Creating Your Church Website

In the midst of Covid-19 (Corona Virus), we at JDS WebDesign are hoping everyone is safe, washing their hands frequently, sneezing and coughing in their elbow, and practicing social distancing. Over the next several weeks, we are planning on blogging about how to make your website more business-friendly. We will have some tutorials on our favorite plugins and features, which will make your site more efficient.

Over the next couple of weeks, we will discuss the stages of creating your church website. Whether you are creating the site yourself or reaching out to an agency. These are some steps to ensure your design is a simple and pain-free experience.

The stages will deal with pre or basic steps. Next, we will discuss some planning (not design) steps. Then we will review the design steps. And finally, we will discuss post-launch steps. While these steps could be used for any website, since we specialize in a faith-based organization, we will focus many on faith-based organizations.

Last week we discuss planning, and this week let’s discuss the planning stage.

Design

Remember your design, should be simple and clean. Stay away from sliders, there are several studies that state most visitors only stay on your site for 15 seconds. They are not going to see that you are having your 10th anniversary in a couple of weeks.

You need a call to action (CTA). It should be a compelling headline or something that would make someone click on a call to action button, sign up on a form, or go to a specific page. Remember you want to guide your visitors.

Content needs to be relevant and effective. Having a content writer, with some experience on what is good content for websites and words/language to avoid is important. High-quality images are super important. Do not place images from 10 years ago. Do not place images from your iPhone on your site. You will need a professional photographer. All your images need to be optimized.

Your site should be mobile-friendly. Your visitors should be able to view your site on their phones, tablet, laptop, and computer.

Make sure your sermon(s) and blog posts are uploaded on a regular basis. You do not want to give the impression that you have a dead site. Nothing like going to a site, and the latest sermon is two years ago.

Next week we will discuss the post-launch stage.

Image courtesy of Greyson Joralemon.

JDS WebDesign is a Web Design and Brand Marketing Agency located in Marietta, Georgia. We create AWESOME on line presence for Start-ups and Influential People/Organizations. To learn more about us or how we can help you and your organization, you can contact us or schedule a meeting.

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