Web Sites on Purpose

Having an online presence for your ministry is more important today than ever before. As we all know, the Internet can be an amazing way to connect with people inside your community and to reach out to people outside of your community. The possibilities for what you do online are endless-from the very simple presentation information about times, dates, and locations, to the more complex and interactive features such as social networking, discussion boards, event registration, and podcasting.

As part of my job I look at hundreds of ministry Web sites every week. Some are fantastic, others are mediocre, and some are so scattered and disjointed that it almost hurts to look at them-having no Web site at all would be a better option. The most common thing that distinguishes the good from the bad and the ugly is purpose. Let me explain...

Before creating (or re-creating) your online presence you'll want to make sure that you ask yourself this critical question: Why?  
Why are you doing what you do with your Web site? What should the purpose of your Web site be? Is it simply to convey information, or do you want it to be something more? Is it to grab people's attention? stir people's emotions? get people involved? persuade people to take action?  Is it to connect with those already involved in your ministry or to reach out to those who aren't yet involved?

The reality is that if you don't have a purpose for your Web site, your blog, or your Facebook group-if you haven't thought about why you're doing what you do-there's a very good chance that you'll end up with a scattered mess that doesn't do anything all that well.  
I considered mentioning a few examples of purposeless sites, but it seemed a little to mean-you know who you are. Instead, I'll mention one that has a clear and carefully thought out purpose. Take a look at themountslc.com and you'll see what I mean. The purpose of this site is to push people to come to the weekly service. On the home page they have service times and directions. They have pictures of the service, a podcast of recent sermons, FAQs about what to expect at their service, and a blog to discuss recent topics. It's beautiful.

Let's join forces and rid the world of purposeless Web sites.

Nick Zerwas is the senior Web consultant at SnapShot Web. He's passionate about helping ministries have amazing Web sites. nick@snapshotweb.com