"I'd like to 'freshen up' the site." What do you propose?
To keep your church site from becoming too stale, you will be tempted to do some of the following. DON'T!
- Give your o.k. to yourself or other creative person to replace your home page with a splash of Flash.
- Add scrolling headlines.
- Add an animation. (Think about ad with the dancing figure on the weather channel's site, then you won't.)
- Replace your home page with your church history page.
- Cover your home page with images of people - especially children - in your church.
- Import a popular Christian song and set it to play when users open your home page.
- Use vivid colors in a background image for your home page.
Some of the above should not be done because they would slow the download of your home page. Others would frustrate your users' ability to read/scan the content of your home page. Using a popular song without express written permission of the artist and/or label may earn you a "cease and desist" letter from their lawyers.
Here is a better way: Return to the basics. In her column "Build a Better Web Site" (PC Magazine, November 6, 2007; p. 110) Vicki B. Jacobson lists 6 strategies to better, or we might say, "refresh," your site including your home page. Find her short article and identify which of these you first need to work on.
- Define your goals
- Identify your audience
- Develop a project plan
- Design and develop
- Make pages usable
- Define success
I would also recommend Nielson's site on usability and Jenny Redish's book Letting Go of the Words as great resources to help you freshen up your site.
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