Is Your Church Website Boring?

In today's internet, the web is becoming just as much about interacting with other people as it is for gathering information. Because of this, sites like MySpace have enjoyed massive growth. The user-created-content has become the current model for the internet, and that trend looks to continue for some time.

With that said, many internet surfers are finding less and less interest in 'static' sites, who's content changes infrequently. Combine that with the fact that most churches do not have regularly breaking major news, we find that many church websites become relatively static. Most visitors to a site like that would find it boring.

With that said, there are features you can include on your website that can help to make it a more interactive place to visit. Here are three features that are realatively easy to implement that can give your visitors the chance to interact with each other online:

1. Polls - How else can you have your voice heard with just one or two clicks? Polls are often built into many CMS packages, but can also be implemented with a variety of free tools or services. Or if you're of the "I could code that myself" persuasion like I am, then they're pretty easy to put together. I was able to put together the stuff for my poll in just one evening after work.
2. Comments - Give your visitors to comment on the latest sermon posting, podcast or any other story that you have on your site. Yes, this does allow the chance that some people may come and be argumentative on your site, but if properly moderated and managed, comments can be a great conversation starter. Try not to make visitors register to post comments because you don't want to prevent a conversation from starting (a lesson I learned the hard way). Like polls, these are often built into CMS packages, but there aren't as many other alternatives, like HaloScan, a popular one.
3. Forums - Like comments, these can be great conversation starters, but forums give visitors a chance to pose their own questions and scenarios. They can also be a great place for prayer requests and minor announcements. Because most forum setups do require one to register, they are easier to moderate and manage. Again, there are a lot of free packages and services that can help you to implement this.
   

Now that you've got the tools, next time we will talk about the challenges involved in managing user-created-content on your site. Until then, have fun playing with your new tools!