As a key player in the church, you have a desire to reach your community, disciple believers, and help more people experience the love of Christ. You’ve likely spent countless hours on the Sunday and Wednesday night experiences, developing small-group curriculum, and prepping sermons to ensure your guests are served well.
So how does your website experience factor into creating even more impact for the kingdom?
Your website provides an opportunity to draw more people into your church, to cultivate relationships, and to ultimately tell the story of how God is changing lives through it.
From our deep experience in church partnerships, we have learned seven ways to create the best landing page experience for your church and want to share them with you.
1. Focus on user-centric language vs organization-centric
As a user, you want to answer the question “What’s in it for me?” It’s easy to fall into org-centered language, answering secondary questions like “What is the church’s mission statement?” or “Tell me everything about the Pastor’s background.”
While these questions are important to answer, they are not the first thing people are asking. They want to know: “Is this a church I can picture myself at?”, “Will I be welcomed here?”, “Why should I attend this church over another?”, and “What should I expect?”, among other similar questions.
So before you decide upon the page structure itself, ensure you’re writing/designing with the end user in mind instead of tossing around details about the church on a page.
2. Ensure it is readable and digestible
The majority of users will scan your page, rather than dive into every detail. And they will most likely do so on their smartphone. That’s why it’s important to make your content both readable and digestible.
Ways to do this include:
- Design for mobile first
- Utilize bullet points and lists
- Include photos and call outs to break up the text
- Incorporate a variety of types of content (video, photo, headline and body text variations, buttons, etc.)
- Ensure there is a good amount of space in your design
Make it as easy as possible for your user to interact with the content and understand the goal of your page.
3. Personalize the experience
People connect with people more than they connect with an organization.
One of the best ways to make the user experience more personal is to include video. This allows the user to connect with someone from the church, hear from the staff, and quickly learn more about ministry.
In addition to using video, your copy should lean more personal – something that the user can relate to. People want to know that they will feel comfortable walking into your church, so making the style and voice as comfortable and approachable as possible will only help them make the decision to do so.
Another way to personalize the experience is by including a “Plan Your Visit” option where a visitor can connect with a church member who could meet them before attending, or even sit with them during the service.
Prioritize personal connection.
4. Answer frequently asked questions
Although the details of your Sunday experience or church event are not the primary “why” behind someone’s decision to attend, these details matter to help inform the user.
A common question people consider is around childcare. Is there a place to drop their children off? Where will that be? What time do they need to drop them off?
These are just a few of the questions that someone with a family may be asking when they consider attending your church.
Other topics like dress attire, service times, locations, and online options are examples of questions that people may be thinking about. You know your church’s demographic and audience best, so take time to think through what questions a visitor might have.
By featuring a FAQ section on your page, you’re demonstrating that you are thinking about and care for the visitor.
5. Create a clear call to action
Often times in communication materials, including websites, there is temptation to include many different conflicting call-to-actions. Rather, focus on guiding the audience to the decision you’re wanting them to make.
For example, if the main goal for a Fall Festival event is for guests to complete a free registration, don’t clutter your page with buttons that lead to other places. This could cause friction and take away from the main objective of gathering registrations.
Simple is always better than complex. Ensure the call-to-action is clear and descriptive while staying concise with subsequent steps being outlined for the user to help guide expectations.
6. When possible, capture people’s information
Part of the personalization of a process comes from the ability to communicate with a user.
When you give the option to capture someone’s information when they sign up for an event, plan a visit, or save their seat, you are enabling your church staff to connect with people more personally.
You could also offer a free resource (such as a digital bible study devotional) in exchange for someone’s first name, last name, and email address to provide them with valuable content from the church.
Once the user’s information is captured, it’s your job to cultivate a relationship with them and make them feel welcomed. So make sure you’ve thought that process through and how to effectively engage with anyone who signs up on your website.
7. Be creative!
You may have an amazing graphic designer. Or a talented videographer. Leverage the strengths of your team to create something unique and engaging for your audience that reflects the core of who you are as a church. In today’s busy digital landscape, it’s more important than ever to stand apart with your creative.
While you develop an optimized landing page for your church, always keep the end goals in mind: helping people discover a relationship with Christ, find healing, encounter purpose, learn truth, etc.
Your church’s mission will drive all subsequent aspects of your copy and creative to develop a personalized, user experience. And if you are indeed spending dollars on advertising, this will ultimately maximize that investment and help you reach your desired goals.
If you’re interested in learning more about how Dunham+Company can help you create more impact for your church, check out a page we created to help you!
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