Web Presence
Is it just me or are churches that are not considered to be “hip” or mega or emergent not allowed to have a website that is at least mildly appealing. I was browsing through the non-denomination denomination that I grew up in (Church of Christ/Christian Church), just checking out the sites and I have to say that I am really disgusted. What I don’t understand is that there are many sites that offer open source templates for web pages that are at least a hundred times better than some of the stuff that these people are putting out there as acceptable. The church that for a long time was the largest church of the non-denomination denomination has one of the worst sites. I think that if you are tending toward “mega” church status that your site should as least be palatable. I can count on three fingers the churches (Meadow Park Church of Christ, Crossroads Community Church and New Life Christian Church) that have sites that are head and shoulders above the rest. Overall, I have looked at many church sites in the great state of Minnesota and I must say that there are very few that have a great user friendly interface that also looks good. People, text only pages are so 1994. Highlighting a mission trip from 4 years ago isn’t showing people what you are doing now. Visitors do not care about 3/4 of the stuff that some of these people are putting on their sites.
I have a core conviction: An organization’s website is their virtual front door. If you have a crappy website, I think that it tells people that you don’t care.
I realize these things cost money (in most cases). I also think that it is possible to do it on a strict budget. The church that I am a part of (Journey Church) has a webmistress that does all the work pro bono. It helps her hone her skills and it also helps the church by having a viable web presence. While I don’t think that Journey has the best website in the world, it is a functional site that is also organic. It changes and moves with the church.
What is the purpose of a church web site? Is it to connect the church family? Is it to inform people about what you do and who you are? My vote is for the latter. While I do think that a web space is a great way to connect the people in the church, I think that it should be done separate from the main Church site. (see Saddlebackfamily.com for example) I think that a church website should follow the familiar rules of who, what, where, when, why and how. The 5 W’s and an H. These things are really all that people need to know. Who are you? What are you? Where are you? When are you? Why are you? How do you?
My charge to you, o leader of today, is to step into the now while looking into the future. From what I can tell, the internet is here to stay (unless of course Al Gore decides to uncreate the internet), so lets embrace it!
Cliff’s notes:
- Most church websites suck.
- Having a crappy website is a bad idea.
- It doesn’t have to cost a fortune to establish a web presence.
- The main church site is for tire kickers.
- Live in the now, man.
i agree with you across the board on the theory you’re teaching here.
i think your blog is a good representation of a web presence that fits what it is there to do.
i would be interested to see what your review of my church’s website would say (healingplacechurch.org).
if you take a minute to check it out, be honest and lemme know. we need a good critique from someone who understands what a church website needs to be/do and is not immersed in our site already so much that he can’t see what he’s looking at.
Dan,
Thanks for the comments.
Perhaps the How should be How to contact…I did check out HPC, thought I had been there before. I’ll email you later today. I have no idea if you’ll read this, but I like to leave comments for the people that comment on my blog.
T-
The internet web site is the new front door for the church! Some churches go all out on the flash and splash type of site and once “inside” it’s slow, boring and a maze to navigate. Often the flash and splash sites are so overwhelming I personally back out of them and go somewhere else.
I want a site to be exciting, attractive, informative and simple enough for any surfer to get through.
Mostly I agree that the site should communicate more to the “church surfer/ shopper” than the commited attender/member. The site can be a both and… but more for the guest than the member.
Great blog and discussion!
Rich,
I understand your objection to flash websites, mostly because that is a common theme that I hear from you. Haha. I don’t think that a site has to have flash and splash, so don’t get me wrong. I am advocating a user friendly site that is clean and easy to use. A person should not have to hunt out the info that they need.
A couple other things: In a perfect world, I should have to use the scroll arrows, up or down, left or right, to be able to see the whole page. A blog is different than a webpage. I think that it is okay to scroll up and down on a blog.
Secondly: I do agree that it can be a both and. My question/challenge to you, o pastor, is how many of your regular attenders frequent your website to gather info?