Your church website: What do you want people to do?


Does your church have a website? Are you trying to rework your present website? Pondering just how to present who you are as a church? Consider these good points over at "Church Marketing Sucks" on giving your website readers a "call to action" in your website's presentation:

What is your website's "call to action"?

Church Websites 101: Call to action
From Church Marketing Sucks

So you think your church needs a website. Or a new site. Or a better site. Rock on.

Welcome to Church Websites 101, a quick and dirty series about how to start or restart your church’s website.

We’ve talked about your overall strategy, finding a champion and planning your site. We’re almost ready to talk about actually building your site. But not yet.

We need to talk about your call to action. What do you actually want people to do when they visit your site? And the clincher is that you need this question to drive how you design and think about your site. That sounds like a ‘duh’ statement, but there are so many sites out there (churches and non-churches) where there’s no clear call to action. Users are left scratching their heads while they click around aimlessly. That’s a good way to lose people.

Your call to action needs to be specific, clear and easy.

Posted on April 6, 2011 4:30 PM | |
Comments (5)

The web site of the Episcopal Church is in the process of redesign again by the IT folks serving the Episcopal Church Center. Please God, they will consider this well.

And by the way, never let it be said that they don't pay attention to what we say here at the Cafe. Last year we had some comments on the Episcopal Church web site, none of them good. One of the Church's IT people actually reached out to me, using the email link from my blog, and asked for comments. (My pet peeve? When I do a search at the Episcopal Church's web site, I don't want umpteen Episcopal News Service stories marginally related. I suggested that Episcopal Church site searches and Episcopal News Service searches should be separate processes.) So, blessings to them for wanting to do well.

Marshall Scott

Posted by Execute [TypeKey Profile Page] | April 7, 2011 11:45 AM

I often wonder if the Church Center design/public relations folks have much/any artistic skill, imagination and/or simple product development/marketing basic knowledge other than what individual preeners may think is ¨snappy¨ and ¨zippy¨--TEC is sitting on unlimited amounts of original art, cities worth of notable architecture, tons of authentic ¨living¨ inspections/witness of our collective and individual heart(s)/character and a TRUCKLOAD of progressive (mostly) uplifting religious history. The number of Episcopalian Heros, living and dead, are legion...add the huge dynamic of our daily outreach/help/service ministeries, some are desperate and needy, some progressive and wildly successful--- most boggle the mind (Haiti comes to mine and the genius in leadership and skillful diocesan management at Puerto Rico and Los Angeles). Truly it´s time to stop being ¨prudent¨ and ¨crucified¨ and share the GREAT WEALTH of all experience that makes up TEC energy and our patrimony!

Looking/reading like a Trade Magazine/Web Site for hospital equipment or trying to revitalize interest in Homogenizing Life (without passion) won´t cut it--where is the REAL LIFE REPORTING of the REAL LIFE VITALITY unfolding everyday at TEC?

Get rid of the whole sleepy lot of yawners and start over with talented/imaginative and market oriented designers/reporters and artistas (or set them free to do their stuff without suffocating the joyous message/s to death)!

Posted by Leonard Clark [TypeKey Profile Page] | April 8, 2011 11:36 AM

So, Leonard, are you suggesting that the Episcopal Church web site should be more like the Episcopal Cafe? ;-)

Marshall Scott

Posted by Execute [TypeKey Profile Page] | April 8, 2011 11:53 AM

I think the next Church Center web site will surprise people. What I have seen of the work in progress is impressive.

Posted by Jim Naughton [TypeKey Profile Page] | April 8, 2011 12:02 PM

Yes, Marshall, a thousand/billion times yes!

Posted by Leonard Clark [TypeKey Profile Page] | April 8, 2011 3:40 PM

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