The Web Is Your Church's New Front Door (LTE 2011)

The Web is Your Church’s New Front Door
LTE 2011

JUST HAVING A WEBSITE ISN’T ENOUGH

Just Having A Website Isn’t Enough
How does this fit into your communications strategy?

What it the mission of this website?

How can we measure if this is a success?

Who is going to be in charge? (Avoid the Lone Ranger syndrome but don’t die by committee.)

Who is going to be in charge? (Avoid the Lone Ranger syndrome but don’t die by committee.)
What challenges are we going to face?

COMMIT THERESOURCES

Commit the Resources
“If you’re not committing resources to it that means you don’t really want it.” - Scott McClellan
WordPress is free
Cloversites (cloversites.com)
Church Plant Media (churchplantmedia.com)
Church Media Group (churchmedia.cc)
Monk Development (monkdevelopment.com)
Collision Media (collisionmedia.tv)

Ditch the yellow page or newspaper ad.
Are there other non-effective things you can get rid of to fund the website?

Ditch the yellow page or newspaper ad.
Are there other non-effective things you can get rid of to fund the website?
Are you giving the people resources, too?
Authority, tools, freedom, etc.

AVOID CONTENT
OVERLOAD

Avoid Content Overload
The time you have someone's initial attention when they come to your site:
43 seconds

People won’t sift through lots of text
Keep the front page simple

People won’t sift through lots of text
Keep the front page simple
Organize your content with the end user in mind.
What is a visitor looking for?
What is a member wanting to do?

HELP VISITORS
KNOW YOU

Help Visitors Know You

27% currently in a church less than a year found it online.

This is your first impression.
Give them a feel for who you are.
Answer the questions they might have.

This is your first impression.
Give them a feel for who you are.
Answer the questions they might have.
Make the basic information easy to find.

KEEP
MEMBERS
CONNECTED

Keep Members Connected
What do your members and regular attenders want from the website?

Don’t be afraid to take a poll of your congregation.

Don’t be afraid to take a poll of your congregation.
How does that mesh with your ministry goals?

How are you making it easier for your members to share your church with their friends?
Are you integrating Facebook, YouTube, etc.?

GOOD CONTENT WINS

Good Content Wins
Keep information up to date.
You’re more relevant to visitors.
Members will use the website more.
Consider decentralized updating with review.
Don’t let one ministry dominate the site
Find a rhythm for updating.
Doing nothing leaves a vacuum for the rest of the internet to fill.

Good Content Wins
Members will use the website more

Good Content Wins
Don’t let one ministry dominate the site.

Good Content Wins

TELL
STORIES

Tell Stories
Stories are more compelling than a list of facts.
They give skin to the real impact and change your church is having.
Why? People trust word of mouth more than an organization.

DON’T
FAKE IT

Don’t Fake It
You can’t fake who you are.
Your brand is the user experience when they interact with you.

Don’t Fake It
Knowthe voice of your church.

Don’t Fake It
Understand what your church looks like.

Don’t Fake It
Can you deliver what you promise?

DESIGN
MATTERS

Design Matters
You are not competing with the church down the street, you’re up against Apple.

Design Matters
Know the current trends in design.
www.ministrycss.com

Design Matters
www.ministrycss.com

Design Matters
www.ministrycss.com
Design for the end user and not for yourself.

MOBILE HAS
GROWING IMPORTANCE

Mobile Has Growing Importance
What does your site look like on an iPhone or Android phone?
Flash?
Do your videos play?

Mobile Has Growing Importance
What does your site look like on an iPhone or Android phone?
Flash?
Do your videos play?
Do you need a separate mobile site?
If so, ask what are the most important features for someone who’s using a smartphone to connect with us.

SEO IS
CONFUSING

SEO Is Confusing
There is no magic formula
DIY Tips:
Have content worth linking to
Don’t duplicate content word for word
Use keywords you’re known for
In written text, titles, urls, categories
What about online yellow page ads, Yelp, Facebook?
Get on Google Places, Mapquest

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The Web Is Your Church's New Front Door (LTE 2011)

by churchjuice on Sep 30, 2011

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The Web Is Your Church’s New Front Door (LTE 2011) — Presentation Transcript