Encrypted website traffic is not just for eCommerce sites. All websites can benefit from encryption. Many browsers and search engines even alert users to
Category: Articles
Your source for digital ministry and church communications articles since July 2011. Perspectives range from strategic overviews to tactical walkthroughs. Topics include websites, social media, website, web teams, integration with your church, and many more.
Coping with Church Scandals in a Digital World
The news is rife with stories of high-profile people abusing positions of authority. A recent story close to my heart is sex abuse scandals in my home state of Pennsylvania. How does the church react to such accusations and scandal? How we react on our digital platforms is closely scrutinized. Here is my playbook for what to do if a scandal hits your area or church.
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What Coaches Can Teach Church Communications
Sports and competition teach us many life lessons. They are often learned because of a good coach. We receive both encouragement and admonishment from them. Coaches see the potential we have and know how to get us to reach it. Years of expertise give them keen insights. But anyone with a good coach knows, they help us with life as well as our sport. Here are a few lessons coaches have taught me, and how church communications can also benefit.
Continue reading “What Coaches Can Teach Church Communications”My Formula for Homepage Redesigns
I will go ahead and say it. Homepage redesigns are the worst! They are the central focus point for any church. Everyone wants representation there. Every event demands attention. Each of your personas has the possibility of landing here. How do you do the impossible task of designing for everyone? My suggestion is to proceed with patience and planning. Here are my tips on the dreaded homepage update.
Continue reading “My Formula for Homepage Redesigns”Why Your Church Needs Digital Signage
Digital signage is the use of screens instead of traditional signs. If you visited a fast-food restaurant recently, you likely saw this in action. Yet this advancement in technology is not out of your reach. Large-screen television prices are falling every year. Plus content delivery tools make managing several screens fast and easy. In this article, I will explain several advantages of digital signs and how your church can use them.
Continue reading “Why Your Church Needs Digital Signage”Stop Bullying Users
The benefit of digital ministry is that you can track every click. Remember that those numbers are people. This article explores practices you need to avoid. Shaming and bullying should not be in your digital toolbox. Pushing up numbers can be at the expense of a good experience. The easiest way to see them is through real-world examples.
Continue reading “Stop Bullying Users”What Net Promoter Score Means to Church Communications
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a popular method of gauging success. Many companies use it to determine how good their company and products are. It is based on one very important question we need to answer. Would you recommend this to a friend or colleague? In this article, I delve into this statistic, as well as why it may or may not be right for your church.
Continue reading “What Net Promoter Score Means to Church Communications”Church Communications Checklist for GDPR Compliance
The impending General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has many organizations worried. Your church does not have to be one of them. This article addresses several steps you can take to follow these new laws. The good news is that these changes all positively impact your users’ experiences.
Continue reading “Church Communications Checklist for GDPR Compliance”How GDPR affects Church Communications
An international ministry needs to follow international regulations. This includes the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Starting on 25 May 2018, European countries are clamping down on privacy issues. Here is a brief overview of what these new regulations are. Also, I mention a few ways this will impact your church.
Continue reading “How GDPR affects Church Communications”Optimizing Church Landing Pages
One of the most important tools a church has on its website are landing pages. Social media shares and paid advertisements often drive traffic to a landing page. Those landing pages inform and persuade users to take action. Here is an updated article on this most important of page types.
Continue reading “Optimizing Church Landing Pages”Why You Need to Know the Difference Between Benefits and Features
Like a good sermon, the message of your website must relate to your audience. They need to know why your church is right for them. Do this with a mix of benefits and features. Unfortunately, we often confuse them and use them in the wrong context. In this article, I review what benefits and features are. Then I give an example of how to use them on your church’s website.
Continue reading “Why You Need to Know the Difference Between Benefits and Features”Why Website Analytics Tell Half the Story
A key advantage websites have over traditional media is the ability to track every click. Servers log every action to be later scrutinized. Yet how we interpret that data is important. It is very easy to assume we know what our users were doing. In this article, I show why it is important to find out why visitors are making these decisions.
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