Five Considerations When Planning Your Church Web Site
By: Eli Bernard

I've heard it said that, "Creativity makes the world go 'round, but tedium pays the bills." There is nothing of which this is truer than your organization's Web site. The life cycle of many Web sites is Dream, Design, Develop, Deploy, and Drop.

The possibilities of the look, feel, and interactive elements fire the creative juices of designers. Then comes the tedium, and the tedium lasts forever. But the tedium is where the real communication happens, where real ministries are supported, and where real lives can be impacted.

Consider the impact of announcing that you are going to provide a prayer "board" on your Web site where church members can see and pray for the needs of other church members. This Dream comes from the heart of one with a passion for intercessory prayer. The Dreamer finds someone with a passion to Design and Develop their Dream, and then they Deploy the Dream for all those who wish to participate. The exhilarating sense of accomplishment and completion hangs heavy in the air as they browse to the site for the first time.

However, rarely do any of these three have the passion for tedium. For the site to be meaningful, you have to believe that it is never completed. Someone has to post new prayer requests, remove outdated prayer requests, and solve bugs and problems on the site. This tedium is generally referred to as maintenance. If a Web site is not kept current, relevant, and responsive, then no interest in the site will be maintained for long.

Also remember ease of use. Creative, talented people can create beautiful, highly interactive Web sites with many bells and whistles—but they can be ones that are incredibly difficult to navigate. And it can be difficult for the Dreamer and Developer to understand this. They have been so immersed in the project that they know how to navigate the site without "sight"—but the rest of the Web-wide world may not tolerate the complexity long enough to value the site.

This doesn't mean that you don't want an attractive site. It does mean that it should be secondary to functionality. The look of the site may draw a crowd, but it is what they can do with the site that will keep them coming back.

So, with these two concerns in the forefront of your mind, what considerations need to be made?

1. The Designer/Developer
Today, just about every church in the country could have a 16-year-old member that could design/develop a Web site for the church. However, your options include (in order of expense): a volunteer (church member or friend), a template-driven site that is hosted by a third party, outsourcing the work to a company that provides design/development and/or hosting services, and a paid staff person with Web design/development skills. Each of these options has pros and cons. The volunteer is free, but the volunteer is much less dependable on maintenance once the creative work is done. Hiring a Webmaster will almost guarantee effective maintenance, but it can be an expensive way to go. Each church should find the best balance of skill and expense that meets their needs as filtered through the critical criteria of maintenance and ease of use.

2. The Software: Custom or Template
You need software to build a Web site. The span of possibilities is encompassed by the most difficult (software that requires programming knowledge and skill) to the most simple (software or Web-based template-driven applications that require no programming knowledge or skill). As with the Designer/Developer, software also has a span of possibilities from the complex to the simple. Complex software requires a person with Web development skill. The software is a one-time purchase, but the Webmaster is an ongoing expense. Template-driven software is generally delivered in a subscription-based package, requiring an ongoing expense, but little effort or computer skill.

3. The Purpose
When asked, "Why do you eat?" one may respond "Because I need to eat." A more thoughtful response might be, "My body needs energy to survive" or "It is one of my favorite activities." In like fashion, if your answer to the question of, "Why do you want a Web site?" is "Because we need a Web site," then you haven't put enough thought into the activity that is going to require more time and expense than you might at first imagine. Hint: The purpose of your Web site will best serve the church if it is aligned with the purpose of your church.

Some things you might consider as "purpose" for your church's Web site:

* Announcements vs. Two-way communication with members, guests and the community
* Help people find us vs. Help us find people
* Promote our buildings/property vs. Promote our people and ministries
* Present information vs. Present biblical truth

And while there are many more possibilities, this gives you some idea of what a foundational purpose might be, and how important it is to be precise in what you hope to accomplish. But, having a purpose and maintaining a purpose are two different things.

Once you have a Web site, everyone who has any idea of what a Web site can do will want you to "enhance," "modify," "improve," and "expand the capabilities of" your site. If you don't know why you have the site (and there could be multiple reasons), then you could end up with a conglomeration of ideas, experiences, and activities that muddy your intended purpose.

Stick to your guns. Once you have decided what your Web site needs to accomplish, only develop what helps you accomplish your purpose(s). For example, if your purpose were to enhance communication with your members, you might want to make sure that your site had:

* A private section for members only, with e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, church-only events, and small group and ministry organizational tools
* A calendar section that allows for the easy search and display of key event information
* Links and contact information for various ministry groups
* A resource-sharing tool that allows for the "check-out" of shared resources and equipment for church activities
* A Web-based way for leaders and members to push out announcements and information by e-mail

4. The Strategy
Part of maintaining an effective and purposeful Web site is a strategic process that drives current information into the development/deployment process and drives old information out. Maintenance without a plan can result in spotty maintenance and inconsistent delivery. For example, when announcements are created and posted, if the strategy does not include a process of determining and acting on the terminal date of that announcement, it may live on for months beyond the date of the activity.

Things you might include in your strategy are:

* Processes for submitting content for posting
* Policies on what has priority and place on your site
* Clear e-mail and phone number contact information on every page
* Processes for reporting found errors and outdated content
* Processes for approving artwork and imagery

5. The Current-cy
What often happens with a Web site is that once it is "up and running," it is what it is. Challenge a few key people in your church to keep an eye open for your church's priorities as they browse the Web. It is a given that there is someone doing exactly what you want to do, only better. Keep in mind that the suggestion for doing it better doesn't necessarily mean snazzier or fancier. Snazzy and fancy are fine, if it is indeed better – as filtered by maintenance and ease of use.

No one who played Pong in the early 1970s would suggest that it was a terrible game. It was state-of-the-art when it was released. But we are all thankful that the computer industry continued to improve its "current-cy." Be honest. Is your site a "Pong" site? Does it communicate that you are behind the times? Is there a way to improve the experience of your site's visitors and enhance the functional purpose of your site?

A Web site is like a new toy. However, taking the time to create your own rules and understanding of its function and purpose will give you and your church a long, satisfying, and successful experience with the power of the Internet.

Eli Bernard is a market development manager for Group in Loveland, Colorado, www.group.com/buzz, which provides Buzz Central, a church management solution.

Side Bar
Measuring the Effectiveness of Your Web Site
By Jason Otis

Church Web sites have made significant strides from the days when the pastor's first question was likely to be, "What is the World Wide Web?" Then, the expense was tremendous just to get the most basic site up and running, and site development was the purview of those who weren't afraid to learn HTML code.

One big difference came with the introduction of content management platforms specifically for churches. With ease of use and cost efficiency as the top two benefits, Web site development moved into the hands of anyone who knows how to turn on a computer and use e-mail. And the unbelievable bargain—software efficiency helped drive down the cost of creating and managing a Web site significantly—enabled even the smallest non-profit organization to establish a Web presence.

Now that church Web sites have been part of the Internet conversation for quite some time, the questions have grown deeper. What can our Web site do? How can we connect with our members, our visitors? How can they interact with us? In other words, are we reaching who we need to reach? Are people hearing what we have to say? Are we making the best possible use of incredible communication resources to spread the message of Jesus Christ?

These questions center on effectiveness, and there are several tangible measures you can use to evaluate your church's ability to reach out and connect online.

1. Is it current?
Web sites are a dynamic, not a static, form of communication. Content can be updated hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and doing so gives your visitors a reason to return regularly. Change content as often as you can, especially on the home page, event areas, or news pages. One easy idea is to list the sermon topic or post the outline each week. Blogs, podcasts and other syndicated content that can be subscribed to are other terrific means of spreading information. Content management systems help by enabling a church to give multiple people authorization to update the Web sites from their own computers.

2. Is it understandable?
Keep acronyms and lingo in check. Your visitors may not be familiar with the particular phrasing of your denomination. Explain words, terms or acronyms that are part of church member lingo. Keep your content simple and encourage visitors to ask questions and offer feedback.

3. Is it usable?
Sites should be easy to navigate with clear markings along the way. Provide organized content, with familiar navigational words and placement. Keep load time as short as possible by compressing the size of your graphics and images. Adding text descriptions to images for your browser and accessibility software also helps.

4. Is it searchable?
Get your share of search traffic by keeping your site search engine friendly. You can do this by:

* Registering your site with search engines
* Identifying strategic keywords potential visitors might use and include those in your site text
* Naming your pages based on their content ("My Church, Anywhere, US" vs. "Welcome")
* Linking to other sites (think state boards and other ministries)
* Using search engine campaigns and advertisements, especially local search, if your budget allows

5. Are there delivery options?
Keep your content deliverable in multiple formats. Make it easy for your visitors to choose the method of delivery that suits them best, whether online, printer friendly, via music player, updated by syndication, or even sharing the page with others. You can do this by:

* Using a content management system that helps your visitors choose their delivery
* Saving your content in several formats (text, audio, video)
* Providing links to other formats available if they are in a different location

What's Next?
Trend watchers say we're moving from the Information Age into the Recommendation Age. We have so much information available that we often need help in understanding it and applying it to our lives. Certainly, the Body of Christ has a central role in helping people digest and condense "information" into something that sheds light on eternal truth.

The next generation of church Web sites will prepare for this shift by providing biblically based perspectives and teachings in every conceivable format. With the convergence of new technology, broadband, video delivery and the overload of information, church Web sites will not only provide the information, but also the path needed to personalize it, understand it, and apply it to each visitor's life.

Expanding the use of technology is not about moving church online. It's about extending the mission and message of the church outside the walls and making it accessible to anyone, anytime. The more clearly churches can use technology to accomplish that, the more successful they will be in changing lives across the globe.

Jason Otis is the vice president of marketing and business development for Axletree Media, the developers of E-zekiel.com.

Product Roundup

Church Square
A good Web site can enhance discipleship, evangelism, church growth, and member fellowship and support. Church Square provides services to help churches create and manage Web activities, including:
* Church calendars
* Member directories
* e-newsletter mailing lists
* e-commerce
* Donations
www.churchsquare.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
www.faithHighway.com

OurChurch.com
OurChurch.Com is a premier destination for Christian churches' Internet needs. They specialize in Web site design, hosting, and marketing. They offer the following services:
* Design
* Hosting
* Marketing:
OurChurch.Com can build your Web site for you or provide to you the free tools to easily create your own Web site.
www.ourchurch.com