15
Well-Intentioned Church Web Site Mistakes
by Marc Lee.
There
are probably almost as many people who have tried to
create church web sites as there are churches with web sites. It's often an experiment, trusting to the best intentions of
determined volunteers who don't get much practice beyond their first
effort. Some, with a bit of grace, have seen their efforts produce
marvelous results. Others have made their fair share of mistakes.
I don't mean to cast stones.
Everyone is trying their best.
But designing an inviting web page is like the old joke that asks how
you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice.
The following are some of
the more common problems you
might experience when viewing church web pages:
- Slow loading, over-crowded, discount Internet
Service
Providers used to save money -- surfers just don't have the
patience.
- Slow loading, pretty church name banners that take up lots of screen space -- Its nice to see your name in lights, but the web visitor probably already knows your name!
- Putting everything all on one page and running margin to margin -- professional printers know to use spacing and margins to assist the reading process. In cyberspace it is even more important, because we read so quickly and will not read difficult, long, or poorly visible information on a monitor.
- Showing many cluttered images -- their slow loading
time
and visual distraction will tax the patience of the single viewer
who finally remains.
- Little slogans tucked in the corner -- they cry
out, "Tell us
that you really believe what you say about yourselves."Use
large, bold type!
- Expecting thousands of site visitors -- Wouldn't
one new
family a year entering through the cyber door be enough for a
start? Give it a year and see?
- Having your web site done by a volunteer without graphic design experience -- you will often get what you pay for.
- Offering immediate links to other sites sends
the visitor an
unintentional message -- "I come to you for answers, and you
send me away."
- Listing all your ministries and everyone involved
-- these
read like the credits of a movie and only the people who expect
to be listed read them. When was the last time you sat through the credits?
- Failing to provide clear directions to your church
-- (no
doubt you have lathered the community with "Episcopal
Church Welcomes You" sinage to guide the visitor.)
- Burying your worship times in a secondary page
while
your phone number is right up front will result in yet another
10:15am phone call asking "What time is the 10:30 service?"
- Counters -- which of the following numbers (taken
from
active church web sites) tells you more about potential
newcomers viewing your page? 265 . 549 . 529 . 313 . 718 . 138 . 696 . 64 . 1417 . 1157 Answer: none of the above. One newcomer can more than justify your site.
- Your site looks just like one in New Jersey? -- dare to be different!
- Sermons On-line -- Its good for the rector's
ego, but is
anybody really reading? Answer: Yes. Other clergy looking
for sermon material!
- Mission Statements up front -- If your mission
statement
doesn't have a quick, bite sized slogan, don't try to make it
your lead.
Mistakes
are okay. We make mistakes because we make our
first effort. All of this means simply that there is room for improvement,
for presenting ourselves and our various ministries in more attractive,
more accessible ways. After all, the task is to draw people in, not
chase
them away!
Copyright © 1999 by Marc Lee, Affinity
Web Design Consulting.
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