How do you eat something the size of an elephant? One bite at a time. This is simple but powerful advice for a church web team facing large projects. So many tools and activities I mention on this blog need a lot of time to put in place. One thing I am sure you do not have is the time to work on them. Yet if done in smaller chunks, these larger problems become easier to swallow.
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Tag: Politics
Moving Technology Forward at your Church
Many of my readers are tech enthusiasts. You see new technologies emerge and immediately see the benefits. Your brain is spinning with ideas that will benefit the church. In a flurry of excitement, you present your ideas to your church leadership. Then you are hit with excuses of time, budget, and lack of perceived value. I imagine many of us have thrown up our hands in frustration. Why do our pastors and leaders not see the potential? It is not their fault. We as tech enthusiasts must present simple solutions with clear value to the church’s ministries.
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Website Development Methodologies
How do you make your church’s website? I am not talking about tools, but rather processes. There are several website development methodologies you can use. In this article I am explaining the three most popular methods. This includes discussing their characteristics as well as their pros, and cons. Hopefully this will educate you on what exists and what will best work at your church.
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Cautiously Cultivating a Personal Brand
Have you ever heard of Billy Graham? Does the name Rick Warren ring any bells? These men and many others have contributed greatly to the kingdom. They also invested in creating a personal brand as well. If done properly, it is not a narcissistic or prideful thing to do. It gives you focus as well as a bit of fame. That fame, when stewarded well, can be a powerful force for change. This is a quick guide to creating an online personal brand while remembering that it is not all about us.
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Make a Mediocre Church Website
The world does not need the perfect church website. What it needs is your church’s website inviting people to experience the Gospel now. If it is not online, no message gets out. Every day you wait for perfection is another day your voice is not heard. Instead of creating the prefect website, publish your best draft. You will make some mistakes along the way, but those learning experiences will shape your future. This article will explore two scenarios your church may be in.
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Removing Website Clutter
Designers see clutter as too many things in one space. They want the right balance of elements on a page so it is aesthetically pleasing. Website visitors use the word clutter differently. They use it to describe items that impede their task. Unfortunately we are reluctant to remove elements in a design. This is often due to politics, unclear strategy, and/or fear of leaving something out. This article shows how you can use analytics and UX tools to remove clutter without sacrificing functionality. Here are a few “simple” steps I suggest taking.
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CWS Podcast – Ep. 55: Your Opinion Does Not Matter
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you are a pastor in your late 40′s, your opinion of a website aimed at an early 20′s audience really does not matter. Well now that the awkward part of this article is over, I will move on to what really counts; and that is if your church website is meeting the established business goals. In this article I will explore different ways the decision makers can provide good feedback and shape a great experience for your target audience.
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Forced to Create a Bad Website
It is frustrating to create what you consider to be a great prototype or mock-up for your church’s website, only to have it completely changed by your approval authorities. My advice to you is to first not take it personally. Web teams around the world, both in churches and Fortune 500 businesses need to adjust their designs to suit their stakeholders. Second, realize there are preventative measures you can take to help mitigate these situations. This article will discuss why these conditions occur, and the best ways I have in thwarting them.
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CWS Podcast – Ep. 49: Writing an Effective Tagline
When someone lands on your web site, you only have a few seconds to grab their attention. This does not mean bright colors or animation, but something easy to spot on the page that answers the question “What’s in it for me?” You can accomplish this with the combination of your church’s name and its tagline. While this is something your leadership, communications, and marketing teams will weigh in on; the web team should have some input, as thee website and social media outlets will be greatly affected.
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Conducting Stakeholder Interviews
To properly support your church, your website needs to support its high-level strategic goals. If you want to know where your church is going, you will need to ask your leadership. The best way to accomplish this is through stakeholder interviews. This will not only include your primary or lead pastor, but also your various ministry leaders. By gathering input from all areas, you can not only ensure your church is aligned on its long-range goals, but also that your website is crafted to most successfully support it.
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What is A Church Website Strategy?
When people talk about website strategy, the conversation dips into many interesting areas. The problem is that the word strategy means something different to different people. Thus, to have an effective website strategy, you need to define what strategy is. In this article I offer you a framework to define various levels of guidance.
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CWS Podcast – Ep. 33: Advancing Your Website Without a Pastor
In the past I had the unfortunate opportunity to speak with churches that are between pastors. It is tough to watch them advance the Kingdom so slowly and cautiously. Many of their ministries freeze, especially anything dealing with the web. If you are a church elder or committee leader in your church; fret not. I will give you a few tips to keep advancing your online presence without a pastor in the pulpit. There are still plenty of opportunities to get people from clicking on your site to sitting in your seats.
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