Do you really need a new church website?
Do you really need a new church website? There are really two important questions here.
The first question is asking if you really need a church website in the first place, and the answer is absolutely yes.
While some may argue that church websites are not as important as they once were (prior to the rise of social media), most still consider the website to be the most important tool a church has in its marketing toolbox. To support this claim we have only to remember the fact that most people will not visit your church unless they have first visited your website where they will want to learn about your worship service, children's ministry, and listen to sermons. Therefore you need a church website. It really is that simple.
But the second question is not as simple because most churches have a website. So the question isn’t usually “should you have a website," but “should you build a new website?"
To answer this question I’ve listed 4 good reasons to build a new church website.
1. LACKS ESSENTIAL FEATURES
It might be time for a new website if your current platform doesn’t offer essential features. If your website is not mobile first or friendly, doesn’t embed outside content, doesn’t come equipped with great media capabilities, then you may be in need of an upgrade.
2. OUTDATED DESIGN
There are two main categories of “outdated design.” There’s “kind of” outdated and then there’s “dawn of the internet” outdated. If your website is just “kind of” outdated, you probably shouldn’t feel urgent about building a new website. Don’t get me wrong, you should definitely update your website to a modern design as soon as you have the time and resources.
But if your design looks like it’s been around since the 90s and therefore lacks numerous key elements, you may want to make building a new website priority #1.
3. POOR USER EXPERIENCE
One of the things I talk about a lot is the importance of having a simple and intuitive user experience. You have to look at your website through the eyes of a first-time visitor. If the navigation, design, and content are not easily accessible, you are likely missing out on potential visitors. Things that contribute to this are a poor mobile experience, slow loading time, low resolution graphics, broken links, and a difficult to read typeface. If new people can’t easily use your website, then it’s probably hurting you.
4. FRUSTRATING CMS
On the administrative side of things, if you have a clunky CMS (content management system), this can be enough to throw in the towel on any platform. Whoever updates your website needs editing tools that work. If it takes a half hour to do a simple update, then you’re wasting time and money.
Find a platform (which I’ll talk about later) that has simple yet powerful admin tools. Then, make sure you can spend some time testing out the platform on a trial basis. This will help you determine if the platform is intuitive enough for you and will be a good investment for the long haul.
Bottom line, as you make your decision about whether or not to build a new website, make sure you do it for the right reasons, not just to keep up with the church down the street.
