Why do most church Web sites stink?
I was talking with a pastor on the phone today about disaster relief, and I asked him if his church had a Web site. I had searched Google using a number of different phrases, but nothing could be found. He gave me the address of the site, and it looks pretty enough, but so many SEO rules were broken on the home page alone.
It got me thinking – why do so many churches have cruddy Web sites? Do we really not understand the Kingdom potential? Do we really believe there aren’t people in our churches who can help us with this? Are we overwhelmed by the number of advertisements that come in from people trying to pawn the latest, greatest Web product?
I assume it’s a combination of all of those things.
This post is intended for churches who don’t have the luxury of having a person on staff who knows the intricacies of Web design and SEO. To you, here are some practical steps for evaluating and correcting your church Web site.
- First, and I’m not joking, pray about your church Web site. I believe God wants to work through it. Pray for guidance.
- Second, you need to subscribe to Heal Your Church Website. Here and here are some good posts to get you started. I’ve been following Dean for many years – he’s got some good, solid advice.
- Third, run your site through WebsiteGrader.com. It’s free, and it’s fast. One warning… your site will get a grade from 0-100. That number is merely a guide, a starting point. They are trying to show you some of the glaring SEO issues with your site. A high number doesn’t necessarily mean your site is any good. However, a low number is a pretty good indication that your site is stinking up the Web… just sayin.
- Finally, make some changes. I’ll unpack this one a little more, but for now, get crackin on the first three steps.
Wow, this is the kind of info I need to market my web site. I’m just really bad with that kind of stuff.