The What Starts With the Why
Author profile: SKenow
SKenow (Steve K) contributes regularly at XOOPS.org and ImpressCMS, in addition to maintaining several XOOPS-based web sites
As a Christian web master, you may have some difficulty setting clear goals for your church's web site. That is because all your visitors aren't necessarily coming to your web site for the same reasons. Members of your congregation have a different perspective than people who are not members and balancing the needs of those 2 groups can seem to be at odds, but they really aren't when you look back at the basics of the web and people. The reason it is called the web is because of the connections made online and people don't browse, they seek to connect.
If it hasn't become clear that you need a mission, not just for your ministry, but also for your web site, perhaps I need to stress this a bit more. The connection we need to make right now, is the connection between the purpose and goals of your site (the WHY) and the content of your site (the WHAT). What will connect you with other people? Can you express your mission in less than 15 words? Here's the grammar lesson - what are the nouns and verbs in your mission statement? Let's look at CXR - the site name is Christian XOOPS Resources and the subtitle (slogan, in XOOPS terms) is XOOPS Resources for the Christian Webmaster. There are only nouns in those 2: Christian, XOOPS, resources, webmaster. The verbs come in the description 'Christian XOOPS Resources exists to educate, enable, empower, equip and encourage other Christians to be an internet presence for Jesus Christ, to grow in faith, and carry on his work online.' You can see how this can grow out of your ministry and be an extension of your current mission.
As the web master of a XOOPS-driven web site, you have the ability to tailor your church's web site for different groups of visitors. Think of your web site as another area of your church or even as an additional facility. What is the visitor experience like when they come to your building? How do you greet them? What kind of questions do you get when people call the church office? What information is do you post on your signs and bulletin boards and what information is shared in more intimate discussions? Those commonly asked questions and bits of public information need to be prominent and easily found on your web site. Remember that one of your goals and part of your mission is to connect with people - be sure to encourage contact between your web visitors and people within your congregation.
If it hasn't become clear that you need a mission, not just for your ministry, but also for your web site, perhaps I need to stress this a bit more. The connection we need to make right now, is the connection between the purpose and goals of your site (the WHY) and the content of your site (the WHAT). What will connect you with other people? Can you express your mission in less than 15 words? Here's the grammar lesson - what are the nouns and verbs in your mission statement? Let's look at CXR - the site name is Christian XOOPS Resources and the subtitle (slogan, in XOOPS terms) is XOOPS Resources for the Christian Webmaster. There are only nouns in those 2: Christian, XOOPS, resources, webmaster. The verbs come in the description 'Christian XOOPS Resources exists to educate, enable, empower, equip and encourage other Christians to be an internet presence for Jesus Christ, to grow in faith, and carry on his work online.' You can see how this can grow out of your ministry and be an extension of your current mission.
As the web master of a XOOPS-driven web site, you have the ability to tailor your church's web site for different groups of visitors. Think of your web site as another area of your church or even as an additional facility. What is the visitor experience like when they come to your building? How do you greet them? What kind of questions do you get when people call the church office? What information is do you post on your signs and bulletin boards and what information is shared in more intimate discussions? Those commonly asked questions and bits of public information need to be prominent and easily found on your web site. Remember that one of your goals and part of your mission is to connect with people - be sure to encourage contact between your web visitors and people within your congregation.
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