shouldn't use pictures that show a racial rainbow of people if your congregation is not multicultural...
   
   
7. Graphic design counts
   
   If you're putting all of the work into planning and organizing a website, it's a shame if it all goes to waste in bad or rushed design. There is no magic equation for what makes a graphically well-designed website... [download whitepaper]

Food for thought that's fresh, clear and uncomplicated....just like we want our websites. :)

About the Author Sharon Kostal oversees the Harvest Bible Fellowship website, digital media and other aspects of communication. Her delight is in spreading the word of God's work in our world today, encouraging Harvest church plants and pastors, and helping to further the reach of their ministries.