Free Online Presence Review for Churches

One positive from the pandemic is the increase presence online and new uses of technology by organizations. For example, in my day job, we had never worked remotely in the time I have been there. We had the capability; we just did not implement it. Now, it has been the way of things for over a year (and my hope is it continues).

Our family did not attend church physically for over a year and only recently began attending again. That does not mean, however, we were not active watches. At times, I caught myself watching multiple churches throughout the week. In doing so, I noticed some things when I explored the church’s online presence.

Here is a quick self-assessment churches can conduct to determine if they want or need to make changes.

• Visit your church’s website and imagine you did not know anything. What do you notice? Conduct a virtual walkthrough.

• Do we actually have an online presence? This is important. Read on to learn why.

• Is the website easily navigable? Can someone easily navigate the website with a mobile device? I haven’t seen recent statistics, but not very long ago, nearly 30% of the world had a smart phone. That said, it is not uncommon for me to encounter a website that isn’t very mobile friendly. While social media is a viable and important piece, keep in mind that not everyone is on social media. Having a place for those individuals to go and learn about your church is vital. Besides, social media and websites can work hand-in-hand. I do not recommend having only a social media presence.

• Can I find the location of the church? This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s important. If someone can click the location and open their preferred navigation method, that would be even nicer.

• Who are the leaders? Are leaders’ contact information easy to find? If there’s a picture, why not have at minimum an email addressed attached to it? I have seen some churches in which the pastor had his secretary’s email address connected to his image. What kind of message does that send to new individuals? How approachable is that?

• Do we have a statement of faith or doctrine of beliefs? Some people like to get a feel for what the church is about before setting foot into the physical building. This may be a key way of determining if a person actually does step foot inside the building. Don’t be afraid to tackle hard topics or difficult issues. Chances are, the topics may come up anyway. Do it all with love.

• What about Jesus and salvation? I have visited some local churches’ websites and did not learn anything about either. Why isn’t this information shareable publicly?

• What about prayer requests? If this isn’t on the website, does that mean an individual must enter a church building in order to seek/ask for prayer?

• What about previous sermons? While it does not have to be video, I think it’s important to have at minimum recent sermons available for individuals. At minimum, having links to sermon audio should be available. Consider creating a podcast for just this thing.

• How do individuals give? Do you have an easy way for them to do so online?

• In a day and age of disconnection, how can people get connected? If your church has small groups (or whatever catch-phrase you want to use for them), how do people get involved? If you need volunteers or are seeking members to become more participatory, can that be done from the website? I’ve seen some pretty savvy church websites that did just these things. In other words, if you want involved members, make it easy for them to be involved. Have a phone number and an email address for key individuals at the church to help in this process.

When you conduct this self-assessment, be open, flexible, and willing to change. Pray about these things. Talk about them within your leadership. Talk about them with your church body. Explore resources (i.e., talents within your church body). Furthermore, I think the more self-directed individuals can be with regard to finding these pieces of information and connecting with leaders and others, the better off all will be.

What do you think? What did I not mention? How have you and your church conducted an online presence review? If you have other ideas, I’d like to hear them.

In the meantime, I hope this helps!

#Jesus #church #websites #salvation #connection #sermons #prayer