Media Outreach

The first key to a good website is good visual design.
Good design means that the site graphics are relevant to the audience and compliment the objective of the website. The objective of a website geared towards reaching out to the community is to answer questions, such as:

• Where are you located?
• What time do you meet?
• What should I expect on a typical Sunday?
• What are your beliefs?

All of this has an end goal of getting visitors from the site into the church itself. To maximize the visual design elements for this goal, a church should remember that attention spans are often short online and a website has only a few seconds to grab the user’s attention. So, the imagery should be brief and enticing. It should accurately portray the flavor of the church but without overwhelming the user with information. By using imagery that keeps in mind the people who may rarely come to church or not even know what it is all about, a church can create a comfortable and welcoming site. Too many church symbols and imagery may only frighten away the skeptical users by making it seem out of touch or too strange. Instead of using images of crosses and fish, which have no meaning to an unbeliever, show them images that portray those meanings in a more secular way. This could be done by using a child about to open a present to convey hope or a family reunited to show healing. Finally, utilizing images of the community can increase the relevancy of the site, by showing that the church is in touch with the area and its people.

Tune-in tomorrow for the conclusion of this article.