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: Wilmington, DE

User Profile:

• Female
• 30 to 39 years old
• Caucasian
• Area Resident for 11 or more years
• Attends church 5 or more times per year

Final Grade: Text heavy site lacking clear content and engaging graphics.

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“The link to church’s outreach programs led to a page with numerous ministries and links to their individual websites and a bit of information about each ministry. Unfortunately the manner in which all the information is presented (95% text) makes it all a bit overwhelming to comprehend.”
The visitor encountered some broken links and slow loading pages.
“The website was so text heavy that it was nearly impossible to comprehend all of the information bombarding you.”
“I’d have to say there is no ‘visual’ flavor to this site, unless you count the flavor of French’s Yellow Mustard, which the background color accurately emulates. The mustard yellow background was disconcerting and unappealing. Visually there was nothing exceptional about this text heavy website.”

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What is your overall first impression of this site?

“The page is considerably text heavy. It is very simple and creatively lacking. I was overwhelmed by the color of the background.”

What would make this site better?

“Reduce the amount of text and better outline the whole website to streamline information. For example, instead of listing every ministry on the same ‘Outreach’ page, use the ‘Outreach’ page as a basis to list TYPES of ministry and then on individual category pages list all of the ministries.”

Would you visit this church based on the site?

“Probably not.”

faithHighway Tips for improvement…
…from a design expert:

“When you first look at this site, your eyes don’t know where to look. The site would look more appealing and inviting if they were to use different colors and more images. They should consider using less text on their home page, and save that information for the inside pages.”

…from a programming expert:

“There are a couple broken links on the side menu. Also, they could use H1 and H2 tags for the headers in their content areas.  This would help with search engines.”

…from a web outreach expert:

“While there is an abundance of religious imagery (cross, altar flowers, etc.) on the site, the home page is devoid of other imagery. Consider supplementing the existing imagery with something along the lines of pictures of people interacting in a casual manner. This will not only give the site a more welcoming feel, but will soften the site’s outreach toward the unchurched.”

Photo By: Mykl Roventine