optimizing your congregation's web presence

Optimizing Your Congregation’s Web Presence

Four Essentials

Sunday services

Explanation of faith

How to find you

Contact details

Seven Basics

Cater to the guest

Remember your regular attendees

Clean front page

Staying up to date

Seven Basics

Embrace existing technology

Twitter

Facebook

YouTube

Blogs

Be authentic to who you are

Graphic design counts

Sunday Services

Start times

Children’s program

Special/Seasonal service

Explanation of Faith

Testimonies from church members

Youth

Young adult

Parent with children in church school

Elder

How to Find You

Google places

Contact Details

Office

Minister

Other staff

Cater to the Guest

What are the service times?

What’s the service style?

What do I do with my kids?

Where do I park?

How do I find the sanctuary?

What does the church look like on the inside?

Can I wear jeans?

Remember Your Regular Attendees

Figure out what goals ministry leaders want to achieve with members online

Take a poll or talk with your members to see what they want from the website

Anywhere these two groups, visitors and members, overlap is probably a no-brainer thing to have on the website

Clean Front Page

Text heavy front pages can be a big turn off

Service times, styles and location should be easy to find on the homepage

Use a wireframe

Wireframe

Staying Up to Date

Commit to keeping things up to date

Decentralize website content updating

Put ministry leaders or rock star volunteers in charge of updating

Have some sort of approval process

Embrace Existing Technology

Twitter

Embrace Existing Technology

Facebook

Embrace Existing Technology

YouTube

Embrace Existing Technology

Blogs

Be Authentic to Who You Are

Don’t pretend to be something you’re not

You can’t fake who you are

Graphic Design Counts

Find sites you like and use them as inspiration

Q&A