Resources
Web Site Development: It's About the Visitor!
In the old days of the Internet as we know it—only
several years ago—few Web site developers gave a second
thought as to who might visit their Web site. They just
assumed that visitors would find it. A badge of honor
was earned, not by how many "hits" a Web site got,
but from simply having a Web site.
However, simply having a Web site is not enough
anymore. Webmasters are re-thinking their strategies and
turning to those who really matter in the e-world: the visitor.
Webmasters need to know what the visitor thinks. For instance:
Is the Web site easy for the visitor to navigate? What
does the visitor need or want to know about your congregation?
What did the visitor like and dislike about a particular Web
site? Did the visitor have trouble accessing the Web site?
How can the webmaster make the Web site easier to use?
Who is the target audience? And what can be done to encourage
the visitor's return?
Webmasters have good reason to court the visitor.
Even though a congregational Web site is only one piece of the
congregation's communication strategy, a new visitor can factor
into the bottom line through donations and membership.
But the visitor is fickle, with an attention span of about 10
seconds. If they can't see the Web site and discern what
it's about within about 45 seconds, they'll move on to other
sites.
So how can webmasters court visitors to congregations
Web sites, considering many congregational webmasters have little
Internet expertise and budget for the extras like Flash animations
and QuickTime movies? It's easy: focus on the basics.
Here are some tips to help you help the visitor
have a good experience at your congregational Web site:
-
Know your target audience.
Knowing who to reach is a critical consideration for congregations.
Do you want to attract the attention of your current membership
or prospective new members from your neighborhood.
Are you trying to reach "churched" or "unchurched"
people? Design the Web site with your audience in
mind while adding links to pages relevant to the congregation's
membership.
-
Keep the opening page simple.
Leave the busyness to CNN and Yahoo. How many links
do you really need from the opening page of your Web
site? Limit links to six or seven essential links
from the opening page. Additionally, the opening page
should provide a snapshot of who you are and what you do.
Don't make the visitor scroll for more content from the
first page. That is, the content of the opening page
should fit within the visitor's computer screen. Period.
-
Make sure everyone can
visit your Web site. If you use a lot of art,
make sure the graphics filer are small. If you use
big images, break them up into smaller pieces using tables
to reassemble them. Big art means high bandwidth—meaning that your web pages will open very slowly for the
average visitor. If you don't know how to reduce the
size of graphics, find someone who does—perhaps someone
from your congregation's youth group.
-
Test, test and re-test.
If you build your Web site with Microsoft FrontPage, look
at your site through Netscape Navigator. Chances are
you'll see something different from what you intended.
Invite your friends and neighbors to look at your Web site
through their browsers. Chances are they'll view your
Web site through as many as seven different browsers—several versions of Netscape Navigator and MS Internet Explorer
plus a handful of other lesser-known browsers.
If you want to learn more ... Find out how the
World Wide Web can support your congregation's mission and ministry
by checking out our resources.
—Angela Herrmann
Director of Web site development
Disciples Home Missions
