Asking if you have a website is hopefully a needless question. Being without one is comparable to Jonah refusing to go to Nineveh—if that’s the case, you really should consider life inside a whale for wasting such a God-given opportunity.
That said, what makes a good website for today’s online presence? Think three A’s: Audience, Application and Accessibility.
Audience
Identifying your audience is a crucial first step. It determines the look of your site and the message you want to convey. But let’s back up: In order to identify your audience, you must also identify your goals. Here are some possibilities:
Church promotion
If your goal is to promote your church, to whom are you targeting the promotion? Potential new members from the community? Families? Professionals? Tourists passing through? Your website style and content should match that of your audience and their needs.
Member communication
Is your primary goal to unify your membership? Nurture their faith? Increase their awareness of what’s happening at church? If so, who are your members? What are their ages, their careers, interests and life situations? For mechanical purposes, what are their online capabilities? Are they tech savvy? Do they have high speed internet?
Outreach
Now, more than ever, the internet offers the widest, quickest access to the greatest masses. Is spreading the gospel is one of your website goals? If so, the world is your audience and you must assume zero faith knowledge. No shop talk allowed!
That’s it for now. Next we’ll look at applying design and content elements to reach your audience.