Creating a Church Website | Indiana Website Design

So your church needs a website… Where do you begin?

In today’s society, a church web design is important to helping the church achieve the mission of attracting new members. Not only is it important to have a church web presence it is important to have a church social media management plan in place as well. Before we get to social media, let’s get to website design.

 

The 3 C’s of Great Website Design

 

Compatibility:  A growing number of internet searches happen with a smartphone.  One of the first considerations in a great website design, is how the website looks when someone is searching with their phone. Ask yourself, does the website display correctly regardless if the person is using a cellphone or using their computer. Who hasn’t been to a website that is difficult to read or loads slowly?

Make certain the website design works well for as many people as possible. If any area of your website has a link, make sure the link works. It has to go somewhere, otherwise, the potential

Completeness: None of your website should be “Under Construction”. Websites are always changing and  evolve over time and are never truly “finished”. Even though a church is never finished growing, the website should never look like a construction zone. If there are pages that aren’t completed, at least put something on the page to motivate people to check back later.

Content:  Is your website’s description of your church both current and accurate? Does your church have the correct contact information? How about overall content? Could the content be written more clearly or convincingly? Could your website be more informative, helpful, interesting or relevant? Check all of your site content for incorrect grammar, spelling errors and typos.

Graphics: Do your graphics contribute to or detract from your website? A website with no graphics would be uninteresting, but a site with too many graphics, animations, and different fonts is overwhelming and distracts from your sales message. The trick is to find the right balance. Use animations sparingly, especially those that “loop” (play over and over).

Links: Are all the links on your website working? First make sure any links between pages on your site are directing site visitors to the correct page. Check all of your links to other websites, too; the webmaster may have renamed the page or removed it altogether, and those dead links will make your site look unprofessional and frustrate your site visitors.

Speed: Does your site load quickly enough in the viewer’s browser? After eight seconds have elapsed, chances are good the viewer will give up and go elsewhere. If you have graphics or animations that take awhile to download, provide some engaging content to hold their interest while they wait. Adding graphic elements always comes at a cost in terms of slower loading times, so only include graphics if they really contribute to visual impact of your website and strengthen your sales message.

Navigation: Is it easy to find information on your site? The opening page should tell visitors, at a glance, who you are, what you do, and how to find what they’re looking for. From there your visitors should be able to follow a logical path to learn more about various aspects of your business. If you list products or services on your site, organize them in a logical way. If you decide to use graphic icons instead of text, make sure their meaning is obvious. Make it easy for your site visitors to find what they came for.

Search Engine Optimization: Is your website optimized to rank for important keywords in the most popular search engines? Double check your page titles and meta tag keywords and descriptions to make sure they are accurate and descriptive. Did you work your keywords into the actual page content as well? Church websites can be Is your website design focused on a specific theme, and do you have plenty of informative content related to that theme?

 

We can help with your church website design!

 

Ratel SEO specializes in Digital Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Management Consulting, Email Marketing  And we even do a touch of Web Design, and yes, we do a good job.

There’s a reason why you need a local search engine optimization company for your small business. That can be answered with one question. Where did you go to find an answer the the last time you needed help? Exactly.  Take about 30 seconds to fill out our Client Discovery Form, and let’s take your business to the next level.

 

Even with a great website design for church. You still are going to need a few other tools. This is a great video to help attract a younger following.