Media Outreach

In following with our recent trend of focusing on specific sections within a website, today we’ll explore the section of a site that truly allows a visitor to identify with the church leadership on a personal level – the staff section. While there are many ways in which these sections can be utilized, the following practices will enable you to get the most out of your staff pages.

1. Make it personal – Most staff biographies tend to follow a script that contains the same information. Often, churches will create a template for their staff to fill in and plug that directly into the page. Instead of filling out a form, try writing a short biography in paragraph form. Not only will this allow your staff members to display more of their personality, but it will make your staff section more creative by removing the uniformity of a pre-generated list of questions.
2. Put a face to the name – Including pictures of your staff members will help visitors establish a connection to the church before they ever set foot in the door. By finding a friendly face on the site, the visitor will know that they are welcome. Whether you use professional profile shots, or a sampling from your church’s “who can eat the most ice cream in one sitting” social event, putting a face to the name will go a long way in building relationships with your visitors.
3. Connect with your visitors – Make sure to include contact information when appropriate. Providing a manner in which visitors can contact staff members directly in lieu of creating a generalized phone number/email account will present the staff as ready and willing to assist with any issues that come up.
4. Make it funky now – As with the Contact & Directions page, if you have the means, you can get wild and crazy with your staff pages. Introducing a flash element (Example) can introduce a dynamic presence to your staff pages that sticks in a visitor’s, or in this case a client relations manager’s, mind long after they first visit your site.

Staff pages are truly the window into your church’s proverbial living room, as they are the best place on your website for a visitor to learn about individual members of the church. By employing these practices into your site, you will ensure that your visitors know who you are before you ever get to say hello.

Photo by TomCoates