Your Web Site: A Compelling Ministry Tool
By: Melissa Alexander

What is one of the most powerful ministry marketing tools today? If you guessed your Web site, you are right. The rapid proliferation of the Internet has provided today’s ministries with a key opportunity to reach out into their communities, cities and even around the world. More ministries are recognizing this opportunity and putting additional resources, time and effort into their Web sites. 

As Internet users become more Web savvy, churches must realize the value of the Web site. You can no longer get away with a Web site that is nothing more than a static online brochure. You must be able to captivate your audience, to pull them into your site and peak their interest. This takes considerable effort on your part. You must be willing to put the time and resources into your Web site to make it interesting enough to appeal to today’s online visitors.

So, what does this mean? Your visitors will be expecting a visually pleasing site that is easy to read and even easier to navigate, with up-to-date content and features like streaming audio and video. When thinking about your Web site, remember the three Is: 1) impress them with your design, 2) inform them with your content, and 3) interact with them.

Impress
Today's church Web sites have become another crucial extension of the ministries they represent. However, a Web site without relevance might as well not exist. If your Web site cannot visually captivate your audience, you will lose the ability to retain viewers and to relay the message you are trying to send. Here are some suggestions on how to impress your audience:

1. Professional, Custom Design
To be successful, your Web site should be relevant to your target audience. Consider hiring a professional company or designer to create a look and feel that is uniquely you.  Stay involved in the design process, which includes proofs of your site's architecture, style and design, page structure, and color scheme. Once your site is launched, visitors will be captivated to stay and look around, increasing your ability to impact them.

2. Flash Animation
Nearly a requirement for today's professional-looking Web site, Flash animation can add that extra "oomph" to the look and feel of your Web site, giving it unique character and appeal.

3. Navigation
Make sure your navigation is easy to follow and use. Before setting up your navigation menus, try to put yourself in your viewer’s shoes. Think about how they would logically navigate your site. If there is an area you think they will visit more than others, make that button or link more prominent.

4. Professional Photography
A picture speaks a thousand words. Find high-quality unique photos for the design of your Web site. Look for images that will speak to your target audience and allow them to relate to your ministry.

5. Style Sheets
Keep your site consistent. This is one of the first laws of good design. To help maintain consistency in your Web site, set up style sheets to control font sizes and styles. This ensures no one uses fonts that are bulky or that clash with the site's color scheme.

Inform
The main purpose of your Web site is to keep your audience informed. This means you need to implement and maintain good content. Without good content, you might be missing valuable ministry opportunities, and you risk losing the interest of your viewers.

The first step to good content is making sure it is relevant to your target audience.  Provide articles, links and images that will appeal to them. By adding audio and video to your Web site, you have the added ability to connect with your viewers. For example, post your Sunday morning sermons to your Web site for those who were not able to attend the service. MP3 and MPG files can be posted to your site and are easily downloaded by anyone.

Next, be concise. Long, scrolling pages tend to disinterest viewers. Try breaking up pages of long text by using links. This keeps your Web site looking clean and easier to navigate. Consider going with a Web site provider who offers you unlimited pages. This will enable your Web site to grow with your ministry.

Once you have good content, be sure to keep it up-to-date. If your Web site contains old content, then you cannot gain credibility with your viewers. In this case, one bad apple spoils the whole bunch. Visitors quickly discredit your entire site if they see old content, especially on a top-level page like the home page. If you think it is important to keep your old content, then start an archive and keep old news items and other content in that area.

Interact
Design and content are just part of the equation. If you really want to retain your viewers, you must get them involved. Here are some additional features you can add to your Web site to do this.

1. Online Donations
Online donations make giving easier and more accessible. Set up a giving fund and start accepting donations online.

2. Small Groups
Create small group areas on your site. By giving small groups their own area to freely share prayer requests and other personal information, you help to strengthen and grow relationships within your ministry, as well as save time and money by reducing paperwork, postage and phone calls. This allows you to post member contact information, meeting information, scripture, prayer requests, events and more. These areas should be password-protected and have their own individual login information.

3. eNewsletters
Create a professional, graphic newsletter and send it to your e-mail database. Save time and money on postage, printing and man-hours. Also, drive traffic to your Web site. Recipients can easily forward eNews to friends and family who may not attend, expanding your ministry to those outside the organization. Don’t be a spammer. Get the recipient’s permission before sending any bulk e-mail, and be sure to follow spam laws, which require you to provide your recipients a means to opt out of your e-mail database.

4. Online Registration
Take the hassle and cost out of paper applications. Set up online event registration forms on your Web site. The automated, electronic process saves time by eliminating the need for data entry. Giving access to sign up at any time also helps to increase event attendance.

5. Message Boards
Message boards add another level of interaction to your site. They give your viewers a great outlet to discuss a wide range of topics from mission trips to last week’s sermon. They keep visitors interested and involved in your site. They also increase return visits to your site and build community between visitors.

6. Polls and eCards
Add online polls to gather important information from your site visitors or just for fun. Also, create eCards that site members can send to their friends and family. Through eCards, you enable visitors to comfortably tell others about your ministry. 

When used correctly, the Web can be a powerful tool that opens new doors of opportunity for your ministry. Whether you are revamping your existing Web site or creating an entirely new Web site, assess your target audience and apply the three Is based on their demographics, interests, exposure and experience. This will help you to reach your audience on their level and maximize your online ministry, which will, in turn, help you to maximize your overall ministry efforts.

Melissa Alexander is the marketing director for SPEAK! Creative, www.speakcreative.com.

Sidebar
E-Giving
Use Your Web Site to Accept Donations
By Deborah Matthews

Electronic giving (e-giving) is a win-win situation for both churches and parishioners. It allows the donor to give how, when and where is convenient for them. Opportunities may be missed because a parishioner may be moved to make an offering but didn’t bring cash or a check; e-giving creates an additional opportunity to accept from those who want to give. 

Look for a processor that can incorporate the technology to accept donations directly at your Web site. Ask prospective processing service providers if they can create a “transparent” e-commerce-enabled Web page, incorporating the look and feel of your existing Web site and preserving your branding.

Donors like the flexibility to choose how often they will give. They may opt to make a single donation or start his or her own recurring donation schedule: weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc. For added convenience, it is recommended to incorporate a confirmation page, which can double as a tax-deductible receipt for the contribution and may be printed. 

There are a number of payments processors that work with faith-based organizations to facilitate safe and secure donation processing. Also, for your convenience, it is helpful to select a processor that accepts all payment types, eliminating the need to work with more than one company.

When selecting a payments processor to assist you with your e-giving program, inquire about reporting tools. It is essential to good stewardship to manage the incoming donations effectively, so the level of detail and customization are important factors to consider. In some cases, a processor may be able to integrate their electronic donation solution with your accounting software, creating even great efficiencies in financial administration.

Offering a variety of donation options helps keep your congregation strong. Make it easy for the faithful of your church to contribute by expanding your payment options to include electronic giving.

Deborah Matthews, AAP is the vice president of marketing for ACH Direct, www.achdirect.com.

Product Roundup

Truepath Christian Web Hosting
Truepath offers best-in-class Web hosting and customer support for churches and groups. When you host with Truepath, you get:

• Templates that make setting up your Web site fast and easy
• Latest software to help you maximize your Web site with forums and content management
• Reliable, secure data center to ensure that your information is protected
• Individualized customer support
• Low-cost hosting plans with generous account limits

www.truepath.com

FaithConnector
FaithConnector builds customized, high-impact church Web site templates that take advantage of an easy-to-use content management system, so churches can maintain their Web sites in-house without the need for computer programming skills. FaithConnector advantages include:

• Fantastic design
• Great ease of use
• Maximum Web site and hardware features
• Free customer and technical support

www.faithconnector.com

faithHighway
faithHighway is a leading provider of media and technology outreach solutions for churches and ministries. More than 1,000 pastors in the past two years have decided to utilize cost-effective, cutting-edge Web technologies to:

• Reach the unchurched
• Retain more first-time visitors
• Increase the speed and accuracy of communication within their church

With 30 percent of all Americans seeking spiritual answers online, and the average American home spending 2.5 hours daily on the Internet, it is vital that you have a professionally designed, constantly updated Web site.
www.faithHighway.com

E-zekiel
E-zekiel is a turnkey solution for developing and managing Web sites and electronic communications – all available via the Internet with nothing to install on your computer. With E-zekiel, you can:

• Publish professional sites without experience or special Web knowledge
• Send, receive and manage your e-mail accounts
• Create and manage people, groups and permissions
• Collect feedback through polls and forms
• Market your site to search engines
• Track and analyze your site’s traffic

www.e-zekiel.com