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Archive for user experience

Less is More: Fewer Words is More Effective

September 14th, 2015

Less is MoreHave you ever experienced a salesperson who talked too much, too quickly, overloading you with more information than you could possibly take in? Not a pleasant experience, right? Why would you want to do this to a potential visitor to your church?

The average person reads 300 words per minute. Since most only spend 10 seconds on a website page (be sure to check your analytics for the exact stats on your site) they’ll only capture about 50 words. That’s not much! Less is more in this case: less words can make your site more effective — especially on your home page.

While it might be true that the more someone knows about your congregation, the more they will find to like about it, your goal with a website is to get a website visitor to visit your church (usually for worship). And too many words can overwhelm the user, make it difficult to know what to pay attention to, and/or dilute your message. Be inviting without being overwhelming.

Streamlining your content in this way means that you really have to work to craft your text and focus its message — especially on your home page.

The users will read the headline first, so make that short and captivating. They will scan the rest of the page, so use section headings if needed, or use bold or italic fonts to make the most important information stand out. Create links to pages with more detailed information.

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Avoid the Website Sneeze

October 4th, 2014

sneezeJonathan Malm had a great post this week about how a snapshot of you sneezing captures you at your worst, and how lots of churches give visitors a snapshot of themselves sneezing on Sunday mornings–the visitors leave, but they can’t unsee that snapshot.  Do read his post here.  It will help you think about Sunday mornings and visitors.

But also think about your website.

Every single time someone visits your website, they get a snapshot of your church or organization.  And it’s not just limited to Sunday mornings, it’s 24/7. That’s why it’s so important to keep your website updated and tidy.

Are your website visitors catching you sneezing?  Here are some common sneezes:

  • Dozing Sneezes: the website content is outdated
  • Cold Shoulder Sneezes: the worship times are not up front & visible without a scroll
  • Boring Sneezes: long blocks of text that do not get quickly to the point, especially about the history or theology of the congregation.

The visits to your website matter! They may be your only chance to connect with a potential visitor. Be intentional about your website. Do your best not to let them catch you sneezing!

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Use Non-Ambiguous Titles

September 2nd, 2014

newsletter-exampleWhen someone visits your site, you have a very few precious seconds to get your content across.  Average time spent on any one page might be less than 5 seconds.  Don’t try to be cute or rhetorical, or think that ambiguity creates interest (a little of that goes a long way!).

Write titles (but also text) as clearly and concisely as possible.  For instance, instead of titling a post: “Help Youth Go on Mission Trip”, title it instead: “Pancake Fundraiser for Mission Trip, Sun 9/7”.  The reader should be able to know the gist of the story — what it is about– without actually reading the story. This helps them skim through your posts and the content itself more efficiently.

Here are some other examples:

  • Instead of “Calling All Women”, use: “Women’s Movie Night, Fri 9/5”
  • Instead of “Help Our Brothers & Sisters”, use: “Donate for Disaster Relief Here”
  • Instead of “A Musical Extravaganza”, use: “Special Concert, Sun 9/7”
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Think About “User Experience”

August 26th, 2014

welcome matThe church growth gurus have had us all thinking for quite a while about intentional hospitality towards those who visit or who are new to our church: have some good signs so visitors can find the restrooms and worship space, let visitors know what to expect or why you do certain things that might seem unfamiliar (“We ‘pass the peace’ as a visible sign of our reconciliation with God and each other.”), and train some volunteers who will intentionally reach out to welcome visitors.

For 90%+ of your visitors, your church website is their first encounter with your church.  The same sort of spirit of hospitality and welcome needs to apply to your website as when you welcome visitors in person.

In the world of website design, this is called “user experience”.  Think ahead about who your site visitors might be: what they are looking for, what mindset they are bringing.  And think about what you want those visitors to do on your site.  Then guide them toward that action.

For church websites, while there is some functionality for your current members (what time is that potluck?), the primary focus should be on potential visitors to your congregation (usually for a worship service, but potentially also for a special service or learning ministry).  And the more specific focus is to provide the website visitor with enough information about your congregation that they can make an informed decision about whether they might feel comfortable making an in-person visit.

This is more complicated than it sounds, because you have to have a clear sense of your congregation’s identity and mission, and be able to communicate it.  Potential visitors will bring their own litmus tests for what will be comfortable for them (how you interpret the Bible, the role of women or LGBT folks, etc.).  Proclaiming generically “everyone is welcome” doesn’t help them figure out if you are the kind of church they would be comfortable in.

It’s also more complicated because you need to strike a balance with a welcoming hospitality that is neither a clique-ish community, nor desperate for new blood.  This is tough to do in person on Sundays, and even tougher to find this balance in a website.

Think carefully about the content you put on your home page and your menu, with the goal of getting a website visitor to visit your church.  Weigh your choices of text, images, even colors as you think through whether they will help you toward this goal.

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