Church Website Design
Published by Camnio Media on 2010-02-24 21:46:17
Church Website Design
This article is written specifically for churches considering the type of church website design they want for their ministry. As a technical director for CAMNIO Media, we've come to realize that just to have a church website isn't enough.
To start off, let me give a fictitious story, loosely based off of several clients we've worked with. Church A was comparing our church website prices and another significantly cheaper website designer. In a purely “costs” decision, the church went with the cheaper website designer. Being in ministry we realize that churches don’t always have the most extravagant budgets. However, this is the catch, several months down the line, we get a call from Church A, stating that their website is in disarray and is difficult to update, unappealing and simply unmodern.
In a rush to enter into the technology world of the world wide web, Church A made a common mistake, which was to purchase the cheapest website possible and just “make it work”. A church in most cases is staffed by volunteers and most of the technical-savy members don’t always have enough time to create a good website, let alone maintain it. A typical professional website can take any where from four days to two weeks depending on the complexity of the site and this is with a staff that's working on the site full time. How does this translate to the typical volunteer for the church? For a church volunteer with a full time job, the time he could give would be upwards to three hours a day at the most to spend on the website. These are very optimistic hours, but the point is, it will take several months for that to pan out.
Another situation regarding church A is when, after in-housing their website project to a on-staff web manager they end up with a beautiful site. That site is maintained, and updated through the hands of one person. After some time, that web manager moves on from the church to pursue ministry elsewhere. The website, then, is placed in the hands of the other members of the church. They come to realize that the website was created using Dream Weaver, or HTML, which requires much more skill than they possess. Then they are left with a beautiful website… that never changes. Six months down the line, they still have a beautiful website that still advertises the same events from Easter while the church holds there Christmas program. Members of the church body no longer visit the site since it is not going to be of help for them, and the community feels that the church is dead since they have remained stagnant for over six months.
Here's another scenario we come across. Church B purchases a website from a higher dollar company and finally gets a church website. Only to find out that there is only ten pages within their whole entire website. When Church B asked for more pages, for their youth, persay, they would be charged an extra $100. Then Church B asks, “what if I want to upload sermons” The web designer replied, “another charge.” Do we see a trend here? Anything extra for their website ended up costing extra.
Where does one start in this process evaluation of church website design? First, consider their portfolio, for example: http://www.camnio.com/portfolio.html. Do the websites they have posted, look like something you would desire. Next, do the church websites on their portfolio function correctly. Never be afraid to email the church and simply ask them how they like their website and if it was a worthwhile investment. Finally, sit down with your church staff or key decision makers and decide on how many pages you will need to put on your website. Pages meaning articles that highlight your church, for example, one article about your history, while another about your location.
After this process is taken, check out your budget for the church website. You'll have to not account for not only web design, but also hosting. When dealing with hosting ask questions like:
1. How much bandwidth will you provide?
2. How many email addresses will I get?
3. Who will own the site after the design is completed?
4. How much space is allotted for my website?
5. What happens if my site is hacked?
After you have hashed out exactly what you are looking for, start calling around to the companies that in your price range and remember, spending more doesn’t always mean better quality. Questions to keep in mind regarding website companies are as follows.
1. Ask pointed questions about the language in which the site is created in.
2. How easy is it to maintain your site? (You never want your site to have to be maintained by another company since that would amount to many extra dollars that would be unnecessarily spent.)
3. Ask about the amount of features you would get for the price that is being quoted. (Many companies work on tiers in which only certain features are offered at the lowest price.)
4. Does the site include custom work like graphic design and custom layouts? (Evaluate what you get for the amount of money that you spend. Some companies offer full packages for one set fee that includes custom work. CAMNIO Media is one of those companies.)
5. Is the site a “meal-in-a-box” kind of site or will it be unique to your church? (Many companies will charge the same price for “ready made” sites as the custom designers do. Keep that in mind when looking at the specks of your site.)
6. Will they offer training to you for self-maintenance? (Many companies will charge extra for training on the software or language the site is built in)
7. Will you have to purchase expensive programs to manage the site? (If your website company is requiring you to purchase expensive software to run the site, be aware that it could end up being a costly, and an inconvenient site to manage.)
8. Is what the sales rep telling me clear and understandable or complicated and vague? (Every company has a sales rep. Make sure that what they tell you is clear and understandable. If they are able to put what they say in writing, then it is binding.)
Remember, be your own advocate and make sure that you know what you are getting from each company before you choice their services.
Finally, remember to have fun searching for your church website. The church website should be an extension of the character of your church. It should represent your personality and be an extension to your community. Shopping for a website is almost like shopping for a car, you look for quality, dependability, and easy maintenance.
