Cool Church Web Design Features

When it comes to church web design, there are a number of standard features/pages that are floating to the surface. Some of these include:

• Online Giving
• Sermon Audio/Video
• A Guest Page
• Staff Page
• Ministries Page
• Welcome Videos
  

My question has been, "Who is innovating? Who is really coming up with some clever ideas?"

For me, that questions doesn't require some new radical technology or coding upgrade. It's more about the user. How are they making the experience for the user easier and more interactive?

Quickly, some features I like:

Site Map - I really like to see a full list of links on medium to large sites. I am one of those independent web users who wants to blaze his own trail. A site map lets me do that easily. It is also very helpful when you are looking for something really specific. (College Park Church does this pretty well with their ministry index at the top and footer at the bottom.)

Invite a Friend - Northside Christian is a great example. They have a simple form that users can fill out and invite their friends to church.

Downloads - Northstar Church in Frisco, TX is a really stellar example of this. They have banners and icons available for their church members to use on their blogs, myspace pages, and email signatures. What a great way for people to promote their church.

What are some things you have seen or would like to see?

Printyastuff.com Update

Just wanted to keep everybody in the know...

If you sign up at Printyastuff.com, you could win one of six $50 dollar coupons toward your first order when it launches later this summer.

50 Great Church Website Designs from Vandelay Designs

Vandelay Designs offers up 50 of the best church website designs.

http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/galleries/best-church-websites/

It's pretty good. Check it out.

Church Website Navigation

In any web design, there are areas in which you generally want to do well. The design needs to be pleasant and reflect the identity of the organization. The content needs to be concise and descriptive. The site needs to be easy to manage and administrate. Probably most important, the site needs to usable.

Many times, usability is the last thing that churches and ministries think about when they look to get a website designed. Over the past few days, I have taken some time to look at literally hundreds of church websites. Many of them have great design, solid content, but they are not user-friendly.

Where this manifests most is in the navigation. This next statement is the take away from this blog post:

Your navigational menu needs to be easy.

What I mean by that is that it needs to:

• Be prominently placed.
• Use terminology that does require you to be an insider. (Don't use creative cryptic navigational titles. People will not take the time to figure it out. If they do, they won't have a good impression of you because you made it harder for them to find out stuff about you.)
  
• Be organized well.

To bring this plane in for a landing, there are a few things that I should never have to hunt for on a church website.

• Service Times
• Directions
• Some way to contact you (preferably multiple ways)
• Pastor's name and picture. (I don't even think you need a bio. I just want to see what he/she looks like and know what his/her name is.)
  

Better Website Statistics

With the recent pre-launch launch of Printyastuff.com (Your Churches Sources for Quality and Affordable Printing). I have been very focused on my Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools offered through Google.

But, I found that I was frustrated with the delay in data. I also wanted something that would give me more of an idea of exactly how the user maneuvers through my site.

Then I found Clicktale.com. Basically, this service tracks exactly what users do and gives you a video of their behavior on the site. This can be invaluable information when you want to optimize your page layout and design for top-quality usability.

I will say, I have just started using this service, so I can't endorse it all the way. But, with a free membership, you can't go wrong trying it out.

Printing Company for Churches Launches Later this Summer

Later this summer, Renick Chase is launching a new site for churches looking for high quality, affordable printing called Printyastuff.com. Users have two options. They can either upload their own designs or they can use the flash-based online designer to submit their designs. Some of the products include business cards, postcards, letterhead, banners, envelopes, and more. Check out the preview site to get some sample pricing.

There will be more to come soon...

A shamless moment of joy

This blog post has nothing to do with websites, marketing, church, graphic design, or printing.

I heard my baby's heartbeat for the first time today.

Wow. A lot could be said. It was definitely a moment that I will never forget.

I just had to be a proud dad for a moment. It really my first time. In fact, I bet you my kid has the best heartbeat in town.

Church Web Design Tip...

I work with a lot of churches and ministries on website design. For most pastors and church leaders, the hardest part of the design process is producing the content for the church's website.

Here's the first tip on writing content for the web:

Most paragraphs on the web are between 40-50 words.***

For most of us, it is really hard to whittle the content down that far. However, you have to remember that most people are impatient readers online.

So how do you do it?

• Figure out what's most important. You need to determine what is vital, so it doesn't get cut.
• Put the most important stuff first. Prioritize your content so that if someone stops reading early, at least they read what is most important to you.
• Cut, Cut, and Cut some more. There is always room to shave some unnecessary words or phrases.

So what does all of the above mean? It means writing content for your website takes planning.

***I would say this is far more relaxed when it comes to a blog because the reader comes with the intent to read the author's content.