Category: Articles

Your source for digital ministry and church communications articles since July 2011. Perspectives range from strategic overviews to tactical walkthroughs. Topics include websites, social media, website, web teams, integration with your church, and many more.

Creating Useful Internal Interviews

Internal interviews help whether you are starting out, or are a seasoned professional. They help you better understand the corporate knowledge that exists in your church. Plus it further cements you as a digital advocate that cares about your church’s problems. Your church’s staff has plenty of information to share. Rediscover your audience by following the steps below.
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Making Readable Text for your Church

Imagine that your sound system did not work. Your pastor could deliver an amazing sermon. But few people would hear it. The same applies to printed words. Text is the primary method you convey information. Thus, it makes sense to use it in ways that are most effective. The concepts in this article will make your physical and digital text easier to read.
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When Your Church Should Use Animation

Animations are often thought of as a trend of the early web. This is because many developers discovered animation techniques. But few bothered to learn when and why to use them. Yet in many situations, animation is still helpful. This is true in church websites, social media and mobile applications. Here are situations where you should consider using animations.
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Recharge your Empathy to Create Better Experiences

Understanding your users’ needs is the biggest part of creating a good experience. But what happens when you cannot understand their perspective? You lose sight of the real goal. Even worse, you insert your own desires into the process. Solve this by recharging your empathy.
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Make Exits Helpful and Not Awkward

We do not want to think about members leaving the church. But we must admit that it happens. Sometimes they just want to switch churches. Other times they are leaving their faith behind. Regardless of the situation, we should provide an easy way for them to exit. This article explores how to create an easy and accurate method for members to leave your church.
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Cultivating your Web Team’s Culture

What culture does your web team have? If you are a team of one, that is an easy question. But it is more difficult if an entire communications team supports your church. If you are the leader, you have a heavy burden on your shoulders. You dictate what the culture is for your team. Here are a few insights on how you can positively impact your mission.
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Updating and Validating Personas

After creating your initial draft of personas, you need to confirm your guesses. I know you already did this with internal ministry leaders. But this is with actual users. Validating personas against users should uncover interesting details your ministry leaders missed. Or you may uncover larger problems. Regardless, you will better understand how people use your digital ministries.

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How to Quickly Create Personas for your Church

Personas are a tool to help focus discussions on users rather than yourself. Ideally, you do a lot of research first. Yet that is not always possible. How can you create something meaningful, but in a short period of time. Start with good guesses and help from church leadership. Present your findings to your larger team for minor edits. Then start moving forward on your projects!
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Focusing Your Church’s Digital Strategies

So much to do, such little time. Where do you invest your precious resources? Focus your church’s digital ministries in two areas. First is your stable market; already engaged church members. Second is your growth market; or who will best expand your ministries. Both are important, and need unique attention in the digital space. Here are a few tips on how to engage each.
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What We Can Learn from Cars

Websites and cars have more in common that you might think. Characteristics that apply to selecting and using a car can be used for websites. A car is a necessity in modern society. Similarly, a website is often required for your church to have a presence in the digital world. Here are some tips to help your website perform at its peak levels.
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