Your Parish and the Web
There has never been more opportunity for parishes to publicize events, broadcast service times, introduce themselves to their surrounding communities, and reach out to newcomers, than they can today through the web. Even the smallest mission now has a simple and effective way to announce its presence.
While the Antiochian.org team doesn’t build individual church websites, we have assembled resources here to help you design and maintain your site, whether you have 50 members or 500. With today’s resources, many of them free, parishioners with little to no technical background can put together a serviceable website that will serve as a point of entry for seekers and Orthodox looking for a church home. Please let us know of new resources as they become available, at editor@antiochian.org.
"Improving Your Parish Website" Webinar: September 15
From The Diocese of the Midwest, Orthodox Church in America--
Orthodox Christians looking for a parish home will first encounter your parish on the web through your website. Inquirers looking to experience Orthodoxy may use your website to decide whether to come "taste and see". Parishioners looking for schedule and other information want to go to a website that is easy to navigate and consistently up to date. An ineffective web site can limit how your parish project's itself to the world. An inaccurate website can set inaccurate expectations for visitors.
On September 15, 2011 at 7PM CDT/8PM EDT Joe Kormos, Parish Development Ministry leader for the OCA's Diocese of the Midwest, will host a webinar titled "Improving Your Parish Website." Mr. Kormos will offer opinions about how to strengthen parish websites to help communicate with parishioners, neighbors and potential new members.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
This session will be useful for Clergy, Parish Webmasters, Parish Council and Ministry Leaders -- and even parish bulletin contributors. Anyone interested in helping their parish positively present its life in Christ to others will find value here.
Parish Webmaster Shares Upgrade Story and Web Tips
St. John Chrysostom Antiochian Orthodox ChurchBy Timm Wenger
The original St. John Chrysostom parish website was constructed in 1999 by then-high school student Alex Shumski, who learned web design by reading books and with trial and error. He put together a beautiful site that served the parish well for more than a decade. Even after moving to the other side of the state for college and a career, Alex continued updating the site. This year, he asked to be released from that commitment.
When Fr. Peter Pier and Dn. John Shumski asked me this summer to take over the responsibility for the website, I agreed. I asked if could I “make over” the site rather than maintaining the original site, which was coded in HTML. I wanted to implement a content management system to make creating the site easier for me. In addition, a content management system makes updating the site easy, not just for me, but for others without any web experience. At some point, I will want to hand off the web responsibilities to someone who won't need to know anything about web design or maintenance.
Top Ten Tips for Parish Web Sites
Building Blocks
Tip # 1: Pick the right point person for the site.
Parishes sometimes try to run their website by committee. This breaks down quickly because there is no one person that is known for being the liaison for the site, and priests and parishioners don’t know where to turn when content needs to be added or there’s a technological issue. The point person can be tasked with maintaining the records of such things as ownership, account usernames, privileges and inventories.
The parish council and/or priest should look for someone who: has time and energy, knows enough about websites to run one (but not necessarily the techie guru of the parish), is consistent and known for following through with his/her commitments, and has a good relationship with the priest, church secretary and parish council. More than some parish jobs, this is one requires a steady babysitter. Nothing makes a parish look sleepier than a website featuring Pascha photos that are three years old, or service information that’s inaccurate.
Tip # 2: Pick the right system for the site.
Parishes always have limited budgets, and it’s a shame when they overpay for their site, or get sucked in to an overly complicated system with more customization than is needed. Many free or very inexpensive platforms are quite adequate for a basic parish site, and they are generally designed with web beginners in mind. Even if a parish has an expert capable of building something fancy, that person may not always be available, so the site should be simple enough that the priest or the Khouria can take over basic maintenance if necessary.
The bottom line? A simple site that works and stays up-to-date is more impressive than a fancy site that doesn't.