building a great church website

Building a Great Church Website

Joe LuedtkeVice President, Liturgical Publications

jluedtke@4lpi.com@cathtechtalk

Website Axiom

• In Real Estate its “location, location, location”• On the Internet, we had one axiom, but may be

developing a second:

Its all about the Conversation!

Why You Need a Good Website

• The next generation of parishioners are growing up online. Simple. End of discussion.

• Internet searches are far more common than Yellow Page searches.

• Your website is your online marketing tool.• If you don’t do it, others will try: masstimes.org,

parishesonline.com, seekandfind.com, thecatholicdirectory.com

Creating a Good Website

• Pick a Content Management System (CMS) that’s simple to use.

• Put someone in charge of it. You have a bulletin editor. Where’s your website editor?

• Keep the content fresh. – Here’s a challenge for you! Don’t update your bulletin unless

you update your website.

• Start small. Just a few pages and then grow from there.

How to Create a Good Website

• Absolutely no…

• Under construction and outdated content is up to you, but tools like Google’s Webmaster toolset can help with 404 errors

Why You Need a Great Website

• The Internet is moving from a Marketing and Informational Tool to an Engagement Tool.

• Not only is the next generation of parishioners growing up online, they’re more comfortable engaging there too!

• Your website is your online marketing tool but can also be a parishioner engagement tool. Our goal is to drive engagement online and into Mass.

Creating a Great Website

• Start with…– Your Parish Mission and Vision. These will guide you along the way.– A Theme. Does your church already have a logo, taglines, color standards,

or standard fonts that should be used?– A guide for voice and tone. Consistency helps.

• Hire a professional or a volunteer, but make sure they’re up to the task. – Unfortunately, well intentioned volunteers are the number one cause of

outdated and abandoned church websites.

• Design first, then Build, and then Test. They’re all equally important.

• Don’t forget to launch. Have a goal and stick to it.– It’s the web. You can keep changing and growing it.

The Website’s Foundation• Domain Name

– Keep them short and memorable if possible– Consider .org, .com, or .net. If you can, get them all– Common Domain Registrars: www.networksolutions.com,

www.godaddy.com.– You need to own the domain

• Content Management System– WordPress is the easiest and most common do it yourself CMS– Joomla! And Drupal are affordable Open Source platforms– LPi’s website product, WeConnect, http://www.4lpi.com/web-

sites-social-networks/weconnect– Many customizable, template driven options exist for churches.

Go to www.catholictechtalk.com and look under resources.

Design

• If you hire a professional, focus on the design.– Style Guide– Wireframes– Comps

• If you buy a template-based system, focus on your sitemap.– A sitemap is your site’s table of contents.– Options:

• http://www.4lpi.com/web-sites-social-networks/weconnect• http://catholictechtalk.com/website-builders

Design Tips

• Understand your audience or audiences– Is the site for parishioners or the public?– Design your home page for the general public

• Less is more• Don’t go for the flash and splash. You’re here to serve

not entering a beauty contest• Do, however, use photos and videos

– But use them with purpose– Make them engaging and inviting

Content Navigation• People read print left to right, however, people read a

website in a capital “C”: top, left, center• Primary navigation can be top or the left. Experiment

with both• Navigation within the footers are now a best practice

Content Tips• Remember what makes a good website. You need to able

to manage your content• If you’re website doesn’t change, why would anyone come

back?• Less is more• No small print. You’re designing this site for all ages and

all abilities• Are you a bilingual church? Then your websites needs to

be too!• Don’t let your visitor get lost, open external links in a

separate window

Content and Searching• Searching – Church’s are at a disadvantage with Google• Understand your keywords and then use them in your content.

– “St. Bernard” returns in Google 23,000,000 results– “St. Bernard Wauwatosa” returns 19,000, but the church is in the #1

position– With “Catholic Church Wauwatosa” St. Bernard falls to #2. Why?

• “St Joseph Parish is a welcoming Catholic…”• “The mission of St. Bernard Parish is to provide the people of

God…”• Both sites call themselves a “parish” but people search for a

“church”. St Bernard forgot to use the word “Catholic” prominently on their home page

• If you plan on having lots of content, your site needs its own search function

Things on a Church’s Home Page

http://catholictechtalk.com/2011/11/08/-page-things-on-a-churchs-home

Generic Site Map• Home Page

– Welcome (About Us)• Mission

– Who we are• Clergy• Staff listing• Contact• Directions / Map• Mass Times

– Sacraments– Ministries– Calendar of Events

– Service Opportunities– Giving Opportunities– Your Faith

• Religious Education• Adult Faith Formation• Readings• Homilies / Reflections

– News• Bulletin• Newsletter• Blogs

– School

Driving Engagement

• Fresh, regularly updated content. It needs to start here• Blogs. Your priest often puts a letter in the bulletin why

not online too?– And yes, allow for commenting

• Facebook and Twitter feeds. Yes, but commit to them. They must be treated as extensions of your website

• Email newsletters, the simplest most effective way to start online engagement

• Forms• Event signups and online donations

Analytics

• “You can’t manage, what you can’t measure”.• Google Analytics is wonderful and free tool. Leverage it.

Its also fun!• What to measure:

– Visits– Unique Visitors– Pages/Visit– “Contact Us” requests.– eGiving Signups– Form downloads

• More on SEO, http://www.seomoz.org/beginners-guide-to-seo

What Not To Do• Attempt more than you can handle. Start with plan or

start small.• Blogging, Facebook, Twitter? Yes, but only if you’re

committed. • Skip the building. We’re not

architectural buffs.• Pictures of people? Yes, absolutely,

but only with their permission.• Flash? Use it sparingly. Remember

it doesn’t work on some mobile devices!

• No Popups and no special effects

What Not To Do

• Music. Please don’t have any autoplay. Make them come to mass to hear the hymns.

• Hit counters. Its no longer a common practice and initially can send the wrong message.

• Busy backgrounds

Rate Your Website

Rate Your Website

Rate Your WebsiteYour Score 0 – 100 Points: Yikes… it’s probably time to create a “Web Committee” at your church. Get together and discuss solutions that can make your church website fully functional and beneficial to your overall mission.

101 – 150 Points: You’ve got the basic framework for a working website, but there’s always room for improvement! Decide what’s working, what’s not, and assign tasks for web team members to carry out. Need some help? Advertise in the bulletin that you’re looking for volunteers to help get your website up-to-date.

151 – 250 Points: Nice job! You’ve got a great website, but don’t forget to keep updating your content! Your site should keep your members up-to-date, as well as inform potential members or visitors about your faith community.

Rate Your Website

• So how did your website rate?• Anyone want to share their score?

Thank You

Joe Luedtke

Vice President, Liturgical Publications

jluedtke@4lpi.com

@cathtechtalk