It seems like everyone is talking about parish websites these days, and there’s good reason for that: Too many parishes are not using their websites to even adequate capability, and way too many don’t even have a website. In 2011, not having a website is essentially putting up a big “Closed” sign. The fact is that people use the Web as their primary way of finding anything today so if you’re not online, you don’t exist for a large part of the population.
At Pilot New Media, one of our primary tasks is helping parishes use the Internet more effectively so we’re always on the hunt for good resources and we’ll occasionally pass along some of the best of those resources.
Today, we have 10 Top Tips For a Hassle-Free Parish Website from HandMaid Design, a provider of Catholic web design services. It’s a good list, although I might quibble here and there. For example, I disagree with limiting the use of photo galleries. I do agree with the underlying idea that parishes should not let stale content sit in a prominent place on the website, but I think the more photos on a parish website, the better. However, while it’s okay to include photos of the church buildings (the better to help people find your church when driving by), the bulk of your photos should show parishioners engaged in communal activities, including the Sacraments, but also ministry and other parish activities.
That’s it for today. Read the whole article for all the tips and check back later for more from Pilot New Media.
i clicked on the link you gave for handmaiddesign and got a “server not found” message. What’s up?
It appears that they’re no longer in business. It’s too bad because the advice they gave was good. We’ll be putting up a lot of resources from our Fall Forum on Creating Excellent Parish Websites tomorrow on this site and we’ll be sure to include those tips as well.