"Preach the Word,

I have been building websites for nearly 10 years now which started from a personal desire to stay connected with my family while deployed around the world. I eventually turned this hobby into a way to create ministry websites for the churches we attended. I have explored many church websites and oddly enough I have 'collected' websites that seem to get it right in simplicity, substance, and style. I have developed an opinion of what a ministry website should have and have identified the strengths and weaknesses of how to represent a ministry and the Lord. I pastor a very small church and know that we could not afford many web development companies, but that doesn't mean that we couldn't or shouldn't have a web presence. Over the years I have seen people come to the church through a web search for a church or a Christian school.

So a web presence is a real blessing and I would even go so far to say it is a necessity, but why do churches hurt themselves with a website that doesn't properly represent their ministry? Or why create a website that looks dated in style and function? Or why use colors or layouts that seem to be developed by a high school student instead of a professional looking web presence? What about content? Is it updated on a regular basis? People are accustomed to a certain professional representation for an organization and when a ministry looks like it slapped something together three years ago in the basement...it hurts the ministry.

What advice do I have? Do it right and professional but understand that this doesn't have to be with an expensive start up fee or a costly monthly service. There are many options and even some do-it-yourself web companies that provide reasonable (albeit cookie-cutter, once-size-fits-all) web services. Many churches may have a member who has an interest to help with website but doesn't always have the experience or commitment to the website and so it quickly becomes impractical to maintain or outdated in its content. Personally, I think that the most important website consideration is that it needs to be updated regularly and give people (members and visitors) a connection to the ministry. But also these websites need to stay current with modern web features from the proper use of appropriate pictures, a good use of complementary/coordinating colors, or the possible use of embedded Javascript or Flash. I also encourage a church to make audio or video sermons available online. Another important area in web design is in the area of functionality which comes through a good website layout. There are so many considerations when developing a web presence but the average pastor or missionary is just ignorant or often overwhelmed and accepts whatever the volunteer throws together. Sometimes they simply decide that it is not important enough to deal with the hassles and don't develop a web presence and miss out on having an impact on their members or miss an opportunity to invite visitors to the church.

I say all of this to encourage you to do some research and strive for a professional quality web presence. If I can be a help either through relevant advice or through my web development company, Baptist Ministries Worldwide, please let me know. God bless you, my friends.