Technology Tips

This topic includes technology tips from web managers and other technology resource people from our member congregations. Submit your own tip for inclusion in this topic!

Website tips from Al Nilson - web manager for First UMC Palo Alto

• Website: firstpaloalto.com
• Average daily hits: 5000

Al Nilson reports that their church's website is currently the number one source of new visitors accounting for 90% of the ways people find the church. Here are some of his tips for a successful website:

• Content, content, content. Keep your web site up to date with interesting content and pictures that highlight your church community and community in action. Al makes an extra effort to put current pictures from the previous Sunday's service and pictures from other current activities on the home page of the website. Website visitors enjoy the website because of the human touch of seeing regularly updated pictures of people in the church community right on the home page.
• An online calendar of events helps the congregation easily keep up with all of the church's activities but is also a good way for other potential visitors to learn about all the wonderful events they might wish to attend. (First UMC is currently using MyChurchEvents.com to host the calendar.)
• Using a content management system [First UMC PA uses Moveable Type] makes keeping content up to date easier to do
• Utilizing the gifts of a team of three people (a technology person, graphics design person, and content person) resulted in the most effective website.
• Currently not directly promoting the website, people easily find the church through search engines (65% Google, 25% Yahoo, 7% MSN)
• Interesting tidbit: Christmas Eve was the number one visited day for the website.

Website tips from Craig Wiesner - web manager for First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto

• Website: fprespa.org
• Average monthly hits: 64,000
• Average monthly visits: 11,000
• Average time/visit: 1 to 2 minutes

Craig Wiesner reports that their church's website accounts for somewhere between 75% to 90% of the ways new people find the church. His work as web manager is often and appreciatively thanked by folk in his church but he humbly responds, "I accept the thanks for my labor but the website is in reality a mirror or reflection of who the congregation is". Here are some of his tips for a successful website:

• There are many gorgeous websites out there that nevertheless lack depth of content and personality. After 5 minutes at some sites, you still can't figure out who they are.
• It is useful to use web analysis tools to see how people are getting to the website, what keywords they are using in search engines, and what websites are linking to the church's website and why. All of this information is in most web logs, but you need a tool to make meaningful sense of the data. (First Presbyterian PA uses LiveStats for web analysis)
• It someone isn't spending at least a half hour to one hour keeping the website up to date each week, the church probably has a broken or out of date website. A content management system can reduce the time necessary to keep the website up to date, but the most important thing is content.
• Many people look at websites when they are "church shopping". It's a safe way to learn about a congregation and its theology before they risk stepping through the door of the church. Here you can check out sermons and the pastors' theology, see what activities the church is involved in, and check out the diversity of the congregation in age, race, gender, orientation, etc.
• Interestingly, many people get to the church website through articles that Craig and others have posted about church members and friends who have passed away. Very often, people find their way to the website by searching for a person's name on Google, Yahoo, or other search engine.
• Interesting tidbit: One unusual way that many people get to the church website is through a sermon on Oscar Romero, On the Words of Oscar Romero, that ended up getting linked to by the Vatican! Through this link, many people have also learned about the church's sister community, Communidad Octavio Ortiz, in the Lower Lempa region of El Salvador.