What are the basic ingredients for a great church website? How do you get started?

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Website essentials:
key ingredients and how to get started
How to create an engaging web presence (TheWindermere Centre, February 2014)

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The History of the
Internet in 3 minutes!
Macintosh 128 vector: http://vector.me/browse/214898/apple_macintosh_128k

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Web 1.0 (1991-2003)
 A ‘noticeboard in cyberspace’
 Read-only
 ‘Look but don’t touch’
 Expanding the ‘broadcasting range’

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Web 2.0 (2004 onwards): Playtime!
Interactive; Collaborative; Social; User-driven

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Web 3.0 (as we speak)
 Connections and relationships
 Recognises connections (eg my email,
FaceBook,Twitter, website)
 Focus on building relationships
 Being human, online

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Local Churches and theWeb
Source: http://wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com/blogs/christianpiatt/files/2012/08/whippersnappers.jpg

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What ingredients
make a good website?

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Design
 Usability and
functionality
 Understanding your
audience
 Visual appeal
 Less is more
 Search Engine
Optimisation (SEO)

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Content
 Understanding your
audience
 Open to conversation
 Tone
 Less is more
 SEO

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Design
“Design is not just what it looks and
feels like. Design is how it works.”
– Steve Jobs

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Usability and functionality
 Source: http://www.usability.gov/what-and-why/user-experience.html

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Source: http://standrewsmonkseaton.urc.org.uk

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Source: http://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/

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Understanding your audience
Site Owner
 Who are we building the
site for?
 What do we think the site
is for?
 What do we want to tell
them?
Site User
 Who is actually using the
site?
 What are they using the
site for?
 What do they want to find
out?

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Source: http://www.urc.org.uk/

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Visual Appeal
 Make use of white space to draw the eye
 Avoid unneccesary gimmicks and widgets
 Use colours & typography wisely: either harmonise or contrast
 Prefer clarity over cleverness
 Make the layout and the look logical
 Consistent: build your own box

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Source: https://hillsong.com/en/

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Source: http://www.hiswordoftruth.com/

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Source: http://dokimos.org/home.html

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Less is more
Source: http://www.baptist.org.uk/

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Search Engine Optimisation

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Content

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Understanding your audience
Use language that
resonates with them
Make your content
relevant to them
Targeting to ensure
maximum receptivity
and engagement

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Their top 5 priorities (probably):
 “Where do you meet?”
 “When do you meet?”
 “What happens to my kids?”
 “Are you weird?”
 “What are you really like?”
Source: http://www.churchinsight.com/Articles/356675/5_Things_stopping_visitors_coming.aspx

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Source: http://www.churchofengland.org/our-faith.aspx

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Conversation
Source: http://fleet.urc.org.uk/?p=7329&cpage=1#comment-166

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Tone
Don’t be afraid!
Writing for the web is a different genre
Make space for conversation
Prefer shorter words and shorter sentences

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Source: http://wallaseyvillage.urc.org.uk/new-visitor/

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Less is more
Keep content relevant
Avoid bloat
Archive things that are out of date
Conversation space vs. library
“Be church, online” – create spaces for God

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Source: http://fleetwood.urc.org.uk

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SEO
Be authentic
Search engines now read ‘human speak’
If your content is engaging, and is active (eg
people are clicking on things) search engines will
recognise this and rank your site higher

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Source: http://windermere.urc.org.uk/conferences-and-meetings/

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Website Essentials
1. Easy to maintain and update
2. Easy to navigate
3. Provides a good user experience
4. Responsive (can be displayed on different sized devices)
5. Customisable
6. Interactive
7. Search Engine friendly
8. Attractive

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Website Essentials
TheWindermere Centre
http://windermere.urc.org.uk