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Many churches have websites, but some have sites that make a real contribution to the life of the congregation and its ministries. It's a way of getting things done, and for building the community and drawing people into deeper faith. Check out these six tips for creating a web presence for your church that matters, both for membership, and for guests considering becoming involved in your community.

Privacy issues are real.
Churches deal with sensitive, personal information every day. Information about hospitalization and accidents, and photos of children and teens, are just a few examples of content that we might want to handle with care.  Once it's placed on the internet, this information is widely available. Churches want to share information among members, yet also handle photos of children and other information sensitively. As a result, some churches are moving to a two-part site.

Such an approach recognizes that visitors to a church site are looking for different sorts of information than are members (and vice versa). With a public/private site, one area of the site is open to the public, and offers information about the church, its ministries, schedules, staff and directions. It's like an online brochure.

The other area is a private, members-only area on the site. This allows the church to use the power and efficiency of the internet to communicate information, but to do so in a way that respects members' privacy. Photo galleries that include children and teens are kept in the private area, as are lists of sick or hospitalized. The private area can also include links to "working" areas that help committees get things done with privacy and ease-of-use.

Keeping a site current.
Getting a site created is the easy part. Keeping it updated with good information is harder. Staff should be trained on how to update content on the church site, and expected to treat it just as important as keeping information in the church newsletter up-to-date. After all, the internet is rapidly becoming the primary source of information for people -- many now even using their cell phones to access the internet. Having up-to-date information on your site tells visitors that your church is relevant and active in its ministries.

Some sites that were designed in the past several years may be built page-by-page in HTML, and require one person with technical skills to do the updating.

Newer "content management systems" (CMS) make keeping a site much easier and faster. Each staff person can have a login and keep their portion of the site up-to-date, usually from within a web browser.

The benefits (makes updating content take less time, helps keep site updated) of moving to a CMS make it a worthwhile investment for churches to consider.

Cost-savings.
Most church budgets spend a lot of time and money mailing information to members. Letters, postcards, newsletters... these all take valuable (and expensive) staff time to prepare and send. Postage costs continue to increase. While the day has not yet arrived when churches can abandon printed communications, many churches are discovering that a growing percentage of church membership will accept (and even welcome) moving to digital communication methods, including emails and email newsletters. Over time, the savings in postage, printing and staff costs can be significant. In a day when church budgets are stressed, using digital communication tools not only helps get the word out faster, but is good stewardship.

Church growth.
In previous years, many churches saw websites as a "helpful" item, but not critical. Nowadays, surveys show that the internet is the first place many people go to look for a new church home when they move. Having a friendly, informative and attractive site is more important than ever for attracting visitors.

More than words.
Most church websites primarily use words to tell their story. But increasingly, people welcome learning about a church through videos, audio clips, and photo galleries. Adding these multi-media elements appropriately to a church site can make it more appealing and effective, especially to younger generations. Use strong photography to show the character and beauty of your church's setting and congregation.

It's not a brick.
Churches change all the time. They grow, they add new ministries and missions, they have new stories to tell. Rather than seeing a website as something that, once built, is "finished", many churches are seeing them as ever-changing tools for communicating, inviting, and even inspiring.

Tools for online email newsletter creation, calendaring, project communications, enhancing community, etc. have advanced significantly in recent years. Upgrading these features can help staff save time and members or visitors get the information they seek.

Setting up a process for regularly evaluating and updating the features of your church's site is a great way to avoid your site becoming a static "brick".

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The Brainstorm Lab offers a staff that includes seminary-trained leadership, as well as experienced technical staff. We offer web development, content development, photography, video services and consulting.

Need an elegant church website?  Contact David Cassady at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , call 478-471-7700 or visit www.thebrainstormlab.com for more information.