I have talked to many churches about their websites.
There seems to be an idea that church leaders believe, but they do not explicitly say.
By the way they talk, they seem to believe that some lost person will stumble upon their website, realize they are a sinner, get saved online, then come to the church that Sunday.
I am not saying that will never happen, God can do anything.
However, there are other visitors that are extremely more likely.
Those types of visitors are: Church Member These people come here to see what is going on at the church.
The most important thing for these people is the event calendar.
For these people, the website is just a communication tool for the events at the church Invited By Member People that were invited by a member of the church.
They are basically going to the website for a background check.
They are trying to see what to expect when they visit the church.
No one likes unpleasant surprises, so going to the website is an attempt to be prepared.
They do not want to accidentally go and find out the church is a weird cult.
The website should give a general feeling for what kind of church they got invited to is.
Pictures are always nice, general information on what to expect is really helpful.
A statement of belief helps people evaluate what kind of church they are visiting.
Church Hopper This is a person who is looking for a new church and is using the internet to look for one.
This is the most rare of the three.
I church hopped for about four months.
When people asked me how I got there, and I said the website, people gave me a weird look.
Apparently many churches had never had that happen before.
The hopper is rare, but valuable.
If someone is dedicated enough to try many churches to find the right one, they will probably work hard there.
As far as information is concerned, the hopper is looking for basically the same information as the person who was invited.
They want to make sure that the church is legit, it does not have some weird beliefs.
Some other very important information for the hopper, is a clear outline of the missions of the church.
No one wants to go to a dead church.
A hopper is not looking to be comfortable, they are looking to be a worker for God.
A list of all missions and descriptions of the missions can help people get an accurate view of what the church stands for.
You also have to make your church findable by the hopper.
There are many sites that have a directory of churches for any given area.
Search Google for church directories, and make sure you are listed on those websites.