Categories: uncategorized
Date: 12 March 2010 11:42:17
Interesting article in the Baptist Times this week on church websites and the way churches aren't always getting a grip on them. The article talks about a survey from the Church Insight web company, a survey which it appears is currently unavailable. It makes the point that churches that focus their websites for outsiders are more positive in achieving visitors and growth. Within this I want to say doh! the website will be one aspect of mission within these churches, they will be focusing other resources on mission and outreach aswell.
Good church websites are important though, if people are looking for churches or whatever they will often Google stuff now. Some of the varying examples of church websites I am aware of are as follows:
My favourite is Burlington Baptist Church's. This website has a good mix of visuals and most importantly good quality useful content which is up to date and relevant. From the front page you can find what you need. The content also shows the way the church is engaging with the community, including the pod-casts from local candidates in the forthcoming election. The minister has a blog link which is regularly updated. The thing is though, this is a relatively large church with a team staff and a good knowledge of IT and contemporary media within it. Many churches don't have the resources to produce and maintain sites like this.
A more "normal" website which has a fresh contemporary feel, but is not so high maintence is that of Carville Methodist Church. It has info on regular activities and has useful info for outsiders including a Google map to the location and details of the mission statement and values aswell as history. If you look in the What's On section it is really good that it has stuff to look ahead to. It is noticeable some of the events advertised are starting to get out of date and so perhaps a bit more regular updating of this section, however again this throws up issues of resources and manpower available. Emmanuel Church in Durham also has a fresh contemporary look.
Two websites which are useful and probably standard for alot of churches are those of Elvet Methodist Church and Herne Bay Baptist Church. Both of these are up to date with current useful information, but they have less of a contemporary feel than the previous ones I linked to. A good feature of the Elvet site is the latest news box which draws the eye. The HBBC site has some really good info and is updated regularly, aswell as having a good library of sermons. The one problem with this is that the home page leaves half the screen blank. However, they are good sites and show the positive visions of the churches. They are also very user friendly which is the key thing.
The report mentioned earlier says "good content and ease of use was far more important than a sophisticated image or a multiplicity of functions." What I think the Burlington site showed though, is that where you get the whole package it is noticeably impressive and can be seen to reflect a good product. I know all of the churches I've linked to and know that all are good outward focused, bible believing churches. However, I also know they have diverse congregations and the content does reflect the skills and knowledge available within the churches.