Church Websites Start Guide

OFFICE OF COMMUNICATION & MEDIA PRODUCTION

CHURCH websites S TA R T G U I D E

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 6 8 10 12 16 18 22 23 24 2

Introduction Statistics on Church Websites How Websites Influence Perception Designing Your Sitemap Design Basics & Best Practices SEO 101 how to keep your website updated Consider Volunteer Turnover A Word About Users & Editing Access Recommended Platform: Adventist Church Connect

INTRODUCTION Your church website is arguably more important now than ever. It’s much more than basic information. It’s the virtual front door to your church. It’s the deciding factor for many as to whether they’ll ever visit the church in person.

It’s also an inspiring connection point for church members. It’s a way to encourage the congregation to take ownership over the mission as they get involved.

With this guide, you can have confidence as you seek to create (and maintain) a beautiful and sustainable church website that will represent your church well in the online space. It doesn’t have to be an overwhelming task. Let’s get into it!

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We need to double down on where the attention is being paid and bring the message of the love and light of Jesus there. When that happens, when we meet people where they are, they’ll probably come to where we are…but that’s very rarely going to be your first point of contact anymore.

Your first point of contact is going to be online.

A L E X

4

M I L L S ,

P R O

C H U R C H

TO O L S

Devise New and Unusual Plans—Let every worker in the Master's vineyard, study, plan, devise methods, to reach the people where they are. We must do something out of the common course of things. We must arrest the attention. We must be deadly in earnest. We are on the very verge of times of trouble and perplexities that are scarcely dreamed of.

E L L E N

W H I T E

( L E T T E R

2 0 ,

1 8 9 3 .

E V

1 2 2 . 4 )

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STATISTICS

50%

W H Y

I T

M AT T E R S

Millennials are decreasing in church attendance and Gen Z is positioned to become even less engaged with church.

What is driving this trend? What need can we, as the church, meet?

In just the past 10 years, the share of religious millennials who are church members has declined from 63% to 50%.

G A L L U P

Nonreligious Amercans’ interest in exploring religion in the future: Those who do not have a religious preference were asked, “How interested are you in exploring religion in the future?”

G A L L U P

W H Y

I T

How can we reach out to others when there is no interest in hearing about our message? We need to understand the needs people are experiencing and focus on how we can help meet those needs.

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75% NOT INTERESTED AT ALL

( 2 0 2 2 )

M AT T E R S

( 2 0 2 1 )

13% 9% 3% VERY INTERESTED

MODERATELY INTERESTED

A LITTLE INTERESTED

17m

W H Y

17 million non-regular churchgoers check out church websites every year.

G R E Y

M AT T E R

I T

M AT T E R S

Your church website is the first impression people get of your church. Many of these people wouldn’t visit in person, but checking it out online is the equivalent.

33% 33% of people said that the Internet was the first place where they learned about their church.

P R O

W H Y

I T

M AT T E R S

Contrary to popular belief, the Internet isn’t just for young people. Maybe a few decades ago, that could have been true.

But today, everyone is spending time online.

80% 80% of new visitors head to a church’s website before stepping into its building.

J O S H

19 hrs Seniors and boomers spend an average of 19 hours a week online.

I P S O S

/

W H Y

G O O G L E

I T

M AT T E R S

Think of your church website like a test run. A significant number of people will visit it before they decide to come to a service in person. So it’s a “make it or break it” factor!

C H U R C H

W H Y

M AT T E R S

Marketing has changed so much, and it’s continuing to evolve even now. The way people learn about church—in the way it matters—isn’t just the sign in front of your building or the listing in your city directory anymore.

68% 68% of consumers say they have higher expectations for businesses’ digital capabilities since COVID-19.

S A L E S F O R C E

B L A N K E N S H I P

W H Y W H Y

I T

TO O L S

I T

M AT T E R S

Reaching out to the community is important, but the relationship your church members have with the church isn’t a foregone conclusion—and your church website plays a part in nurturing that relationship!

64% 64% of churchgoers say that their church website encourages them to participate in church.

M O N K

D E V E LO P M E N T

I T

M AT T E R S

Although the statistic says “businesses,” this applies to us.

Higher expectations mean that people are willing to tolerate less.

If our online presence isn’t professional and up to industry standards, people will think we as a church aren’t equipped to serve them well either.

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how

websites influence perception C R E D I B I L I T Y

48% of people cited a website’s design as the number one factor in deciding the credibility of a business. (Source: Blue Corona Digital Marketing)

R E L E VA N C E

You don’t want someone to visit your website and leave with the impression “there isn’t anything for me here.” Focus on content that meets needs.

T R U S T

94% of people say bad design is the main reason they don’t trust certain websites (and by extension, organizations). (Source: Social Media Today)

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which one would you trust?

Imagine you’re planning a vacation to Hawaii. It’s your first time, so you don’t have experience and want to find a great place to stay. The first thing you do is search “Hawaii hotels” on Google. Two of the results that come up are www.paradisewithaview.com and www.waikikiresort.com. Upon opening the links, you see that the two sites look and perform very differently from each other. All else being equal, which one would you choose to book your stay with, and why?

www.paradisewithaview.com

Since originally accessing www.paradisewithaview.com to take this screenshot, this site is no longer available due to security concerns.

www.waikikiresort.com

Meanwhile, the Waikiki Resort website is updated with new images, a cookie policy, and more.

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Designing your sitemap H O M E PA G E

I N F O

WAT C H

L I V E

The best homepages are

This will include service

If you livestream your

attractive, simple, and

time(s), location(s), and

services, the link to watch

easy to navigate.

even a digital bulletin.

should be front and center.

W H O

W E

A R E

W H AT

W E

B E L I E V E

M I N I S T R I E S

Be sure to include an

Many site visitors will be

Include info about each

“about” that introduces the

curious as to the beliefs and

ministry offered by your

staff and your mission.

doctrines of your church.

church and how to participate.

G I V E

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S E R V I C E

G E T

I N VO LV E D

C O N TA C T

Always make it easy for

Don’t miss an opportunity

Include the basics:

people to give however is

for a call to action. Help

address, plus working

most convenient for them.

people connect on the site.

phone number and email.

https://dlchurchwebsites.com/church-websites-have-a-two-fold-purpose/

SAMPLE WEBSITE L AYO U T/ O R G A N I Z AT I O N

H O M E PA G E

W H O

W E

A R E

S E R V I C E

M I N I S T R I E S

I N F O

G I V E

C O N TAC T

W H AT

W E

B E L I E V E

This can be an external link/forwarder so that people land on this page when they click it: https://www.adventist.org/beliefs/

L I N K S

TO

WATC H

L I V E

This can also be on the homepage. In general, you want to avoid too many duplicated pages on your site, but there are times where it is effective to do so for the best user experience.

I N C L U D E

I N

G E T

T H E

I N VO LV E D

F O OT E R

Church address • Church phone number • Church email address • Church social media pages

Ensure the church phone number is accurate and the church email address is a monitored inbox.

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On pages 6-7, we reviewed some stats that show just how important the look of a website is. We often underestimate how intentional graphic design of a website impacts the feeling a user gets while browsing the site.

C O N S I S T E N C Y

I S

K E Y

Don’t experiment when it comes to colors and fonts. Consistency is what builds up your brand and helps people get to know your organization. When they recognize your brand online, they’re more likely to trust your organization—both on and offline.

L E S S

R E A L LY

I S

M O R E

Simplicity is a crucial concept for this topic. When people see too much text, too many graphics, they become overwhelmed—then 0% of your message gets through. White space is your friend. Stick to the basics.

Ask yourself: What is the minimum that needs to be communicated?

K E E P

T H E

U S E R

I N

M I N D

Good design is practical design. User experience (UX) is just as important as cool graphics. An artistic website that is frustrating to use just isn’t a good website. Explore the intersection of cool, fresh graphic design and easy, enjoyable UX where people find what they are looking for.

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BEST PRACTICES U S E

O R I G I N A L

I M A G E S

Original photos and videos are the best, when possible. Try assigning one or two volunteers to take some video and photo of services for use on the site and social media.

U P D AT E

C O N S TA N T LY

This is one of the hardest ones, but it’s also one of the most important. A beautiful website isn’t meaningful if service times are wrong or ministries are outdated.

D O N ’ T

F O R G E T

M O B I L E

Your website doesn’t just exist in one state—far from it!

As early as 2015, access to the internet via mobile devices surpassed 50% of all internet access.

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a mobile-friendly website: •

Avoids software that is not common on mobile devices, like Flash

•

Uses text that is readable without zooming

•

Sizes content to the screen so users don’t have to scroll horizontally or zoom

•

Places links far enough apart so that the correct one can be easily tapped

Having to scroll and zoom is frustrating to mobile users. In fact, 61% will leave your site if it’s not mobile-friendly...and go to a competitor’s who is (Source: Search Engine Watch).

Not sure whether your site is mobile-friendly or not? Use Google’s mobile-friendly test page to find out: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/.

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https://www.sitepoint.com/mobile-seo-6-steps-mobile-friendly-website/

O P T I M I Z E D

Rival universities Stanford and Harvard demonstrate well the two most common approaches to making links easy to click with a “fat finger.”

N O T

O P T I M I Z E D

Using a mobile phone to learn how to renew your car registration on the California Department of Motor Vehicles website is almost as frustrating as standing in line there.

https://www.digitalfamily.com/tutorials/web-design-article/the-art-of-mobile-web-design/

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se0 101 SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. This refers to how easy it is for people to find your website online, whether it be via Google search or another method. While you can’t 100% control search results, there are things you can do to influence the SEO score of and traffic to your website.

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Check out this QR code for a video on practical SEO tips from SCC’s Digital Ministry Support Network.

1

F R E S H

C O N T E N T

Update your site often. Sites with constantly updated content are viewed as helpful and relevant, and algorithms are more likely to recommend these sites.

2

S A F E T Y

Does your website still display HTTP before the web address instead of HTTPS? That extra “s” tells visitors and search engines your site is secure, helping them trust you.

3

I N T E R N A L

A N D

E X T E R N A L

L I N K S

The more links you can include in your content, the better.

Look for opportunities to link between pages within your own website and link to external pages from your site.

https://www.centerforonlineevangelism.org/what-is-seo/ • https://www.sdadata.org/seo.html

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how to keep your website updated Let’s face it, keeping a website—any website—updated is a lot of work!

But it’s especially tough when that website is for an organization that has new events all the time, updated livestreams at least once per week, ministries that come and go throughout the year, and much more. You would be surprised how often you’ll find broken links, even when you’ve double checked and diligently used only accurate, current information.

So how in the world can the church stay on top of all these updates? The good news is that there are a few tips to keep the information on your church website fresh with the least amount of stress. It takes a little bit of planning, but structuring your efforts will save you time in the end.

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MAINTENANCE

sustainability AND

T H I N G S

TO

K E E P

I N

M I N D

There are things you can do to prevent the process of keeping your website updated and functional from becoming too overwhelming.

Remember, it’s more important to create a sustainable site than it is to create a state-of-the-art site.

CONTENT. Always think about your content in future terms.

Your two goals should be to (1) provide helpful, accurate content and (2) when possible, leave out unnecessary specific details that will require constant updates.

LIVESTREAM. You want your church service livestream to be easy to find on your site. Embedding the video means you need to update it every week, but adding a link to the page where your streams are published (YouTube, etc.) is more hands-off.

DOMAIN. Keep a good record of your domain renewal dates and details of the credit cards on file so you don’t lose your domain. Once your domain expires and is purchased by someone else, it’s nearly impossible to recover.

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testing You may think your site doesn’t need to be updated because you haven’t changed anything. But remember that your website doesn’t exist in a vaccuum; it’s a living thing that’s always changing.

Periodically, you’ll want to click through the site to make sure it is running as expected. Here are a few things to look out for: L I N K S

Check external links, like those that lead to your Facebook page or YouTube livestreams, and internal links, where links direct to pages within your site. Fix any broken links.

I N F O R M AT I O N

Has your church changed pastors since the last time the site was updated? What about moving locations or updating phone numbers? Be sure the site reflects these changes.

Check out this article for much more great info and practical tips to keep your website updated!

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https://www.constantcontact.com/blog/how-to-keep-your-website-updated

HOW DO I MAKE TIME FOR ALL THESE U P DAT E S ?

1 X

/

W E E K

Weekly updates are mainly for dated information. This will be most important if you choose to embed your weekly service livestream into your website. Once per week, take a few minutes to ensure that the information about the latest worship service is up to date and remove any flyers representing events that have passed.

1 X

/

M O N T H

Click around the site and test links. Double check that all core information is accurate: staff, contact information, service times, etc. Confirm that the “watch live” and “donate” buttons direct visitors to the right pages.

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CONSIDER FUTURE VOLUNTEER

Now is the time to think about how your team impacts the sustainability and maintenance of your website. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did!

T H I N G S

LO G I N

T O

C O N S I D E R

A C C E S S

Too many churches (maybe even yours) have experienced losing access to their website because passwords are privately held.

P L AT F O R M

Sometimes, volunteers create beautiful websites on expert platforms. But when they leave, no one can maintain the site.

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A WORD ABOUT ACCESS Consider using a password management software

Add SCC as an admin for access during transitions

Never use individual/personal logins (especially on non-ACC sites)

Password Management: Software & Best Practices

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adventist church connect The official recommendation of SCC is that local churches use Adventist Church Connect as the platform for the church websites. The SCC office of communication & media production is glad to assist in any needed transitions or provide ongoing support.

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F R E E

A basic Adventist Church Connect site is provided free of charge to every church in the North American Division. This site can then be customized by users from the church. (Keep in mind that minor charges can be incurred if storage exceeds 11GB, but there are ways to minimize the storage usage.)

S I M P L E

You can request log-in access and customize the content and look of your site with the template-based, no-code platform.

If you do want to do something more complicated, you still can by accessing the code in the theme—but keep in mind that this disqualifies your site from future updates.

S U P P O R T E D

The SCC office of communication & media production will be better equipped to provide support in the long term: assisting with user access, providing universal training, and answering questions on functionality. A major benefit is that turnover at the local level is much smoother to manage with an ACC site.

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www.adventistchurchconnect.com

While ACC sites are templated, you still maintain access to crucial features. Here are a few of the features we see most in demand for local churches:

C U S T O M

D O M A I N

Linking your custom domain to an ACC site is simple. Follow the steps to set it up at https://scc.adventist.org/acc. Purchase your domain through GoDaddy or another registrar, and keep a good record of the renewal dates so you don’t lose your domain!

M U LT I P L E

U S E R S

It’s simple to set up multiple users who can edit the website, including different levels of permissions for specific parts of the website. You can also change this access at any time, whether that means adding or removing users or changing their unique permissions.

E M B E D

V I D E O S

It’s no problem to add an archive of your church services. (Keep in mind that if you upload the .mp4 files to the website media library, this will count toward your storage limit, whereas if you add links to the website for videos that are hosted on YouTube, it will not.)

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LEARN MORE

ADVENTIST CHURCH CONNECT:

THE NAD’S OFFICIAL WEBSITE PROVIDER

scc.adventist.org/acc

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A B O U T

U S

We are storytellers. We love to share the amazing testimonies happening in our churches and schools, within our communities, and in the lives of our church members. With a variety of different methods to feature these stories, no story will go untold.

We support church communication leaders by offering information and resources to assist in the work of telling the Good News to their churches and communities. We believe that media—both digital and in print—is an important tool in bringing the gospel to those who need it most. We also offer workshops and training geared toward technology and helping volunteers learn about the latest tools.

To learn more about our department, visit our page on the website at https://scc.adventist.org/communication-media-production.

scc.adventist.org/communication-media-production version: September 12, 2023