Setting goals? Start here

We’ve been talking this month about setting goals…

Sometimes the planning for the year involves evaluating the church website.

And if you are going through the process of considering a new church website design, the first question you need to ask is:

What is the purpose of our website?

This is the critical first step because as John F Kennedy said…

Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.  -John F Kennedy

For most churches, the purpose of their church website is two-fold:

1. Connect with people in the community
2. Communicate with church members

Once you have determined your website’s purpose, the next step is to determine the projects or tasks you’re going to do to accomplish this purpose.

Some examples of how you may accomplish your website’s purpose include:

Connect with people our community

• Perform Search Engine Optimization (SEO) on our website so we are in the top 10 (or better) in Google
• Add a welcome video to our homepage, where the lead pastor is the voice-over to a video that shows what attending on Sunday may look like (walking up to the church, inside the welcome area, inside the church service, dropping off kids in the kids zone, coffee and reception area, etc)
• Include information on the homepage about one upcoming community outreach event that is happening in the next month

Communicate with church members

• Include quick links to getting involved in a small group Bible study, calendar of events, and service opportunities
• Include a “Give” page in your primary navigation menu to make it very easy to give online
• Provide a way for people  to subscribe to your email list
• Add online event registration to your website for youth retreats, VBS, and other upcoming events

These are just a few examples of projects or tasks a church might choose to do to accomplish the purpose of its church website.

After you have listed the steps of how you will accomplish your website’s purpose, it is important to create a detailed plan for how each will be implemented and how each will be evaluated to determine whether or not these measures are effective.

Post a comment. We would like to hear from you:

1. What is the purpose of your website?
2. What specific steps are you taking to accomplish the purpose of your website?

And if you are interested in speaking about a new church website and how we can help you accomplish your goals, fill out the consultation request form below.

Continue reading… How to set and reach your goals in 2024!