Ryan Wakefield's Blog

Before I work with a church I will always visit their website.  I’m sure this is also the case with people who are considering attending a church.  The last stat I read indicated that the vast majority (around 85%) of young people will check out a church’s website before attending.  As you’ve probably figured out, many people are making decisions about your church before they ever arrive on location.

It’s interesting how much you can tell about a church just from a glance at the website.  Here are the things that normally jump out at me:

• The style of the site tells me a lot about the style of the church
• The timeliness of the content tells me a lot about the importance the church places on what is happening
• How the content is prioritized tells me a lot about what the church prioritizes
• The focus or lack of focus of content speaks volumes about the vision of the church
• The pictures or lack of pictures tells me a lot about what the church emphasizes
• The navigation on the site is a great indicator of how the organization is led
• The spacing or clutter can tell a lot about what the church’s facility will be like

It’s very interesting how a church’s website is a reflection of the church. In some cases churches desperately need to update their site to better reflect who they are, but in other cases their site may just be an electronic assessment of an internal reality.

In the next few posts I’ll give you just a few ways you can take you site to the next level.  Be sure to give me your input as well.

1.  Fewer Buttons

2.  Overview Video

3.  Use Photos of People Not Buildings

4.  Google Your Church

5.  Volunteer Involvement Part 1

6.  Online Giving

7.  Don’t Make Me Think

8.  Go Mobile

9.  Pay Attention to the Details