In my role here at Fellowship
Technologies I come across hundreds of church websites, some are good, many
are not so good. I won't critique any specific sites but I will point out what
I feel is the most common mistake.
I believe the major mistake that well intentioned churches
make with their website is that they fail to understand the site's purpose. The
church's website exists for two primary reasons:
-
Outreach to new visitors
-
Tools and information for regular attendees
Just like public speaking, the first rule of web design is "know
your audience". However, when communicating in person you can adjust your
message, your tone, your facial expressions, and your body language based on
the real-time feedback you are receiving from your audience. With web design
you must make some assumptions about your target audience and then allow them
to selectively determine the information they are seeking.
Admiral James
Stockdale began the 1992 Vice Presidential debate with the now famous, or should
I say infamous, line "Who
Am I, Why am I here?" Had he answered his own question then people would
have learned that he was an intelligent, courageous, decorated, war hero. Unfortunately,
he never got to fully answer that question, and that opening line led to his portrayal as confused and out of
touch.
What does this have to do with a church's website? Place yourself in the role of the person
visiting your website for the first time and ask yourself "Who am I, Why am I
here?" Then organize the site's information around the answers to those
questions. If you visit a well designed university website their navigation and
information is organized under the headings such as Prospective Students, Current
Students, Parents, Alumni, and Faculty. These diverse groups are seeking
different information and the site easily directs them there based on Who they
are, and Why they are visiting the website.
Similarly, the church website should be organized so that
someone unfamiliar with the church can easily learn more about the church, its
teachings, and MOST importantly the phone
number, address (with map) and service times. It is unbelievable how
difficult some churches make it to find this critical information. Many hide it
under a menu labeled "About Us". I believe the phone number, address and
service times should be displayed prominently on the home page and either in
the header or footer of every page in the site.
Likewise a regular attendee should be able to easily find
the information they're seeking. They are likely visiting your site to perform
a function like find a small group, learn more about an upcoming event and sign
up for it online, or perhaps donate money via an online giving function.
In summary, remember that just because you have an exciting
new series or you have a great photo of your pastor doesn't mean that needs to
be the focal point of your site. Make it easy for those visiting your site to
find the information they're seeking so that they can ultimately be plugged into
the church body and find the Way, the Truth and the Life. Otherwise your website will be as misunderstood as Admiral Stockdale.
God bless,
Curtis S