4 Things Your Church Website Must Do
“If a church…can’t be Googled, for many people it doesn’t exist.”
This comment was true when it was made several years ago. And if it’s possible for statements to become truer over time, then this one fits the bill.
Unscientific studies indicate that between 75% to 90% of people will visit your website before your physical location. Others indicate that people will visit over one dozen church websites before visiting a church’s physical location. And many—if not most—people visiting your church’s website will make a decision whether or not to visit your church’s physical location solely by their online experience alone.
What all of this points to is one simple conclusion: The front door of your church has been relocated.
It’s no longer located at the physical address of your church.
It has been moved to your digital address. Your church website.
Even though this transition has already taken place. Many churches today have a metaphorical “Do Not Disturb” sign on their website. Instead of being an open door leading people to their church’s physical location, many church websites are closed doors leading people nowhere but a new search.
Your church’s website should serve as an extension of the life of your local church—not the unwieldy aspirations of a web developer, intern, or volunteer. And as such, your church’s website should serve your church by furthering its objectives.
What follows are four things your church’s website must do. Allow these principles to serve as bumper pads to the development of your church’s website and your new front door. Read more
See also
Deadly Sins of Church Websites
Your Church's Digital Front Door: Choosing your online presence
Setting Goals with Your Church Website
2015: The Year of the Podcast
In my 15 predictions for 2015, I mentioned podcasting and how many new shows would launch in hopes to become the next Serial. I also stated that they would mostly fail.
So how can 2015 be the year of the podcast if most new podcasts will fail? Because in 2015, we will see podcasting become the next major form of digital entertainment and, in turn, the next major revenue stream for digital media.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll cover different aspects of podcasting, but today, I share my top five reasons I think podcasting is the next big thing along with some personal notes from the podcast I host with Thom Rainer.... Read more
6 Steps to a Facebook Ad
Should my church pay for a Facebook ad?
Josh Burns is director of web and social media at Park Community Church in Chicago. Here’s his perspective:
You can spend $30 to create a sponsored story on your church’s Facebook page that will potentially reach thousands of people. It is also interactive, and best-case scenario, you create value for that person and they “like” your Facebook page. Since your church’s social media presence is the new greeter anyway, this is exactly what you want to happen. (Of course these numbers depend on how many people already “like” your church’s Facebook page, but even if you have less than 200 “likes” these numbers could be accurate.)
This doesn’t excuse you from crafting well-written, visually appealing posts that create value for your community. Just because you can throw money at your Facebook page doesn’t mean you’re doing it right. You must first create valuable content for your community on a consistent basis. This is what is actually going to help you in the long run. Your church should be using social media as a relationship platform, not a broadcast platform, and no amount of money is going to make up for that. But after you’ve created value for your community, then you can think about creating a budget. Read more
Protect Church Computers from Ransomware
Both Windows and Mac computers are vulnerable to this new category of malware.
A new category of malware is called ransomware because it holds your files for ransom. And it doesn’t matter if you’re on a Windows or Mac computer. Some ransomware encrypts files and some only locks files. In either case, you can't get to your data unless you pay a fee, which may or may not work. Protecting from such malware and having a plan in case an infection gets through to data is essential for every church. Read more
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