Creating a Church Web Site Tutorial
Chapter 4: Going beyond the basics: What is realistic?

Once you get past the basics, it’s time to think about what else you want to include on your Web site. The possibilities are limitless — but remember that your resources may not be.

One of the biggest mistakes churches make in developing Web sites is that the excitement of getting online leads church leaders to be overly ambitious. Perhaps a talented, dedicated volunteer agrees to set up the site, and church leaders fill it with everything: calendars, sermons, worship bulletins, newsletters, etc. Then, a few months or a few years later, the volunteer loses interest or moves away and no one else has the time or the ability to keep the site up-to-date. Or maybe the opposite happens: the people tasked with getting fresh information to the volunteer lose interest. Either way, the result can be an out-of-date Web site that makes your church look worse than if it had no Web site at all. After all, anyone who visits your Web site the week before Christmas, only to find an invitation to last spring’s Easter services, is not likely to return to the site or to visit your church.

So, before you go any further in developing content for your site, your church leadership needs to decide not only who will build the site, but who will keep it up to date. Will it be the church secretary, pastor or other staff person? If so, will this person be given the necessary training and additional hours to take on this added responsibility? Will it be a volunteer?

If a well-meaning volunteer agrees to set up and maintain your church site, great! But consider making an agreement with the volunteer up front that he or she train a minimum number of other people to update the site as well. Perhaps you’ll want to start a Web task team, or maybe the youth group or confirmation class would be willing to get involved. At any rate, make sure that more than one person knows how to access your church’s site. Also, make sure the necessary information about the site — the name and contact information for what company is hosting it, along with a username and password for accessing it — are kept on file at the church office.

Once you’ve determined who will maintain your Web site, you will have a feel for how far you can go beyond basic information. If you are doubtful that you will have someone updating the site weekly or monthly, stick to information that doesn’t change often. Leave out the calendars and newsletters, but include a welcoming message and information about worship and ongoing programs. Such a site won’t encourage a lot of repeat users, but will allow your church to have a presence online. If you are fortunate to have a team ready and willing to regularly update the site, then by all means include calendars, event notices, photos from recent activities, weekly Scripture readings — these are the items that will keep people coming back to your site again and again.

Next: Chapter 5: Beyond the basics II; Content ideas for reaching newcomers