Your church has "put up" a web site. Who is it for?
Let's review the "usual suspects."
- Active Church Members
- In-active Church Members
- Church Web Team
- Pastor
- Influential Church Member
- Community
- People looking for a church in your community
- People looking for help with life's struggles
- Persons looking for a portal to faith issues discussed on the web
- Others. You name them, but name them by what they are looking for.
Notice how wide and how specific this list can be?
When professional designers and writers develop a web site's material, they develop a personna of a person of their targeted audience. Some teams even take a picture of a person and put it up in a place of the common work area for all to see. This underscores the need to develop material that not only communicates with but also presents material that this person and people like her need.
Let's say you have discerned that your target is a person who is new to the community, may be searching for meaning and community in life for herself and her family. What are some ideas for material that your web site should feature?
- Church history?
- Athletic Schedule?
- FAQ's on Faith and Life?
- Links to family ministries?
- A column by a member or staff member on Faith and Family?
- Calendar of Activities?
- E-mail and telephone contacts?
- Map to the church with times when the church is open?
- Listing of small group activities?
- Service and Mission opportunities?
- What we believe in a creed-like listing of "-ologies"?
- Links to a blog about life's struggles and faith's role?
- A description of what to expect when coming to and participating in a service for the first time?
- Church activities for family?
Add to this list, but put a question mark after each idea.
Now look at this person. Review this person's characteristics and life situation. Then choose those ideas from your list that are most appropriate. Drop the rest. Then either make this the home page of the entire site, or the home page of a well-designated section of the main site.
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