Aside from what should be on your church website’s homepage, few things are harder than determining what the navigation structure should be. It is not only a technical decision, but a business decisions, and in some cases a political decision. Your primary navigation shapes how people use your site and ultimately how easily they can find information on it. By applying some basic information architecture principles you can come up with a structure that fits your individual church and utilizes common practices on the web. Topics include:
- Introduction to Use Cases
- Common Church Use Cases
- Your Faith
- Activities
- Locations
- Contact Us
Action Item: Examine your existing site’s structure. Does it follow these guidelines, and can you accomplish the most common tasks people in your target market want to do? If you do not have a site, consider those common questions new members have (hint: ask your pastor or their secretary), and develop a structure that answers those points easily. Lastly, do not blindly follow the “click myth”, that every answer needs to be found within X clicks. The perception of getting closer to their goal is what makes them happy, rather than 3 clicks through an awkwardly crafted church website navigation.
Note: This podcast is heavily based on the article Creating Church Website Navigation
This podcast episode referenced Episode 18: Creating a Great Contact Us Page
