3 Free Ways to Improve Your Website by Spring

I’ve found that the winter is a great time for refreshing things. And your website needs your attention. Why do I know this? Because every website needs constant updating and quickly becomes lackluster.

Since Easter is just around the corner, why don’t you commit to making your website amazing in the next few months. If you do a little at a time, you’ll be successful. Here are 3 free ways to do this. It just takes is a bit of time and effort:

1. Check your analytics for your top 10-12 pages and improve them. These numbers tell you what people are looking for when coming to your website. Are they the right things? Take a look at your homepage and consider why people would click to the pages in your report. Consider changing navigation or placement so that more important things are easier to click. A good rule of thumb? Things on the left feel more important than things on the right. The same for top (important) vs bottom (less important). Then consider what these pages tell you about the people coming to your website. With this in mind, decide what information they seek on each page and make it better or easier to find.
2. Now list all your pages and systematically edit them and link other pages to them. Start improving all your pages. Think about ways to make EVERY page shorter in content (get them between 50-100 words per module or page). Add eye interruptors on long paragraph-heavy pages so people can scan quickly. Things like: subheads, bullet points, and links. Speaking of links, consider what else someone would be looking for if they navigate to each page — and link them to it! For example, if someone is looking at the children’s ministry page, they probably want a link to the security page or the parent’s support group or bible study.
3. Conduct a focus group and listen for what else they want and deliver it. Get groups of 5-8 from your congregation who are web savvy and people your church are targeting. Have a computer available for them to view your website. Ask them questions like:

• • Where have you looked on our website in the past? What do you remember you found?
  • Have you ever looked for something and couldn’t find it?
  • Is there anything you wish we had on our website?
  • What other websites do you like and why? Are there any other church ones you like?

If you break this down into bite-sized chunks and distribute the tasks to your team, you’ll have more delighted people attending your church at Easter. Almost 90% of people who attend your church for the first time will have browsed your website before visiting. That’s the reason we should all review and improve our websites now.