Your church wants to penetrate the digital space by starting out with a good website. As a leader in the church, you’ve been tasked to research what makes websites for churches engaging. After consulting a few people here and there, you have turned to the internet, and that’s why you are here.
Websites create a convenient way to stream church services, especially now in light of the coronavirus. However, several factors should be considered when building church websites. To ensure your church website fulfills the intended purpose, you’ve to incorporate them.
Read along as we divulge seven factors to consider when building church websites.
1. Mobile Optimization of the Website
Over 80% of internet users use mobile devices; hence the church website should be responsive. To leverage the bigger percentage of internet users, the website should respond to varying layouts. Unresponsive websites don’t adapt the layout design according to the device, giving a poor customer experience.
If you want the church members to engage with the website at any given time, mobile optimization is the way to go. The user experience while using a computer and a smartphone will be the same. A mobile-friendly website performs well regardless of the device the user is using.
2. Content Management System
This is a back-end system that allows creating, editing, and publishing content on the website. If you intend to post blogs on the church website, you need to have a CMS system in the backend to facilitate the process. What you are able to read on the website is the presentation format, many processes occur in the backend.
Without a sound backend system, you won’t be able to offer a good user experience to the people who visit the website. Therefore, when building the church website, ensure the backend is well developed to render all the activities you plan to do with the site.
3. Web Design
The first impression someone gets when they visit your church website is how they’ll view your church. The more appealing the website design is, the more someone is likely to get interested to know more about the church. When coming up with the church website, this should be the first factor to consider if you want to market the church well.
The youth dominate the world’s population; thus, the site has to have a youthful, modern design. Let your web design attract all demographics and have everything well-placed for easy navigation. Go to https://www.swrc.com/ to get inspiration on website design ideas for your church.
4. The History of the Church
At times, we tend to focus too much on the website’s technical details, forgetting its primary purpose. A church website gets created to centralize all the information about the church, such as its history. Have a section on the website that explains how the church began and the people behind it.
This way, someone who intends to join your church can find such useful information in one place. Have a rundown of the clergymen who served at the different stages of the church. The website should display the current leaders with their photos and the position they’re serving.
5. Link Social Media Pages
Churches have started adopting the use of social media platforms to increase their outreach of the gospel. On average, people spend 2 hours per day on social media; you should leverage that to make the pages an extension of the website. The social media platforms should be well managed and updated to be part of your digital marketing strategy.
The website should get linked to the platforms to direct users to engage more on the church’s social media pages. Also, the content you intend to share on social media should refer people to the website for more information. If it’s a Bible review blog, advertise on your social media pages, then share the blog link to direct people to the website.
6. The Church’s Strategic Statements
The church’s mission and vision statements should get written on the website for people to know what the church stands for. If someone intends to attend the church, they’re obliged to know what the church is all about. The mission statements give information on what the church tries to achieve on a daily basis through its ministry.
The vision statement gives an overview of where the church envisions to be in the future. Another good practice is to outline the church’s values that guide the members in all their undertakings. If all this information is clear on the website, the visitor will have an idea of how the church is built spiritually.
7. Relevant Information
This is a section on the website which contains all the relevant information about the church. If someone is new and wants to visit your church, the website should give them information about the timings of the services. More so, the time allocated for anyone to visit the pastor at the church office.
Are there different types of services for the youth, children, and adults? Having all this information outlined on the website will make it easy for someone who wants to visit the church for the first time. Remember to include contact information and the pin/address of where the church is located.
Learn the Features to Include When Building Church Websites
You might also need to incorporate a CTA on the homepage to prompt visitors to take action. It’s essential you onboard the above factors when building church websites to make them informative and engaging.
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