Media Outreach

The sun has once again returned to my beloved city of Austin, and thus I am once again my happy-go-lucky, cheerful self. Thanks be to God for this Ash Wednesday full of brightness and vitamin C. It’s put me in such a good mood that I’ve even forgiven someone for cooking fish in the microwave in the kitchen near my desk yesterday. Consequentially, it’s difficult to talk to clients and type notes while you’re also trying not to breathe. Many thanks to Pastor David for not holding it against me yesterday when I blacked out. I’m just kidding. Maybe.

This morning I actually looked over the posts I’ve already written for this blog, partially to critique myself but mostly to make sure I didn’t recycle anything I’ve already written about. I’ve decided that we’re long overdue for a good ol’ fashioned “don’t do that” post. While I hate to be all negative on this bright sun-shiny day, I think that if even one of you reads this and says, “Oh my goodness, I’m doing what Andy said not to do so I’m going to go to my website and stop doing that right this instant and thank you Andy for being a beacon of light in the dark ocean of my website content management madness,” then it’ll be worth it. On a side note, I cannot believe that Microsoft Word doesn’t consider the previous sentence a run-on sentence. Where were you on that one Bill Gates?

Without further adieu, here are some things NOT to do on your website:

1. Blasting Loud Music: I know I once wrote an entire post about this subject, but I’d be remiss in my duties if I didn’t reinforce it again. Do not force your website visitors to listen to your music the second they come to your site. I’m sure that your music is great, and being a musician myself, I fully understand wanting to share your music with the world. However, it’s important that you let them make that choice. If you want to have the biggest, brightest, most flash driven button in the history of the internet that says “CLICK HERE TO PLAY MUSIC,” then more power to you… so long as the visitor is the one that decides to listen. People love to click buttons on websites in general, so, to wax poetic with Kevin Costner, “if you build it, they will come.”
2. Page Length: Arguably one of the most debated topics of website content is, “should my content stay above the fold?” Ignoring the fact that “above the fold,” is a term that applied to newspapers since there is, of course, no actual fold on a website… until such time as Steve Jobs invents a foldable monitor. Personally, I tend to fall somewhere in the middle of the debate. I don’t think it’s necessary to keep everything above the fold, since I’m somewhat long winded myself. However, while I think it’s ok to go beneath the mythical fold, I absolutely think that there should be self imposed limits on how much content should go on a page. While people will read below the fold, they will not read an entire Tolstoy novel’s worth of content if it’s all on one page. Be smart in how you organize your content. If you’ve got a lot to say, then split it up over different sub pages. Don’t omit important information, but don’t surround it with a 10,000 word stanza of other things you consider important. Be well organized, and everyone will go home happy.
3. Respect your audience: Most church websites tend to have a target audience. While a church plant might be more outreach driven in order to attract new visitors to the church, an older more established church site might be more targeted to its existing member base to provide information to them. Regardless of the intention of your site, it’s important to stay true to your target audience. If your goal is to have an outreach site that targets the unchurched, then you shouldn’t use graphics that bombard visitors with religious imagery. That isn’t to say that church imagery doesn’t have its place, but if a person who is just starting their spiritual journey comes to a church website, then a dove flying in to land on the arm of a cross with a bible in its beak might be a little over the top.  By respecting your target audience, you’ll ensure that your website is more effective in its intended purpose.

While I could certainly go on with more things you shouldn’t do on a website, this post is already somewhat alarmingly long. Considering I just told you not to put too much content on any one page, I would hate for you, dear reader(s), to consider me a hypocrite. Therefore, I think that we shall once again part ways… at least for now. Until next week then, dear reader(s), I hope you have a very happy Ash Wednesday.  On a special note, I hope that those of you observing the Lent season are filled with joy and spirituality, because you’re certainly not going to be filled with chocolate any time soon (Hi mom).

Photo By: aldrin muya