It’s hard enough to get people to visit your website and church, WHY O WHY give them a reason to leave? Why give members and visitors a reason to think you’re “rinky dink” ??
Yet, that’s exactly what many church websites do…. stuff they shouldn’t. As I type this, we’re in the process of selling our house. The realtors, home shows, and best advice all say you must remove the clutter and “stage” your house …so that when people visit it, they can imagine themselves living there. That’s pretty good advice for church websites too.
Here’s my list of “Pet Peeves,” -with apologies to pets everywhere.
1. Boring. (Duh) If it doesn’t look good, don’t put it up. People don’t need one more reason to think your church is behind the times.
2. Picture of your ugly church building.
To some people, church buildings trigger post-traumatic flashbacks. And most church buildings just aren’t that pretty. =Your website is not your letterhead=
3. Pictures of dull people not having fun. Who wants to join THAT bunch?
4. Scare tactics. (add blinking text for emphasis)
And no, as a matter of face I WILL NOT be “ready” when Jesus comes back. (Romans 3:23)
5. Music playing in the background.
Did you know that all music midi files (like the hymn midis you hear on some sites) sound differently on different sound cards? Even if they all sounded the same, music on the main page is usually distracting. (Its a sign of amateur web design too.)
6. Even good music playing in the background.
…Because it SCARES the B’JEEBUS out you late at night when you click on the site and FORGOT that you had turned up your speakers to listen to your Aerosmith CD.
7. Impossibly Tiny and Slippery Roll-over Menu Buttons.
How much eye-finger coordination should it take to get to Ministries -> Children -> Sunday School classes -> Schedule. Note to menu designers…I’m not that coordinated and I keep clicking on the wrong stuff.
8. Pastor messages on the front page.
Blah blah blah. It’s not about YOU. Instead…welcome me with great design, upcoming events, and freshness, ….not boilerplate smarmy-ness.
9. Graphics of people you got off the web.
One local church here runs an ad in the paper showing a “one of their kids” in a bandana who I’ve also seen in an ad for Chevy trucks. Put your own people on the site. They’ll come see it.
10. Front pages that don’t have address and contact TEXT, or force me to click to find it out.
Some of us just need the info quickly. Some of us want to copy that text into a document, such as an email. Plus, did you know that graphically presented addresses can’t be indexed by search engines?
10b: Stop with the Generic Contact Forms!
If you really don’t want people to be able to email specific staff people, why then do you HAVE specific staff people? They’re getting paid to be available, -make it so.
11. Out of date information. ie… “Come to our Picnic July 25″ …and it’s September.
12. I’m thinking….
13. Scrolling anything. It’s soooo… 1995.
14. Still thinking…
For my full article on building a better website, and examples of bad ones, go to www.sundaysoftware.com/website.htm
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