We came across this blog-post on www.churchleaders.com about church websites recently and thought the thoughts recorded were worth sharing. The post references the same Lifeway Survey that we mentioned on our blog several months ago.
While we don't use (or recommend) Wordpress or pre-designed/stock templates, we do think the 5 simple points made in this blog post are worth thinking about.
As a branding company, we believe each client is inherently unique and we strive to design them a website with layout, functionality, and attractiveness that is exactly right for them and reflects their brand, or identity. So, we don't deal with templates and this actually goes hand in hand with the article's point number 1: Engaging Home Page. Having an engaging home page is essential. We as a culture have become content to skim through content and jump from website to website looking for exactly what we want, when we use the web. It's important for a client - or in a church's case, a potential church member - to not only land on a website's home page, but to have a reason to stay on it as well. Websites that are confusing, overpopulated with too much content, or populated with outdated or irrelevant content are not engaging. Poor design is an instant turn-off. People won't want to "stay" there.
The writer also makes this important comment: "...for those churches who don’t have the tools found in a theme such as Crossroads and True North, our Premium Church WordPress themes, hiring an outside agency is your most effective option. The monetary ties associated with this vary significantly depending on the project at hand. What needs to be kept in mind is the saying ‘you get what you pay for. If you hire a freelancer for pennies on the dollar, the result of the work will reflect that." We believe that the resources an agency has to offer in the way of support and brand consistency are invaluable - especially for a church - compared to those of a freelancer. That's not to say there's not a place for freelance work... but it's probably not best for a church.
Continue on to the article here to read more.
Tags:
Web Design, Branding, Website Design, Ministry, Branding company, Church website, Church website design