Media Outreach

WYSIWYG = What You See Is What You Get.

This is an industry standard for website editors. Basically it means whatever it looks like in the editor, is exactly how it will look like on the published website. Although WYSIWYG is the standard for websites, I would not say it is the standard for most other things.

Think about the McDonald’s commercials, that Big Mac looks large, tasty, and fresh. Have you gotten a Big Mac lately ? They might be tasty, but you can barely see the meat and the look NOTHING like they do on any of the pictures inside McDonald or the commercials. We have gotten used to this, and most the time are fine with it. But if you think about it, you are let down whenever something doesn’t look like what was promised.

Enter Church websites. I know most churches want to be “cutting edge” but if you are not a cutting edge church then your giving a false impression. And the trust that you built with the website, is lost when people come to visit. When creating a website for your church, try your best to match what is seen on the website with what will be seen on a Sunday morning. I would even ask someone that doesn’t attend your church to check out the website and then come on a Sunday to make sure your giving a good impression.

If you are a family oriented church, show families. Do you focus on missions ? Show pictures of your mission trips. Are you mostly one ethnicity or another ? Show that… God has placed a distinct fingerprint / personality on every church – do not be afraid to show that. Even if your muscles aren’t as big as you want them to be….yet.

pic by jcoterhals