Web Servants Corner
Welcome.
The purpose of this page is to encourage Web Servants to sharpen their design process and avoid some common mistakes in web design. An error in content or presentation can cause a web site to be ineffective. In an extreme case, it could even be responsible of the damage of property or injury by giving out information that breeches barriers of personal safety.
What is the purpose of your site?
When creating any web site, understanding the purpose and audience is essential to success. Doubly so for a church web site. Ask yourself the purpose behind creating the site and choosing content.
Most sites will have modest needs. You will want to reach people with the Gospel, and you want to facilitate information to those within the immediate fellowship. If it is too difficult for people to find a clear Gospel message on your site, you have immediately failed the first goal. If people who come across your web site cannot quickly get accurate directions to your place of meeting, or the cannot find a way to contact you; the second goal has failed. If your congregation cannot use the web site for anything other than an electronic bulletin, you may as well close up shop and save yourself the expenses of a web site altogether.
That may sound like a harsh assessment at first, but realize that although your congregation may overlook some sub par design and communication choices, the unsaved and the more savvy web surfers will not. Many people are looking for a reason, ANY reason to not come to church. The vast majority of web sites on the internet are great excuses to not come to a church. Obviously, perfection is not always possible, but a sincere effort is not too much to ask. Just like we give our best in the rest of our ministries, our presence on the web is just as essential.
Do...
Properly fill out the HEAD section of your site with proper keywords.
Why?
Between the <HEAD> and </HEAD> tags lies information that is very important to your sites success. Your visitor sees very little of this data, but without it, they may never find your site.
At a bare minimum, you need to make sure these 2 portions are filled properly...
1. Title: This is the title of your page, and it appears along the menu bar of the browser window. Big deal? Yes sir, it is. Not only does "NEW PAGE 4" look unprofessional, it's also un meaningful. The title of the page is what appears on search results. Busy web surfers are unlikely to visit or take seriously a web site that does not bother to get the most basic site structure information filled out properly.
2. Keywords: Also "key" to search. Keywords help search engines find the parts of your site that are pertinent to the search request. There are other factors in search, but this most basic step can make the difference between getting visitors and getting passed by.
Make sure that your pages have appropriate titles that pertain to the content.
Why?
Okay, you've managed to put a title on that page. Good job! Now, make sure that the title is something more than just the name of your church. If it's for your children's ministry, say so! Descriptive titles not only help search engine results, but they help your visitors, and that's the most important part.
Put your church name, address and telephone number as readable, selectable text.
Why?
Not to beat a dead horse, but search engines don't read pictures. Screen readers of the disabled can't read pictures. People also like to be able to copy the address and paste it into places like Google Maps and Mapquest. Help your visitors. If your information is unreachable, you are unreachable. How then, would you expect to reach back out to your visitors?
Check your spelling and grammar.
Why?
This is another of those obvious points. Look professional. Errors happen, but don't let them become squatters on your site. Proofread your text. Run the pages through basic grammar and spell checking systems. Your site does not need to be fancy, it just needs to be put together in a way that exhibits quality.
Please avoid...
Scrolling text or flashing text
Why?
It's hard to read, and it doesn't actually help visitors gain anything from visiting.
Out of date or broken links and images
Why?
Do tourists visit ghost town? Well, yes, they do. However, they don't go there to see what's new. They visit to see what once was. If you want your web site to be a "once was", simply do nothing.
Broken links and images also convey a sense of un professionalism. It may be acceptable to your current fellowship, but once again, when we do things to the glory of God, the result should not be something that turns out broken.
Linking to images from other sites
Why?
1. Linking to other sites leaves you at the mercy of that site keeping the image hosted.
2. In many cases it is considered copyright infringement. It could quickly become a legal issue and that would not reflect well on all concerned.
There are plenty of free stock photo sites as well as stock photo sites where you can get quality images at a very reasonable price. Let's not forget the extremely affordable option of taking your own pictures.
Flash based sites
Why?
1. Sure, it looks pretty on your personal, high bandwidth equipped, state of the art computer, but the rest of the world with more modest connections and equipment are at a loss. They may not be able to even load your site, not to mention their inability to navigate. That's not to say that Flash cannot be used, but find out what type of browsers and connections your visitors have before unleashing unwieldy Flash based web sites.
2. Search-ability. Almost none. Text that is displayed as an image or Flash cannot be copied and pasted into a search field, it cannot be read by search engines, and it cannot be read by the screen reading software used by the disabled.
3. Due to their complexity, Flash based sites are often maintained and updated by a company or individual outside of the church. You may be at the mercy of conveying your update requests through a third party. The speed of your updates could be hampered.
***Yes, it is true that recent developments may make alt text for Flash elements searchable, this development does not help existing sites that may need updated. Also, the search algorithms can only search the code, not the images. The argument againt Flash still stands for the time being.
Images in place of text
Why?
1. As stated above in the Flash section, images can convey information to the human eyeball only. When you use images instead of text, vital information cannot be read by search engines, screen readers, and is inflexible when adjusting page text sizes.
2. If the image link becomes broken, the information becomes unavailable.
3. This also applies to the sites navigation and menus. If there is a problem with the images and no text alternative is available, the visitor is left in the dust, and the site has failed to complete its most basic function.
4. The alt tag should always be filled with a meaningful description to ensure that even if the image has difficulty displaying, there will be something for the visitor to navigate by.
Images of your family, your house, or your home address
Why?
1. Honestly, this should almost be obvious. As much as a picture of your smiling family conveys how nice and wholesome your home environment is; discretion should overrule the desire to broadcast them to those who might not have your best interest in mind.
2. The same principal applies to your home. Even if you are hosting a home fellowship, posting pictures of your house and its address can likely garner the wrong sort of attention. Let potential visitors call you at your designated church phone number to get directions until you have a location away from the home.