Church websites are rapidly becoming the first contact someone has with a church before they ever walk through the doors of the church building.
Using your website effectively is obviously then becoming more and more paramount to be successful at attracting people.
These tips are designed to help you successfully run an effective ministry website.
1/ The look of your website. They say first impressions count so what your website looks like is very important because it paints a picture of what your ministry is. So many websites look so old people will click away without ever finding out who you are. Updating the look and style of your website every 12-24 months to keep it stylish is very important.
2/ What your website gives. A website is there to give out information easily so relevant information should be laid out so it is easy to get to and easy to see. Static websites are great for this as they display information about your ministry but even better are dynamic CMS (Content Management System) websites. A CMS is able to deliver constantly updated information and interactive user experience. Remember tip 3
3/ Content is king. If you want people to keep coming back to your website then you need constantly changing content. Relevant, interesting articles, blogs, ‘what’s happening’ type content. Also sermon downloads in note form, MP3’s or even videos. This is all possible with a CMS and is very cheap to do nowadays – in fact you would be surprised how cheap it is to get the message out to the masses.
4/ Get people coming back. Through bible studies, online prayer requests, blogs, chat areas, online newsletters :- be interactive.
5/ Publish your upcoming events. Probably one of the most important things is to inform people of your calendar – what you do and when – upcoming special events. Publishing your weekly bulletin also.
6/ Get your website on search engines. The saying “build it and they will come” is usually not the case. Your website needs to be SEO (Search Engine Optimized) so that search engines will list you so that people can find you. If they type in “a good church in [Suburb]” will they find you – in fact if you cant be found whats the use of having a website.
7/ Promote your website. a) To members :- encourage them to use it (you must have a reason for them to go to it though) b) to outsiders :- print your web address on every piece of literature you have.
8/ Use it. You can use your website for members / leaders by restricting certain areas of your site to just members / leaders and posting rosters, notes, teaching notes, leaders bulletins etc. Give them a unique email address eg youth@yourchurch.com they can interact with other leaders via email, personal messaging, blogs etc
9/ Volunteers (good or bad) Your ministry probably runs on people volunteering. This is great when it comes to running a website but what happens if that person leaves – your website may dry up because no one else knows how to run it. Enter the CMS – where anyone authorized can edit/add content from any web browser anywhere in the world.
10/ Costs. A website is just about the cheapest form of advertising 24/7 365 days a year so use it to advertise your ministry. Receive donations. Give away MP3’s. Even video clips of your announcements can go online for people to be kept up to date.
Need help! Why not contact Christian Websites in Australia or New Zealand.
