Tips for a successful church website.
It’s been said that you can’t judge a book by its cover, but research from leading publisher’s suggest that the cover is critical to successful sales for a project. So sure you can’t judge a church by its building or better yet by its website… But just like people do judge a book by its cover, ministries are judged by their website.
In a growing age of critics, businesses and churches alike must be aware of the fact that everything that represents them to an eye that is unfamiliar with them provides perhaps the only opportunity for those who will quickly move on to next thing. I can attest to this, that my I observed my current church for months through their weekly live stream, read information about the pastor, and familiarized myself with their beliefs. I felt fairly confident before moving into the area and at the suggestion of a friend, that this would be the church that I joined. I tend to think that in the age where people now say ‘Google me’ that most people are using the internet in ways that far surpass our expectations. I interviewed someone the other day who knew everything about me other than my social security number.
The only church that shouldn’t be serious about the online world as an extension of its ministry is the one that is not prepared to grow. I could provide a bunch of data to support what may seem like an isolated point of view. Rather than do that, let me give you what I regard to be the qualities of a good church website.
1. Update Regularly – Most churches have events regularly; once a month, once a week etc. More often than not, you would be hard pressed to find info specific to the event. Churches that do are only in the top 10%.
2. What You Believe – Some people don’t care, but there are a whole lot of people who do. It’s important to have some sort of identity that allows potential visitors to become familiar with the teachings of your ministry.
3. Contact information and reachability – Untouchable, and your website suggests it. There are few successful companies who don’t have a customer support number or regularly manned phones. Even if your church does not have a full time staff, shouldn’t someone be in charge of getting back with people who might desire more information.
4. A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words – Warm inviting pictures help people visualize being inside of your church. A bunch of text and blocks are as welcoming as an empty warehouse with no windows.
