It’s silly to finish up a blog series with a Monday post, so let’s just say there will be a pause in this series after this post. It may be a pause of several decades, but we’ll call it a pause.

Let me offer some final tips as I round out the series:

• Content matters, but make it web content. People make quick decisions about a site. Cute will catch their attention, but content will keep it. That content needs to be prepared with the web in mind. Keep it brief, when possible. Use headings and highlighted text to make the content scannable. Don’t be afraid to rework and rewrite to tighten the copy.
• Use good imagery. There is a debate about stock imagery (cheap and professional, but possibly repeating what other sites have) versus real photography (potential complications due to real life issues). Whichever you choose, make sure the quality is good. Optimize the photos for the web, when possible. A big part of that is reducing the size of the image so that it loads quickly.
• Make navigation easy. Help people know how to get around. Headers, menus, buttons… use what it takes to help people get from one place to the next.
• Think about what’s above the fold. That’s an old newspaper term, referring to the way a paper is typically folded in half. On the Internet, it refers to what people see without having to scroll down. Put information above the fold, especially your call to action.
• Anticipate and answer questions. People go to your site looking for information. Think about what information on outsider would want, and make sure it’s there. Consider having a Frequently Asked Questions page.

Those are some final thoughts. Anything that you would add that would help people improve their church website?

Something that has changed dramatically, and will continue to change, is the way people access the Internet. 7% of all web traffic is from mobile devices. About one out of four users access the web through a mobile device at some point during the day. Is your church website ready for them?

Royce Ogle asked me to look at his church’s website the other day (www.wfrchurch.org). The first thing that appears on the page is an option to view the mobile version. That’s smart. If you don’t have a mobile version of your site, that needs to be high priority. If you’re not sure, you can check the Mobilizer on Google (though Google posts this clarification: “This page adapted for your browser comes from and is not endorsed by Google.”). That will let you see what your visitors see when they use a mobile device.

Most modern sites are built on CSS, and creating an alternate mobile version through CSS is fairly simple. Keep in mind also that many devices (iPhone, etc.) don’t do Flash or don’t do it well. You may want to find another way to do those cute animations. A good web designer will know what needs to be done to make your site work well in a mobile version.

There is a hidden advantage to building a mobile site. When you do a search from a mobile device, the search engines give priority to mobile sites. You’ll have a better chance of being found if you take the time to create a mobile version.

Smartphones aren’t going away. Neither are tablets and other mobile devices. It will be worth your time to get your site ready for those mobile users.

As a church plans a website, that church needs to decide who is going to be responsible for the website. There needs to be someone in charge, someone ultimately responsible for keeping the site running and keeping it updated.

There are several routes to go on this. One is to use volunteers. Rarely is this a good idea. Volunteers have good intentions, but when push comes to shove, their other commitments will take priority. There are exceptions to this, but they are few.

Another solution is to use an outside party. Hire a web designer who will be willing to perform updates. Depending on who you choose, this can be expensive. I’ve seen this work well; I’ve seen this work poorly. One possibility, of course, is to pay someone in the congregation. This has its risks as well. Many times the person feels compelled to charge the church very little, then views the work as a favor and not a service. I think the church should say, “We’ll pay your going rate. If you then want to donate some of that back, it’s your business. But we will pay what’s fair.”

What usually works best is to have a site with a content management system which the staff can handle. Have someone on staff responsible for keeping the site up and running. If they don’t have the know how to troubleshoot problems, make sure they have quick access to phone numbers of those that do. A well-designed site shouldn’t need much maintenance, merely content updates.

Given my choice, I’d have a professional design the site (I’d have it done on WordPress, though there are other options), then have someone already on staff maintain the site.

Do you have other suggestions as to how a church can keep things running smoothly?

In some areas, the church can afford to learn from the world. When it comes to websites, one thing that people in the world realize is that you have to have a call to action. What do you want people to do?

If your site is mainly for your members, your goal may not be as sharp. You may want your shut-ins watching the stream of the service, your teens checking the youth calendar, your parents looking at pictures of their kids, etc. But if you have any interest in creating a site that will be of use to outsiders, you need to put some thought into what you want them to do. “Just look at everything” isn’t focused enough; they’ll spend 15 seconds looking at everything, then head elsewhere. You need to think how you’ll measure “success.”

It may be that your goal is to get them to visit your assembly. If so, that needs to be a focal point on your home page. Assembly times and directions. A description of what goes on. Pictures, videos, sermon downloads… anything that you can do to give them a better idea of what to expect. They want to know how to dress. They want to know what goes on. They want some kind of assurance that if they go, they’ll be able to participate at their comfort level.

Your goal might be to establish a more personal contact. If that’s the case, have prominent links to forms where they can leave their information. Make telephone numbers available, making it plain that you welcome calls. Some churches even keep a live chat open, with members taking turns interacting with visitors.

There are other possible goals, like getting visitors to attend a special activity, enrolling them in a study course, subscribing them to a newsletter, etc. It’s important that you decide what your main goal is, even if you want to have other options available to them. And the site itself should make that goal clear and move people toward that desired action.

What suggestions do you have as to how to interact with visitors? Do you know of examples of churches that are implementing this well?

Over at Church Marketing Sucks, Kevin Hendricks has done an excellent series on creating church sites. The first post in the series hits on something that often gets overlooked: the planning stage.

According to this post, 22% of churches don’t have websites. If you find yourself in the 22%, it’s easy to want to get something up quickly. We need a site now. We need to be on YouTube and Twitter and Flickr and Facebook and Google+ and YouVerse and… we need it all now.

Hang on there, Kemosabe. Before doing anything, there are some questions to be addressed. Hendricks has done a good job of pointing out some of the most important.

How does your church communicate? What do you communicate? Why do you communicate it? Who’s your audience? What’s the best way to reach that audience? What are your goals? How are you going to reach those goals? What’s your style? Who’s responsible for the communication? Who makes the final decisions? Is communication a priority?

Before you start filming videos and writing your “About Us” statement, take some time and work through these questions. Doing that at the very beginning will save you lots of headaches down the road.

Can you think of other questions that need to be addressed in the initial planning stage?