The document provides guidance on three key areas for website success: project planning and partner selection, focused content creation, and ongoing website ownership. It emphasizes the importance of proper planning, choosing the right development partner, authoring content before design, and maintaining fresh updated content after launch. Success requires ongoing effort to analyze site usage and ensure the website remains an effective ministry tool.

1. Getting to Launch &
Maintaining Long-Term
Success

2. Three Key Areas to
Being Successful
• Right Project Planning & Partner Selection
• Focused Content
• Owning The Website

3. Project Planning &
Partner Selection
Get This RIGHT!

4. The Right Pitch
• Get on Base, Don’t Swing for a Home-run
• Don’t Oversell the Project
• Sandbag on Cost, Time, and Quality
• Fix Time, Budget, or Scope ... but not all 3!
• Require Adoption by an Executive Leader or
Elder

5. Right Budget &
Expectations
• 60% of all Projects Fail
• OR Dilemma (Pick 2 or prob Just 1)
• Price OR Speed OR Functionality
• Cheap OR Fast OR Quality
• Inexpensive OR Soon OR Awesome

6. Right Budget &
Expectations
• Timeline is 1-5 Months
• Beyond 5 Months & You Can’t Be Really
Successful
• Time Really is a Factor of Knowing What
You Want and The Budget

7. Right Budget &
Expectations
• Budget is likely to be $200-$400 per page
• 10 Pages : $2,000-$4,000
• 30 Pages : $6,000-$12,000
• 100+ Pages : $20,000-$40,000

8. The Right Team
• Get the right skills, but no more
• Don’t build a large team, small is agile
• Sponsor of the project is integral, but is not
the project leader
• Choose people you like to work with & who
can communicate
• Roles: Who Will Do What & When

9. The Right Partners
• What you ultimately dream about when
partnering with someone:
• Considers first your needs over theirs
• Prioritizes your work over others
• Communications well, the way you want
• Delivers on time and on budget

10. Outsourcing isn’t
Not needing to plan it yourself.
Someone else doing the work.
Being able to not
Handing your project off. work extra hours.
Not having to Cheap.
handle the details. Right or Wrong.
Easy.

11. A Word on Vendors
• They are Your Partner, not Your Enemy
• Don’t Outsource if You Don’t Trust
• Get Great Ones - Life is Better
• Get Bad Ones - #FAIL

12. Right Partners - Types
• Agency
• Multidiscipline
• Primarily like projects with Marketing, PR,
or Social Media focus
• Tend to like projects with defined start
dates and hard launch dates
• Good option for capital campaigns and
sermon series with web microsite

13. Right Partners - Types
• Bespoke Web Firms
• Great ones focused on churches
• Provide turnkey solution
• Your lowest risk at a moderate cost
• Tend to have a proprietary Content
Management System (this isn’t great)

14. Right Partners - Types
• Freelancers
• Work on their own & in small packs
who run together
• Most motivated to serve and get it
right. But also the most likely to fail you
• Of the three, cares the most about a
long-term relationship with you.

15. Right Partners - Pitch ‘em
• Thank Them & Tell Them You Are Shopping
• Share Churches Vision & Purpose
• Lay Out Project Background (Stay Positive)
• Explain Focus of Project & Goals

16. Right Partners - Pitch ‘em
• Ask them about their story, including Faith
• Ask what kinds of projects they like
• Ask how they like to work (Project
Management).
• Describe in Detail
• Timeline
• The Parties
• The Role You Want them to Take On

17. Right Partners - Pitch ‘em
• Tell them why they should spend the time to
put a proposal together.
• Address the reasons they fear getting into a
bad engagement:
• Want to deliver excellence
• Their biz model is dependent on
reputation
• Other clients booked or that need to be
booked

18. Right Partners - Hear ‘em
• Listen to what they are saying
• Listen for the implications
• Listen for stress, life change, inaccuracies
• Listen for what other resources they are
bringing or can bring. Are those things
partners, friends, or contracts?

19. Right Partners - How to Pick?
• Do they want the project because they
believe in the vision or is it the money/
noter-eighty?
• Past work what you would have wanted?
• Do their work methods and
communications tendencies work for your
team?
• Are they in a big project now that could
distract from what you are trying to do?

20. Right Partners - How to Pick?
• Can they repeat the project vision and goals
back to you?
• Do they have the stomach to work with a
church? Will they bail?
• Have they already brought you value with
great ideas and helpful pre-sales consulting?
• Will they agree to contract terms?
• PRAY HARD & TRUST JESUS

21. Right Partners - Payments
• Offer Bonuses for On-Time Delivery
• Write-in Penalties for Timeline Misses
• Most Vendors want 50% up front, 50% at
finish, but I recommend either:
• 33% to start, 2 Milestones worth 16.6%,
33% at completion
• 25% to start, 5 Milestones worth 10%,
25% at completion

22. Work Right - Communication

23. Work Right - Communication
• Use Basecamp if Vendor doesn’t have
software for Project Management
(BasecampHQ.com)

24. Work Right - Communication
• Use Basecamp if Vendor doesn’t have
software for Project Management
(BasecampHQ.com)
• Post messages rather than send email

25. Work Right - Communication
• Use Basecamp if Vendor doesn’t have
software for Project Management
(BasecampHQ.com)
• Post messages rather than send email
• List/Track To-dos & Milestones in One Place

26. Work Right - Communication
• Use Basecamp if Vendor doesn’t have
software for Project Management
(BasecampHQ.com)
• Post messages rather than send email
• List/Track To-dos & Milestones in One Place
• Establish expectations for update frequency

27. Work Right - Know When to
Meet Rather Message
• Have Prepared Agendas Going into Meetings
• Send Meeting Notes & Next Steps Post
Meeting
• Conclude the Meeting on Time, which
Prevents Pontification

28. The Last Rights

29. The Last Rights
• Reserve the Right to be wrong, and admit it
when you are

30. The Last Rights
• Reserve the Right to be wrong, and admit it
when you are
• Have the Right, Christ-like posture as you
lead by washing your co-laborers feet

31. Focused Content
//Warm, inviting sub-heading goes here//

32. Content - Philosophy
• Site is only as good as:
• Quality of Your content (words & pics)
• How Fresh the Content is
• How Findable & Searchable the Content is
• How Prioritized the Content is

33. Content - Authoring

34. Content - Authoring
• Write Content Before You Build the Site

35. Content - Authoring
• Write Content Before You Build the Site
• Write Content in WordPad or other Non-
Microsoft Word Editor

36. Content - Authoring
• Write Content Before You Build the Site
• Write Content in WordPad or other Non-
Microsoft Word Editor
• Save spell-checked content to .rtf file that is
appropriately named

37. Content - Authoring
• Write Content Before You Build the Site
• Write Content in WordPad or other Non-
Microsoft Word Editor
• Save spell-checked content to .rtf file that is
appropriately named
• Define a workflow for coordinating writing,
editing, and content entry onto the site

38. Content - Files

39. Content - Files
• Writing for a site with 40+ Pages:

40. Content - Files
• Writing for a site with 40+ Pages:
• Number Your Final Information
Architecture by Section # & Page #

41. Content - Files
• Writing for a site with 40+ Pages:
• Number Your Final Information
Architecture by Section # & Page #
• Name .rtf files based on Section #, Page #,
Page Title

42. Content - Files
• Writing for a site with 40+ Pages:
• Number Your Final Information
Architecture by Section # & Page #
• Name .rtf files based on Section #, Page #,
Page Title
• Reference on-page links by Section #, Page
#, Page Title

43. Content - Workflow

44. Content - Workflow
• FINISHED – Folder used to indicate content
is ready to put on site

45. Content - Workflow
• FINISHED – Folder used to indicate content
is ready to put on site
• UPLOADED – Folder finished content is
moved to once put online

46. Content - Workflow
• FINISHED – Folder used to indicate content
is ready to put on site
• UPLOADED – Folder finished content is
moved to once put online
• NEEDS EDITS – Folder used to kick back
pages to Communications that have issues
with them

47. Content - Workflow
• FINISHED – Folder used to indicate content
is ready to put on site
• UPLOADED – Folder finished content is
moved to once put online
• NEEDS EDITS – Folder used to kick back
pages to Communications that have issues
with them
• EDIT REQUESTS – Folder for requesting
content changes AFTER content uploaded to
the site

48. Content - Workflow
• FINISHED – Folder used to indicate content
is ready to put on site
• UPLOADED – Folder finished content is
moved to once put online
• NEEDS EDITS – Folder used to kick back
pages to Communications that have issues
with them
• EDIT REQUESTS – Folder for requesting
content changes AFTER content uploaded to
the site

49. Content - Photography

50. Content - Photography
• Brain-storm Photo Plan With Creative
People for each Page

51. Content - Photography
• Brain-storm Photo Plan With Creative
People for each Page
• Recruit Photographers to Shoot

52. Content - Photography
• Brain-storm Photo Plan With Creative
People for each Page
• Recruit Photographers to Shoot
• Recruit Photo Editors to Crop, Color
Correct, Scale

53. Content - Photography
• Brain-storm Photo Plan With Creative
People for each Page
• Recruit Photographers to Shoot
• Recruit Photo Editors to Crop, Color
Correct, Scale
• Use a system like Fluxiom or FlickR

54. Content - Photography
• Brain-storm Photo Plan With Creative
People for each Page
• Recruit Photographers to Shoot
• Recruit Photo Editors to Crop, Color
Correct, Scale
• Use a system like Fluxiom or FlickR
• Make Section Page Photos Clickable

55. Content - Photography
• Brain-storm Photo Plan With Creative
People for each Page
• Recruit Photographers to Shoot
• Recruit Photo Editors to Crop, Color
Correct, Scale
• Use a system like Fluxiom or FlickR
• Make Section Page Photos Clickable
• Use Thumbnails as Teasers, Then Use Full
Photo on the Clicked-to Page

56. Own the Website
The Launch is Only the Beginning

57. Ownership - Ongoing

58. Ownership - Ongoing
• Think Web First (All Events, Programs,
Classes, Groups)

59. Ownership - Ongoing
• Think Web First (All Events, Programs,
Classes, Groups)
• Don’t Own it Alone
• LOL (Little Old Ladies)
• Ministry Leaders (They Are Responsible)
• Membership (Easy way to report issues)

60. Ownership - Updates

61. Ownership - Updates
• Remember, we want FRESH content

62. Ownership - Updates
• Remember, we want FRESH content
• Create Landing Pages for Social Media

63. Ownership - Updates
• Remember, we want FRESH content
• Create Landing Pages for Social Media
• Create a Plan
• Home Page Changes Weekly
• One New Page Per Week (quota)
• Change Out Two Photos Per Week (quota)

64. Ownership - Easy Wins
• Put Your (e)Newsletter & Bulletin (PDF) on
Server & Link to it From Your Site
• Ask People Who Loved an Event or Class to
Write About It
• Display Aggregated Social Media Messages
on Your Site (Twitter, Facebook, etc)

65. Ownership - Analysis

66. Ownership - Analysis
• Ave Number of Pages Visited per Visitor
(Goal: 3-6)

67. Ownership - Analysis
• Ave Number of Pages Visited per Visitor
(Goal: 3-6)
• Visits to Reg Page vs. # Event Registrations

68. Ownership - Analysis
• Ave Number of Pages Visited per Visitor
(Goal: 3-6)
• Visits to Reg Page vs. # Event Registrations
• Time on Site (Goal: 3 Min Ave)

69. Ownership - Analysis
• Ave Number of Pages Visited per Visitor
(Goal: 3-6)
• Visits to Reg Page vs. # Event Registrations
• Time on Site (Goal: 3 Min Ave)
• Bounce (Leave) Percentage on Important
Pages

70. Ownership - Analysis
• Ave Number of Pages Visited per Visitor
(Goal: 3-6)
• Visits to Reg Page vs. # Event Registrations
• Time on Site (Goal: 3 Min Ave)
• Bounce (Leave) Percentage on Important
Pages
• Paths Through the Site (Consistent with
Nav?)

71. Ownership - Analysis
• Ave Number of Pages Visited per Visitor
(Goal: 3-6)
• Visits to Reg Page vs. # Event Registrations
• Time on Site (Goal: 3 Min Ave)
• Bounce (Leave) Percentage on Important
Pages
• Paths Through the Site (Consistent with
Nav?)
• Referrers

72. Wrap Up
• Building and Maintaining a Quality Ministry
Website Takes Work
• The Work is Worth It. The Work is Ministry.
JasonReynolds {at} gmail.com
Twitter: JasonReynolds