Recently Adam McLane, a Partner at The Youth Cartel and Principal at McLane Creative, wrote about his experience visiting more than 1,000 church websites. Being completely frank, McLane notes that many sites suck and are “truly crappy.”
Since your congregation’s website is a key way potential newcomers gather data and determine whether or not to participate, it should accurately reflect your congregation’s identity. Not only should the site be aesthetically pleasing, but it should be up to date with simple navigation and easy access to the kind of information new people generally seek.
McLane offers five suggestions to help improve every church website:
- include the church name, address, phone number, and a link to directions in the footer of every page,
- have a homepage designed for visitors,
- contain pictures of people not buildings,
- provide easy ways for people to contact the church, and
- be mobile-friendly.
So What?
Currently I am associated with two congregations. While one does better on McLane’s list than the other, neither is ideal. Which of these areas do you feel needs improvement on your congregation’s site?
Note also that McLane reminds readers that “the 3 most popular pages on most non-profit organizations websites are: Home, About Us, and Staff.” Do you know what pages receive the most traffic on your congregation’s site? How well do those pages communicate the message intended? How might they be improved?
Note: If you are searching for someone to help design/re-design your church website, there are many great resources available to fit nearly ever budget. If you do decide to get outside help, hire a person you can trust who has experience working with churches. McLane is one such option. Christopher Harris of Faith Growth is another (he helped me redesign So What Faith). There are, of course, many more.