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The Basics |
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Newbies and people in a rush to get something done often overlook the basics. The
following are items that everyone should get right on their site. |
Contact
Information |
It is flat out amazing how many sites that I have been to that I can't find a way
to contact someone. What is the point in having a website if you don't want to be contacted? In the case of churches,
you must have a way for someone to contact the church (preferably email, but at least a phone number) AND clear
directions (maybe even a map) to the church. Do not assume that everyone knows you. One of my favorite examples is a church
website that doesn't even tell what state it is in. It's got a local map, but I have no idea what city and state that map goes
with. |
First
Impression |
The first page should tell all. There should be no hidden pathways, buried treasure or convoluted structure.
The first page of your Web site should let your visitor in on everything they need to know about your site. I'm not saying
that everything should be linked to the first page. I am saying that the first page is the road map to the logic and function
of your site. Think about this when you go to a hardware store. Every product they have isn't listed on a board at the front
of the store. Instead, you are able to walk in and take a look, find the proper aisle, scan for the correct shelf area with
similar products and finally select the product. Your site should be no different. Within three steps or clicks the visitor
should have the information they need. |
| Structure |
Get some. Try to organize your content into some order. Remember that not
everything has to be on the main page. This is a problem I am currently having with my website. As it has grown, the structure
I gave it is not working as well as I would like. That's ok, it's a good problem to have (i.e. too much content). The lesson
is as things change on your site, don't be afraid to dive in now and again and rework something. |
Spelling and
Grammar |
Proof read, use your spell checker, wait a few days and proof read again, THEN get
someone else to proof read it. This is a hard one for me, I am not a good speller and I make a lot of mistakes when typing,
But on a webpage that is available for the entire world to see, you have to take a little time and get it correct. If
your denomination has a particular way of spelling or capitalizing their name - get it right (e.g. this is the correct way to
write Seventh-day Adventist) |
| The Design |
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The design is a very important part of the website. A frustrating design or
navigation scheme can make your site unusable. Here are some of the biggies. |
Have an
Idea |
It has been said that the “Lack of money is not an obstacle, but the lack of an idea is.” Nowhere is this
more relevant than in Web site design. You can build a pretty good site without spending lots of cash, but if you don't know
what your site should be, then when it is built you won't know what it is. Without proper planning, your site will be as
confusing to your visitor as it will be to you. Draw it out on paper. I know paper isn't "in", but it is the quickest and most
efficient method to quickly examine many scenarios. And you can do it almost anywhere. |
| Graphics |
Graphics, we all know, are needed to visually stimulate the brain and help create flow. But how much is too
much? Design has one purpose: to direct the eye of the reader on a particular path through the information. Just being pretty
isn't enough. Be critical and decide what messages the user should get from this page. If a graphic or a picture does not
support the communication of the message get rid of it. Stay away from low end, cheesy clip art. It looks cheap and it makes
visitors think you didn’t care enough to build a quality site. |
| Colors |
We have talked about colors before. Use some restraint. Get a consistent color
scheme. Consistent means it doesn't changes on every page. In church website's the one exception might be the kids or
youth areas. You might use a different color scheme in their area. This is almost like making a website within a website. Just
be consistent when you are in the children's area to use their colors. Remember to use high contrast colors (no pink
text on red backgrounds) and remember people whose eyesight might not be as good as yours (including color blind folks). |
| Fonts |
Just because you have 438 fonts on your computer, doesn't mean you should use them
all. For one, many people won't have the same fonts loaded. Secondly it looks horrible. Stick to one or two font faces
and vary the line height, width and letter spacing to gain the look you are trying to achieve. This might mean that you need
to convert some of the text to graphics to get it to look just right. But if you are doing something that specific, you should
probably use a graphic anyway. There is no telling how the browser may render your carefully specified text and make a
mishmash out of your glorious creation. |
Splash
Pages |
One word - Don't.
Splash pages are dated and everyone hates waiting for them. Use your creative energies to
make an interactive presentation of the gospel. Much more useful. Plus visitors are more likely to return to a site that
loads quickly. |
| Icons |
Some websites have nifty icons for each area of their website. Sometimes this can
be good and sometimes this can be bad. Make sure your icons make sense. A row of 10 little pictures might not tell you what
each of them lead too. It will be a guessing game for the rest of us. No fun. Text links usually work best and they don't
waste time loading onto the page. If you must use icons, try to get a name into the icon so we all know what we are clicking
on. |
| Too Much |
There are lots of cool things that you can do to your webpage (just for
clarification, the <blink> tag is NOT one of them). Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Use some restraint. Just
use one or two cool effects. Remember you are doing a church site, not the latest Javascript warehouse. If you must do lots of
cool stuff, then save it for a back page and keep it off the home page. |
| Information (or lack thereof) |
Content
is King |
Why would someone come to your site? Because they are looking for something. That
something is almost guaranteed not to be pretty pictures or a cool JAVA applet. They are looking for information, a schedule,
who is preaching, what does your church believe in, when are services, do you have children's programs, inspiration, help,
they might want to contact someone for counseling or prayer, the list is endless. You can't be everything to everyone, don't
try. However you should give them as much content as you can. Here's a concept that many webmasters forget, people will come
back if your site has content that is regularly updated. Don't try to compete with CNN. But provide quality content that is
updated and you will get traffic. A natural for churches is to post sermons. This might be transcripts of the sermons or
audio. But right there you have a consistent source of ever changing ORIGINAL content. |
| Interactive |
The big advantage of being online is direct interaction -- the ability of the user to become a part of the
environment that the information occupies. Your site must have ways for the user to communicate, download, view, play, create,
request or compile information. A site with a bunch of information being pushed at the user with no way to push back soon gets
boring. And no one likes being told what to do. Giving the user command of his or her world within your cyberspace makes for a
much friendlier environment. A simple chat room with scheduled discussions, a download of detailed information, database
served requests or even streaming media, opens the door for a user to make decisions and act on them. Polls that change
frequently are another option and are very easy to do. |
| Above the Fold |
Above the Fold is a term used by newspapers. It refers to getting the important
news above the fold in the paper (i.e. the most important stuff the top of the screen). The problem is everyone thinks their
area (or ministry) is the most important. Just because newspapers try to get all the important stuff at the top, doesn't mean
you need to. Look at MSN's new home page (http://www.msn.com/). Can you find anything
quickly? I can't. It's too much crammed into too small of a space. Spread your content out some. There is a balance here
too. You don't want a page that is miles long either. |
| White Space |
Use it. White Space is important. Check out Apple's page (http://www.apple.com/). I think that is much more inviting than a very crowded site. If your
site uses frames, white space is even more important. Frames add little boxes to screen and it is even harder to get that open
feeling. |
| The User |
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Try to think about the user when you designing and building your site. What are
they coming to your site for? |
Organization
Centered |
Often times our website are centered around the organization, instead of around
the visitor. Try to think about what someone who knew nothing about your organization might be looking for when they come to
your site. |
| Testing |
Test your site on as many different computers with as many different setups as you
can. I often ask my friends to bring up the site so I can see what it looks like on their machine. I also let them "drive" so
I can see how they use the site and what they are clicking on. I have learned more about how people want to use my site from
doing this. |
| Accessibility |
Churches should want their message to go to as many people as possible, so don't
ignore accessibility issues for handicapped people. How would a blind person "see" your site if they were using a screen
reader to read the text to them? How would a deaf person listen to your wonderful online sermons? |
| Inspirational Quotes |
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Don't be discourage if this seems like a lot of stuff. It is, but most of it
is fairly straight forward if you think about it. Consider the following...
"Press on: nothing in the world can take the place of
perseverance. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; un-rewarded genius
is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are
omnipotent."
--Calvin Coolidge
"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."
--Bill Cosby |
Content
Contributor |
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions regarding this topic. See ya next time,
Bill |
