Ah, summer is in the air. The birds are chirping, the grass is growing, sounds of the neighborhood children playing, the smell of the grill, and realizing now is the time to update your church’s website. While that last one may not have been on your mind until now, summer is actually a great time to revamp your church’s website. If you have been considering redoing your church’s website, fall is a great season to launch a new version, but summer is when you need to start the work. Consider the points below to see if your site is in need of an upgrade.
Mobile-friendliness
Recently Google updated their algorithm for ranking sites to factor in whether or not your site is mobile-friendly. If your church isn’t, it is now penalized in terms of search ranking.
Interactive
For years, church websites have been static afterthoughts. Throw the information up online and it may not need touched for years, or, for some churches I’ve seen, decades. Today’s culture is mobile and social. Your website is a great place to interact with both church members and those that are still unsure. Making your site more dynamic is a great place to extend the conversation beyond Sunday morning.
Showcasing Your Content
Content creation has never been easier or more common. With sites like YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, combined with high resolution cameras built into nearly every smartphone, we are a society of creators. Using your website as a place to house those creations is a perfect opportunity for you. Making sure that content is engaging does take some work, but it’s all for nothing if your website doesn’t properly showcase it.
Online Giving
If your website is not allowing members to give, you really might want to consider adding that feature. Online giving can really help increase donations because it allows people to give even when they are not able to make it to service.
If your website is missing any of these components, now is one of the best times to start the process of updating it and getting it ready for a launch this fall.
