Five Great Takeaways from Church Websites
One of the most popular posts on the Talance blog has been my list of my favorite church websites. I’d like to revisit the topic with five techniques on these killer church sites that we use in super fast and easy congregation websites.
The City Church
The City Church has a nice website no matter how you cut it, but what I love is the Latest Message. It’s a frequently updated sermon you can listen to from the homepage of the website or download to listen on your iPod later.
Generation Church
Officially, Generation Church is part of the aforementioned City Church, but what they’ve done is smart by not shoe-horning their entire congregation into a one-size-fits-all website. Instead, they launched the hyper-cool, widget-laden Generation Church site for their youth ministry while keeping a more conservative site as the flagship.
Houston NW Church
The Houston NW Church site is a little too cool for school, but I really like their “Find Life Here: What To Expect at HNW.” They’ve forsaken the About Us page and decided to instead create a kind of users’ guide for new visitors right on the homepage.
Stonebriar Community Church
People read websites from left to right and from top to bottom. Stonebriar has learned the lesson well by putting the most important information in the top left corner of the page: Service Times and Location. No chance of getting lost or mixed up with this.
Kaleo
This website is ultra simple – it’s just a blog using a standard, open-source theme. But what’s good is that Kaleo is remembering that a website isn’t a phone directory listing; it’s a tool that you can use to connect with congregants. Pastor Bill is a great blogger and explores themes front and center with anyone who comes to visit. If only he’d turn on comments, it would be all the better.
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Tags: church 2.0, Church Websites
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March 19th, 2009 at 6:06 am
[...] make sure you check out this other post on more killer church websites and the specifics that make them [...]
March 20th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Thanks for the love! Comments will be on starting now.
March 24th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Sure thing, Pastor Bill. I love that you’re monitoring the Internet chatter about Kaleo and on board for opening the discussion. Why not welcome the opportunity for openness and sharing? Plus, it’s good fodder for sermons and to find out what people are thinking. Keep it up!
April 1st, 2009 at 8:29 am
[...] list of favorite congregational websites. She writes, "I’d like to revisit the topic with five new killer church sites and the details that make them great." Be sure to check out the original list. [...]
April 1st, 2009 at 9:00 am
We’re trying to figure out how to use more things like blogging and social newtorking at my congregation. How do you keep the crazies from dominating the conversation?
April 1st, 2009 at 9:11 am
That’s a good question, Anita. First of all, in all likelihood, crazies will not dominate the conversation. You’re more likely to have people asking questions or expressing thoughts. And as added assurance, you’re going to have control on your blog to approve or not approve comments.
A lot of our clients are scared of putting up a blog, because they’re afraid they’ll hear criticism about the congregation. But I believe if you ask for comments, you can learn more about your congregants and what they’re thinking. You might pick up clues about what’s important to them or identify problems you can fix – problems people might be too shy to talk about face-to-face.