Interchange February 2002

How beautiful is your congregation's web site?

by Andy Figueroa

The world has changed, and not just since 9/11. The very basic way many people gather information, shop, and communicate has changed dramatically. Just two years ago, few people considered the world wide web to be a primary means of evangelism or church growth. Today, smart shoppers check out your church on the web first: to see if you are real, to see if you are safe, to see if you are worth bothering with.

What does this mean? web image

  1. If you don't have a web site at all, you are not even in the game.
  2. If your web site is ugly, out-of-date, hard to navigate or slow, your web visitors may not bother to check you out in person.
  3. If your web site is pretty, up-to-date, easy to navigate, and fast, you are in the game. At least you won't have done anything to drive people away from the possibility of a first visit.
  4. If your web site is drop-dead-gorgeous, answers critical questions for potential visitors, has content that engages the mind and the spirit, and shows you off to be a people of prayer and worship, your web visitors just may be willing to drive long distances to check you out in person.

Two primary purposes
Congregation web sites fill two purposes:

  1. Providing resources for ministry: Here you primarily provide information for your members or even people in other churches. You'll find calendars, contact information for clergy and lay leaders, sermons for those unable to attend, and other information to help those who already attend to be engaged and stay up-to-date.
  2. Reaching out to seekers & potential visitors: First, you try not to give web visitors an excuse to NOT come and see you in person. These web visitors come in two flavors:
    1. People who know they are shopping around for a church: One recommendation is don't make it hard to determine what kind of church you are. If you are biblical, trinitarian church in the Anglican tradition with contemporary liturgy, say so. Another recommendation is that the absence of scripture, prayer, and references to God and Jesus Christ may tend to count against you with people who are looking for a place to grow in their faith and practice. What you say and how you say it is very important. Give it a lot of thought. Show off your program. If you have Sunday School, say so. Show some nice pictures of your happy children and their teachers. If you have a strong small group program, say so. Give details. But don't get caught making things up. Your web site might attract a visitor, so you don't want the truth to drive them away again.
    2. Seekers; those who are trying to find God, or meaning to life: Assuming that your church is a place of ministry for the fallen, hurting people in the world, try to convey that through your web site. Carefully select your images, the pastor's message, and other content. Try to evaluate your web site through the eyes of someone who is sick and doesn't know Jesus, who is trapped in sin and is afraid of God's judgment, who expects rejection. Show yourself to be a hospital for sinners, not just a club for saints.

Artistic considerations

  1. Don't put too much information on main/menu pages.
  2. Minimize the need to scroll on menu pages.
  3. Make navigation (links) kindergarten simple.
  4. Beware of color combinations that hurt the eye or are hard to see. (What do you think of the "wallpaper" on this page? See what I mean? You don't want to do too much of that, in spite of the nice artsy touch it provides while making the text a bit hard to read.)

Technical considerations

  1. Limit the use of graphics to what is really necessary.
  2. Keep the file size of graphics low (under 10K is a good standard - smaller is better).
  3. Be sure your pages are usable at 640X480 resolution. Check them!
  4. If you use Java or plugins, provide alternative pages that don't require them.

Today, 55 of our 82 congregations have some form of web site with their own content, a 20% growth in the past year. There are a number of free to very inexpensive alternatives for congregations who want start a web site. Please contact me if you would like to discuss what might be best for you. I will be happy to travel anywhere in the diocese to provide technical or teaching support for new or existing web sites. I can be reached by email at andy_figueroa@episcopal-dso.org or by phone at 513/421-0311 or 800/582-1712.

Interchange February 2002

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