CHURCH WEBSITE ADVICE (by Church123.com)
Having a church website is something more and more churches are doing. But the motivation for getting one is sometimes simply that everyone else has one, and so getting a website becomes something to be ticked off a list rather than being a strategic decision. This page will help you consider whether your church should have a website and the why's, what's, who's and how's of the process.
WHY have a website?
Having a website provides your church with a wonderful opportunity. It is a window onto the world. People can find out about your church without having to pluck up the courage to cross the physical threshold. Many people are put off going to church by out-of-date stereotypes. A website gives you the chance to address this and show people what you are really like, explain what you believe and reassure them that if they come they will have both a warm welcome and a rewarding experience.
Having a good church website will help your church grow and keep your community informed.
A window onto the world may sound positive but if your site is poorly designed and contains out of date information, at best it will just look bad, at worst it will put people off ever visiting your church! You wouldn't consider printing out a newsletter to send round to your community but have half the pages filled with irrelevant information and others saying ‘not yet written’. Neither should any church allow this to be the case with their website. Having a website needs planning and is an ongoing responsibility, not just for Christmas. If you can’t commit to doing it properly you may be better off waiting until you can. The good news is with the Evangelical Alliance Website Builder making a site is so easy that you almost certainly can achieve it.
WHAT should it say?
You need to carefully decide what you wish to communicate. This is likely to include:
- What the church believes.
- Where the church meets and meeting times.
- What a typical service is like (setting expectations and removing fears).
- Children’s activities.
- True-life stories (testimonies).
- Church diary and other events (e.g. Alpha Courses).
You probably shouldn’t include:
- Verbose minutes of church meetings.
- An in-depth history of your church building, unless this will be the reason people are visiting your site (e.g. Canterbury Cathedral).
- Tacky animations or poor quality clipart.
- In-house jokes.
- Incomprehensible Christian jargon.
WHO should it be targeted at?
It is all too easy to make a website only for your existing members, and it certainly is a great tool to keep people informed. However, one of the main strengths in a website should be attracting those who don’t yet come to your church. Make sure the content is useful and appealing to both the unchurched living in your sphere of influence and Christians moving into your area.
WHO should be responsible for the website?
It is a common mistake for church leaders to simply ask someone with technical skills in the congregation to make the church website. Often the leaders provide no guidelines as to what they require. The website should be owned by the church not someone’s pet project. With the Evangelical Alliance Website Builder creating a site is now a task that most church administrators can easily accomplish and only takes a few minutes a week to keep it up-to-date with the latest information. If you are going to delegate the task then look for people with good communication skills who understand the vision of the church.
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