Media Outreach

First Impressions is facilitated through Guest Reflections. People are asked to pick a website from a church in their area at random and review it. These sites may or may not be powered by faithHighway.

Church Location: Hudson, WI

User Profile:

• Male
• Caucasian
• 50 to 59 years old
• Area Resident 11 or more years
• Attends Church 2 or more time per month

Final Grade: Great functionality and graphics with below average navigation and content.

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“The contact information wasn’t readily found. It was way at the top of the site. It could have been nearer the name of the church graphic.”
The visitor found the site functioned well with no error messages or broken links.
“The church put a lot of information on the site but not too much to keep someone not wanting to visit. Some of the material seemed a little preachy which might keep some people from visiting the church but if the entire website was taken into consideration, this might be overlooked.”
“The site was visually attractive and inviting. The graphics were well done.”

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What is your overall first impression of this site?

“It was plain and seemed straightforward. It seemed on first sight that it would answer any questions a visitor looking for a church might have.”

What would make this site better?

“It could be a little less preachy. The site could also have a little more graphics and pictures of the congregation. It is a pretty basic site which might be attractive to some people but a little step up by using more color and graphics would make this site more appealing.”

Would you visit this church based on the site?

“Probably”

faithHighway Tips for improvement…
…from a design expert:

“The designers of this site had a good idea in using a big area on the homepage to highlight upcoming events and activities, but they missed an opportunity to show visitors their personality by not using any images.”

…from a programming expert:

“They are using images for their Calendar and Bulletin instead of using an online tool.  Google calendar would be an easy option for a calendar.  Using images prevents search engines from indexing the text used on those pages.”

…from a web outreach expert:

“The home page needs to have more of a visual presence. While the inside pages should focus on providing information, the home page should be something of a postcard that presents a pictorial representation of who your church is, and what is to come as the visitors delves deeper into the site.”

Photo By: takomabibelot