5 Realities of Church Website Design

Over the last five-plus years of working in the churches, I’ve honed my philosophy of church websites quite a bit. I’m been frustrated often because ministry leaders usually don’t have a concept or idea of what goes into a typical website and the cost of the sites they have dreamed up.

Granted, I like to dream too. But dreaming costs money. And no matter what someone says, web designing is more complex (read: hard) than typical graphic design (i.e. your Sunday bulletin). Meaning, it takes more time, it costs more money, and it’s overall — just harder.

This is why most graphic designers haven’t crossed over. Most graphic designers don’t have to know how to create and tweak code in order to produce beautiful designs. Throw in the fact that web surfers use numerous different browsers, of which all render websites differently, and you can see why it took me so long to do it.

So with all this in mind, here’s a couple of things I’ve come back to often when trying to educate ministry leaders on my philosophy of church websites design and production:

1. Great websites cost money.

Most ministers will see a great website and think that for $39.99 they can have one exactly like it. But if you want a quality church websites, you need to realize, it will cost you a lot more than $39.99.

2. Flashy websites cost even more money.

The number one request I have had in my time is a ministry leader wanting a Flash-driven website. I’ve not hidden my aversion to Flash. It requires having the Flash software, have experience with that software, and typically that means having to hire someone to make a change, when changes inevitably come.

Flash websites are beautiful, dont’ get me wrong. But the cost-to-benefit ratio has never come close for me. If you want something that just looks good and isn’t functionally effective (meaning you can’t use it), then it’s NOT worth it. Too often we just want something to look great at the sacrifice of usability and effectiveness.

3. Volunteers usually don’t work out well.

Don’t use a volunteer for your website. Don’t use donated labor for your church website. I’ve heard and seen the effects of using volunteers to create church websites. It usually ends in frustration. Hire a professional. And be willing to pay for it.

4. You get what you pay for.

In my experience, most ministry leaders want something great for cheap. If you pay for something cheap, you’re going to get something cheap. It amazes me that churches will spend over $10,000 for an ineffective Yellow Book ad, then squirm at paying anything over $1,000 for a quality website that can be changed daily and can literally reach the world.

5. Website design and maintenance isn’t super easy.

Maintaining a website takes work. That’s a fact. Again, it’s not as easy as updating your church newsletter. You can be using the most simple, easy-to-use content management system on the planet, but it still takes work. And the fact is … you’ll probably have to know a tad bit of HTML, even if you have FrontPage, if you want it to look and act right in the different web browsers.

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Got more to add? Make a comment below. Also, see my resource list of church website design firms I recommend.

November 28, 2007 · Filed Under Church Websites