In this episode, I will compare and contrast content specific differences you should consider when migrating content from the print world to the digital. The first action many churches take when creating a new website is to examine all of their printed material and simply migrate it to this new electronic format. Please do not make this mistake, as your church website should not be an electronic brochure you can hand people. First, there are many limitations brochures have that websites do not. The way we interact and consume content on the web is far different than a brochure.
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Tag: Content Creation
CWS Podcast – Ep. 22: Creating Your Church Website Navigation
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:
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Church Mobile Web Strategy: Connectivity & Context
If content is king, then context is the kingdom. Understanding what content your visitors want to consume when they visit your church website cannot be separated from how they are consuming it. Gone are the days where we can assume they are sitting at home in front of a traditional computer. The advent of mobile devices puts many other scenarios in play. With a firm understanding of your audience and their behavior, mapping out these use cases will be much easier.
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CWS Podcast – Ep. 15: Writing for the Web
In this episode I will outline some basic guidelines for writing content on your church website. The first thing you need to understand is that you read a brochure, book, newspaper, or almost any other sort of printed medium. However we scan websites. Instead of hanging on every word you write, users are often searching for information or trying to accomplish a specific task. This episode examines why when writing for the web, you need to keep things short, use good document structures, and utilize lists to help focus users’ efforts.
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Focus on the Negative: Working Backward to Determine Brand
Although we all find our identity in Christ, your church needs its own unique identity and brand. Granted if you are a denominational church, your brand limits are a bit more defined, but still you should determine how your church stands out from the one just down the street. This is more difficult than it seems, as the same words are used over and over to describe churches. This article asks you to work backward from what you are not and let the audience see what you are.
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Find the Right Website Features
The key to having a great church website is not to have a multitude of features, but the ability to highlight the right set of website features to your visitors. Creating something complex is easy. Something simple with the right experience is extraordinarily difficult. In this article I will outline some steps to take to simplify your website while crafting the right experience your visitors want.
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CWS Podcast – Ep. 9: Documenting Your Church History on the Web
In this episode I delve into how your church web properties can serve as an archive of interesting and useful historical data. This podcast is based on my article “Documenting Your Church’s History“. I updated and restructured it to further explore the content you wish to archive, some of the associated costs, and finally the many benefits of documenting church history on the web.
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Copy and Paste with Pride
The difference between inspiration and plagiarism is a fine line. However, walking that line helps you create inspiring and engaging experiences as quickly as possible. This article will feature a few ways you can safely draw ideas from around the Internet. In other words, copy and paste with pride.
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CWS Podcast – Ep. 6: Stock Vs Custom Photography
When you think about what makes a website look good, fonts, text, and colors are probably not the first things that come to mind. Photographs and images are extremely important and require careful attention. In this episode I will delve into the differences of stock vs custom photography, and some tips on when to use each.
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CWS Podcast – Ep. 5: Creating User-Centered Content
Welcome to Episode 5, focusing on creating user-centered content. Simply put, this means writing from your visitor’s perspective. It is not always easy to do; hence the need to post this podcast!
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CWS Podcast – Ep. 3: Sales and Marketing
This second full podcast episode is based on my second article, “Yes You Are Selling Something“. It introduces the idea that churches are both a service and sales organization. We offer many great services to our community; which is a demonstration of the item we “sell”. That item is eternal life through faith in our savior Jesus Christ.
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Walking the Tightrope of Content Desires
Your church website strategy is a balancing act; defining the tension between the church’s wants, the user’s needs, and the content displayed on the site. Your church leadership has a certain set of objectives and missions they expect to execute via the website. Your website visitors expect yet a different set of needs to be met. Stuck in the middle is your content, which you mold and craft over time to meet everyone’s desires. Read on to see how this might be accomplished so that everyone considers it a win.
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