Having a great website is a huge part of making guests want to visit your church. There are so many tools you can use to make your parish’s website second to none. Create a sleek minimalist design but include all of the information your parishioners and visitors need.
Here are six tips to improve your parish’s website:
1. Don’t overcrowd your website with wording.
- Let everyone know what is most important to your parish but don’t use an excessive amount of words or images. It will overwhelm your visitors. You have about 15 seconds to convince that visitor to stay on your site to get more information. Make it short, sweet, and to the point. Use bullet points, numbered lists, bold text, images, and line breaks to show the visitor what they need to know.
2. Choose a color scheme.
- Colors represent so much to people. When you see red and green together you think of Christmas. If you’re from South Carolina, when you see orange and purple together you think of Clemson or when you see garnet and black you think of the University of South Carolina. Different colors bring out different feelings for people. Keep your color scheme simple. Before choosing your colors read through a color guide to learn about the emotions created by different colors.
3. Make sure your website is easy to use and understand.
- Make your website as intuitive as possible. Use simple, short, easy-to-understand words and phrases along with easy navigation options. Sticking to a third-sixth grade reading level is best. Let your visitors know why they should check out your parish in an easy and understandable way.
4. Use no more than two different fonts on your webpage.
- Using too many fonts on the webpage will make your webpage look incoherent. Be intentional about your choice of font. Don’t make them distracting for the visitor. Keep it sleek and clean.
5. Make it unique.
- Let visitors know why they want to visit your parish and not the one down the street. Highlight what sets you apart. Create a page to show your parish’s views on discipleship. Make sure this page gives newcomers a reason to come and visit your parish.
6. Make sure your website is complete.
- There are two separate ways to do this – make sure all landing pages have pertinent information on them and make sure all of your parish’s information is on the website. When a visitor is trying to find out information about the small groups in your parish, you don’t want them clicking on the link and seeing the words “More information coming soon.” You want them to click on that link and get information about how joining a small group in your parish will lead them closer to God with a great community behind them. Also, make sure your parish’s information like phone number, address, etc. is on the website in case the visitor has questions.
These 6 simple tips will help you create a website for your parish that visitors will love. Your website is a direct reflection of your parish so make sure it is a good one. Don’t overcrowd it, choose a color scheme, make it easy to understand and use, don’t use more than two fonts, make it unique, and make sure it is complete.
