Five tips for Church Webmasters

So, you have managed to persuade the Church Meeting/Council to let you design a web site for your Church. They have, of course, allocated little or no budget but have given you a brief that could only have been designed by a committee. You sit down in front of your computer with your copy of Frontpage (I would personally recommend www.namo.com rather than Frontpage, its cheaper and a better product in my opinion) open in front of you and you are not sure where to begin.

Tip 1. Avoid MOST Templates

Templates are both a blessing and a curse. For those of us who struggle with design they offer a way of getting a professional looking web site. There are even some templates that are produced for churches. However be very careful because most of the time these designs are made to make a profit for the designer and not to produce a good website. It's always a case of "all that glisters is not gold" for web sites. Take a look at this site for more tips on this subject.

The very best approach is to have one designed professionaly but if templates is the only option go for ones produced specifically for a church (so you don't end up looking like the local plumber! - nothing against plumbers by the way but you need to distinguish yourself from everyone else). Look for clean and simple design not fancy and flashing. Never, ever use the templates that came with your software (this applies especially to Frontpage).

We have a selection of free church templates for anyone who is interested. They are denominationally based which gives you a valid reason to use a template.

Tip 2. Do not over complicate things.

Of course you want your site to look good but often the simplest sites look the best. Does anyone worry that Amazon.com looks a little ordinary? Does anyone bother that Google is very plain and simple? No! Because these sites offer good content and this is what people want to see, not fancy flash enabled multimedia monsters. Don't be afraid to be simple, simple is best.

Tip 3. No flashing/revolving/dancing/moving stuff on the front page.

Just because you have seen it can be done doesn't mean it is a good idea! Anything that moves on a web page distracts from the content of the page. Why do adverts flash and move? Because they want you to notice them but if you see something flashing at you for too long it will drive you potty. I would avoid it anywhere on a site but especially on the front page which should be the main gateway into your site.

Tip 4. Content is King.

People want to get at your content. Your job is to help them. Anything you do that stops someone getting your content is a bad thing. Navigation that is confusing, navigation you have to roll over to understand, content that is burried is not good. There are few things in life that people will bother to dig for, unless you have treasure buried in your pages you can forget it. And remember even treasure needs a map or nobody will know it is there! Put nothing in the way of your content.

Tip 5. You are not a business.

This is where it gets tough. Church web sites are similar to business web sites but they are also very different. We have to build a site that encourages people to explore. Users are generally not buying a product but looking for something deeper. Find ways of encouraging them to seek more deeply about life do not try to sell them on something, it won't work. I am told from various sources that traditional advertising methods do not work on the Internet.

Extra Free Tip for the Colour Coordinating Challenged amongst us

There are several tools that can help you develop a good colour scheme for your site. I can recommend the one shown below as a good all rounder at a reasonable price. I haven't used it on this site yet but will for the redesign.
Color Wheel Pro - a program that allows you to see color theory in action: you can create harmonious color schemes and preview them on real-world examples.

If you would like professional help with designing/hosting etc your web site then please feel free to contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it