You Seriously Need To Update Your Website

First off I should tell you, I’m not a Web Designer—I’m a Social Media Specialist. But, like most people, I have a strong opinions about what I like and don’t like, and what I don’t like is badly designed websites. A lot of Christian websites look dated and old, have too much “in-your-face” information, and don’t make use of new tools and tricks. So here are some tips on how to improve your faith-based—or any!—organization’s website:

 

#1 Logo and Design

-Make sure that you have a professional logo.

Logos should not be overly colorful or distracting, they should be clean, neat, and represent your brand. Make sure you create something that will look good on business cards, social media, emails, and of course, your website. Don’t hesitate to re-create your logo if it’s out-of-date. 

-Web design should be left to a designer.

Don’t try build your own website. Make sure the designer clearly understands your brand. Give them colour restrictions, brand designs, and all the content they need to populate your website up-front. Make sure your logo, fonts, text size, images, and color scheme are all in sync. 

 

#2 Layout—your front page is not a “put as much as you can here page”

-First impressions are important.

You want people to know who you are and what you do, they shouldn’t have to search for this information. Your home page shows not only WHAT you do, but also WHO you are and HOW you do business. First impressions count, make sure yours is a good one.

-Make use of images and video.

Most people are visual and don’t like to read paragraphs of information. They want to be able to tell what your company does and what you stand for from a glance. Images can be a great way to represent yourself, as well as short, professionally edited videos.

-Make sure that your site has social media buttons.

All social media buttons should be easy to find on your home page. Make sure they are uniquely designed in the same style as your website.

-Consistency is key.

Nothing looks more unprofessional than lots of fonts and text sizes on one website. Make sure to use the same look-and-feel across all tabs. You can even buy your own custom font to really make your brand stand out.

 

#3 Formatting   

-Make sure your site is built to work on mobile devices.

-Your site should be responsive.

-Make sure information doesn’t disappear when it’s viewed on different devices.

-Make sure all images are good quality, if you don’t understand resolution, ask someone who does to check all images before sending them off to your web designer, this will save you time and trouble.

 

#4 Tabs and Updates

-Make use of your tabs!

Your website has tabs for the purpose of dividing information into easy-to-find compartments. Make sure they stand out, aren’t overly populated, and follow a logical order.

-Blogs are a must.

Most websites now-a-days have a blog (we recommend if you don’t that you look into it). Make sure that your blog is updated regularly with new and exciting information, text blogs get boring, throw some Vlogs, audio, and images in there!

-Updates are important.

Many sites are created and then left to their own devices. Websites should be updated on a weekly basis and kept up-to-date not only with information but in look and feel too. There are too many Christian websites that look like they were built a decade ago. Keep with the times! Flat, clean design seems to be in fashion at the moment. This is constantly changing and hard to keep up with but that’s why having a web-designer who knows what they’re doing is so important!

 

We can’t fix your website for you, but we can fix your social media! If you think your social needs a makeover, contact us at: +1.800.627.1265

 

 

This post was written by Kirstin Venn. Kirstin is a Social Media Content Specialist with Media Connect Partners, who works from South Africa.