As we head into a new year, you might be considering a church website redesign. This is a good idea. Especially if it’s been a good number of years since the last update.
You’ll want to use your church website for many things. So think about the goals you have for your ministry. Do you want more people to come to church? Do you want to engage in more outreach? Or maybe you desire to host more events to get people to hear the gospel in a unique way. You could also use your site to develop deeper relationships by connecting people.
All of these are great! So as you venture into a potential new church website project, here are some things you do not want to do as you step into 2022.
Make It Cluttered
Your church has a lot going on. That’s wonderful! But the last thing you want to do is clutter your website with too much information, text, and graphics. If your site is too cluttered, people will leave because they can’t find what they’re looking for. It can also make it hard to view. With so much all on one page, you could accidentally turn people away.
Instead, spread out your content in a way that makes sense. Whether that’s using different pages for different things or having a new section further down. White space is your friend. Use it. Create a layout that makes it easy for people to view.
Have Difficult Navigation
A website that is difficult to navigate makes it hard for people. They go to your church website to find more information about service times or an upcoming event. If that info is not in a clear place, people won’t be able to show up to those things. Plus, people will get frustrated.
So be sure to include clear tabs and calls to action that make sense. Have a navigation menu that will answer people’s questions. Bonus points for a search bar that works.
Only Use Text
A website redesign should be more than just words on a screen. People interact with the digital landscape multiple times a day. Gone are the days of outdated web pages with only black and white text. You may have a lot of wonderful things to say, but use more than words.
What you’ll want to do along with your great verbiage is to tie in graphics, photos, and videos. People are very visual, so you’ll want your website to be visual too. (Just don't clutter it as we mentioned before.)
Contain Broken Links
It’s very common for a website that has been around a while to have links that don’t work properly. But that’s something you don’t want moving forward. A website redesign is a perfect time to audit your current site to see which pages and links are broken.
If you have links going nowhere or giving an error message, make note of it. Either ensure those links aren’t in your new website, fix them, or remove them altogether.
Have Missing information
Something you don’t want to do in 2022 is have a website without necessary information. People will go to your site to find what they need. If it’s missing the date and time of the next big event or your church address isn’t included on the homepage, people will miss out.
What to do instead is to double-check that everything includes all the info necessary. Every event that’s added to the calendar should contain what people need to know. Your home page should have all weekend service information. Maybe even include a “What to Expect” blurb for newcomers. An “About Us” page is helpful too.
Only Use Stock Photos
The other tips could be somewhat obvious (but good reminders, right?). One thing you may not have thought about though is stock photos. Sure, many churches and even businesses rely on stock photos to add more visual variety to their website. But this could hinder people from really understanding your church and mission.
You can still use some stock photos, but people enjoy seeing real pictures of real people that attend your church. Share media from the latest outreach opportunity or church service. By including real photos, others will get a glimpse of what your church culture is like.
Keep the Same Site
The last thing you want to do in ’22 is to keep the same website you’ve had for the past 5+ years. If it’s been more than 2-3 years, you’ll want a website redesign. Why? People will begin to notice. Design styles change and an old site can often turn people away.
But an outdated website is better than no website, right? Not necessarily. Because so many people are heading to the interwebs for more information about the next church they go to, an old site could actually be a deterrent.
Ready for a Redesign?
If your current church website contains the previous things you don’t want in 2022, Clover Sites is here to help! We’ve got all the features you need to make your site stand out. And because we specifically serve churches, we understand your needs and what will help bring people in and get the gospel out. Contact us today to try it for free!
