Greetings all,
It's almost a no-brainer. You want to know about something, so you Google it. You arrive at a website, and depending on how good the result, you find out everything you want to know. Australians use the same process for evaluating products, events, destinations … and churches. But for such a 'no brainer' it's amazing how little brain-power ministries can devote to their digitial presence.
This month, as we concentrate on the millions of details that go into successfully launching a church, we want to draw your attention to two articles on making sure the digital doorway to your ministry is easy to find, unlock and walk through.
The first is from the website that makes no secret of the problems Christians create online, Church Marketing Sucks:
8 Ways Your Church Website Can Welcome First-Time Visitors Before They Arrive
The key criticism is the lack of really basic information that non-Christians would ask about any event:
- How long is a church service going to be? (Not just start times, please!)
- What's the dress code? (Am I going to feel out of place in thongs?)
- What's it sound like? (That is, am I in for 'old-timey' hymns?)
- What about the kids? (Will they thank me for dragging them along?)
- Are multicultural people welcome? (And if so, does the website reflect that?)
There's also quite a few really helpful questions to ask about design, like:
Imagine it’s Sunday morning. A potential guest is running late. They jump in the car and go, only to realize they don’t remember exactly how to get to your church. At a stoplight they pull up your site on their phone to check for directions. Are they going to find what they need? Will your site even work on their mobile phone?
Read all about it at 8 Ways Your Church Website Can Welcome First-Time Visitors Before They Arrive
And while you're surfing the web, take a look at our second helpful pick for this month…
Four Things Churches Must Get Right with Digital Presence
Lifeway Church Tech & Media is another good site to keep an eye on and this article is actually the first in a series by Matt Morris who certainly knows what he's talking about – he serves US churches by developing multi-format digital strategies, including eBook, tablet, Internet and mobile applications. Matt has also authored church technology blogs for LifeWay, Pastors Today, Preaching Magazine, i4j and Church Tech Today.
So what is the first point he wants church planters to consider as they launch into a digital universe? Who it is they in particular are talking to…
Most traffic to your church website is from potential visitors and newcomers. Your site is a virtual welcome center, open 24/7/365. I’ll quantify a “visitor” as someone who has only been inside of your church three or fewer times. Visitors make decisions and form opinions of your church based on the information they see online. Often times, they ask themselves, “Will I/my family fit in?”
Who you are and what you are all about should be clear. Do you have a lot of young families in your church? Are you an ethnically diverse church? What is your worship style? Contemporary or traditional? What is your theology? You want visitors to know all about your church within seconds of being on your website. Subconsciously, they will form opinions about whether or not they will fit in based solely on your homepage content and images. If you have a contemporary worship style, don’t show a picture of an organ. And don’t show pictures of a bunch of young kids if your church represents an older demographic. Make content a true representation of your church.
Interested? Start your education at Four Things Churches Must Get Right with Digital Presence – Part 1
Happy clicking!
– Ed.
