Top 5 Reasons a Church Needs a Website

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In the business world we understand that having a website enables your organization to reach a much larger audience at a marginal cost and in 2012 it’s a must. But what about God’s business? Many people don’t think the two are related (or maybe that they should be), but they are.  We are an iPad and Smartphone generation…and that’s just a fraction of the technology buzz this last year! Most of our kids have them right along with us! We want and often need accessibility to ease our busy lives, hearts and minds too. Since the goal of most church ministries is to evangelize the Word of God and promote biblical teachings and doctrine, a website is a wonderful and essential way to do just that.  In this blog, I submit the Top 5 Reasons why your church should not only consider having a website, but also the ways in which it can which it can contribute to the bigger goal & higher workings of it.

1st Stay in Touch ~ For most churches, they limit their “marketing” to handing out Sunday bulletins or posting newsletters on the bulletin board to keep members informed of and publicize events. However, many of your members may forget to pick up a bulletin or lose it sometime during service and miss out on key information. By having a website, you can post that information and so much more with just the click of a mouse day or night.  Therefore, a website is a great interactive way to stay touch with and inform your members whether within the walls of their own home or on vacation via their laptops or on any other on-the-go gadget or handheld device.

2nd   Casting a Larger Net & Being Fishers of Men ~ Reach out to impact the kingdom of God in any way you can and by any reasonable means to do so.  We see this in music, whether it’s traditional Christian Music, Gospel…even Gospel Rap. If His Word is not intended “to return to him void” then use all mediums to do so as well.  A website can also provide you with a wonderful opportunity to let others know what your church is all about, what you are up to in your community and what others can gain from attending your services.

3rd Championing the Cause ~ If there is a particular area of focus for your church, let’s say in eradicating homelessness or missionary work in other countries, a website is a great way to let the world know and solicit assistance.  Many large organizations (World Vision comes to mind) utilize their website to bring a greater awareness to the causes they champion, offer ways to support or even collect donations online to assist those efforts.

4th  The Lost Sheep and Those in Need ~ If one of primary purposes of the church is to help people, then a website is one of the best tools in the box to help on a more global scale.  There are many people who may be at a point in their lives where they need encouragement and may be in desperate straits. What a great testimony to kingdom work, by extending yourself beyond your physical address to someone who may just end up on your www for a solution they may have been “steered” your way for.  Additionally, if someone does not live in your geographic region, they can access great information, messages, videos, music and other helpful products.  Example: I was watching Joyce Meyers’ program this morning via TV because her church is in Fenton, MO.  But due to promotion of her materials at the end of her program and through her website, I was able to order a great teaching tool for a friend. And not from a store or calling her headquarters, but from my couch in Connecticut via my laptop.
5th Meant to be unique ~ Just like we are all created different, not all websites are built and/or look the same either. Although there may be some concern about joining the secular world in these efforts, you should now that you can be truly “set apart” even with the business of the church businesss.  Website companies now provide many templates, design layouts and stock photography/imagery to make your church’s website look professional whether you have a congregation of 100 or 1,000.  WordPress has really capitalized on creating templates for many professions and they have many designs specifically for churches and religious organizations with various layouts, colors and features.  It can be minimalistic or one with more capabilities such as flash media, video archiving, online stores and so much more!

The Laborers in the Vineyard ~ If you don’t have a church website already but are now convinced you need one, here are a few key starting point considerations:
Find a design company that you feel understands your church and gives comprehensible answers to your questions.

Make sure they can convey your hearts desires and message to the world with your vision in mind while using their talents to accomplish it.

On the business end, be aware that there will be costs for creation, annual hosting, website email linkage and updating.

At Design Theory, I have had the wonderful opportunity to assist in creating some dynamic websites for churches of various sizes and budgets.  (Check out some of our clientele at www.firstchurchclg.org or www.agapefellowshipct.org) But most rewarding, is that I have heard and seen the impact of these efforts locally and beyond as well as how it has grown their ministries.

4 Easy Steps To Remove An Indexed Page From Google

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What do you do if you accidentally put too much information on your website? If you use a content management system (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, etc.) or have access to your website you can take down excess or unneeded information fairly easily. Pages can be removed and information can be hidden but what can you do if the information is already showing up in search results? Or cached results? Here is a quick and easy method for removing a page from Google Search Results pages:

Removing a Page from Google Search Results

1. Access your Google Account (if you don’t have one, sign up)
If you have a Google account, you should be able to log into the Google’s Webmasters section. After your website it set up, you can use some of the many tools Google offers. The tool you need to remove a page is called “removals.” Here is a link to the removals page: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/removals.

2. Get the URL of the page you want removed from search results (e.g. www.mycompany.com/aboutus.html)
URLs include pages, images, documents, etc. Basically anything on your server. If you can access the content through your website, Google can find it too.

3. Move and/or delete the page
The page cannot exist on the URL you are requesting to be removed from the Google Search.

4. Remove the URL
Fill out and submit a removal request, follow the instructions and wait. It may take a little while before the URLs are completely removed.

As you can see, Google has made this a relatively quick and painless process. However, if you want to have multiple pages you want removed from Google, it may take some time.

Coloring In & Outside the Lines – Parameters in Social Media for Your Business

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So in last week’s blog (http://blog.jpdesigntheory.com/getting-over-the-hump-an-inspiration-for-blog-writers-block/) I mentioned to look out for my upcoming one regarding “coloring in and outside the lines in Social Media”. Well here it is-so let’s talk about how that premise affects our perception,  utilization, and ultimate success or failure of Social Media in a business.

I must admit that when the term “social media” came on the scene I thought great, just another “let the whole world know all your business” tool and way for someone to financially capitalize on my personal affairs.  But I’ve come to understand both the downsides of it (i.e. cyberbullying, identity theft, etc.) AND the magnificent power of it in the business world. Social Media was created to use the platform of telecommunication to form interactive dialogue between organizations, individuals and entire communities. So, obviously the masterminds behind it meant it for good (rather than those who’ve chosen to abuse its power) and when it comes to utilizing it for business, it is an amazing, free tool that can take your business (and its exposure) to another level. In 2012, none of us can deny the fact that properly using Social Media yields better results than traditional marketing efforts alone.

I saw a quote which said “coloring outside the lines is a fine art” and that person was right when it comes to thinking outside the box in business and the beauty of the broad stroke in art.  But when it comes to Social Media, the defined parameters are there for good reason and should be yielded to in order to get the desired results from doing so.  Majority of us know that Social Media tools like Facebook and Twitter allow businesses to access an unlimited number of existing and potential customers and perhaps cause exponential growth of your business in various markets.  The proper use of these tools could help to grow a small, home-based business into a multi-million dollar conglomerate beyond their current demographic and broadest vision…think NBC’s Shark Tank-like opportunities.  But those who know how to stay in the parameter confines of Social Media and play by the rules of it, know that using this medium requires strategical thinking, commitment and tenacity. And it’s only then, that you see the ROI for playing by the rules and staying in the lines established.  Such as:
Impressionable Artistry ~ Know that current and prospective clients will base their first impression on what they see.  If your business has a Facebook page, make sure that it properly reflects your business by mentioning salient points about your business, have links to your company website and location, and keep use of your logos consistent.  Lastly…my personal pet peeve – PLEASE SPELL CHECK to avoid SMH’s and ‘s.
To Blog or Not to Blog ~ If you are going to blog make sure you are a pretty good writer or use someone else to do so.  Blogging is both a craft and great tool…if you can do so effectively and draw “good” attention to your business.  Again, you want to spell and grammar check before you post.  People will respond with comments and you don’t want something written that will reflect negatively on your business.  Remember, once its out on the worldwide web it’s there forever!
Use all Crayons in the Box~ Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Google+…need I say more. Don’t just use one medium, use them all.  The more you post information about your business, join groups, comment on another businesses blogs, etc., it is more likely you will gain a few new clients and followers.

And then we have the scribblers…Those who don’t see any ROI and/ or do more harm than good to their brand/business by misusing the exposure tool of Social Media.  Much like a child coloring, if you move too fast or don’t understand the parameters/boundary lines you will end up with a mess. Nothing to hang on the refrigerator – no growth in your business.

                                     This often happens when people don’t do the following:

Take the time to understand it ~ Use the hands of time to figure out HOW YOU WANT and NEED to engage people on Facebook, Twitter, Digg, etc. for it to be successful in growing your business.  Because once it’s out in cyber world, it’s there to stay.  No balling up the page and tossing it in the trash like it didn’t exist.

Take the time to plan it to properly execute it ~ Make sure your business does their due diligence in research and planning to create a successful Social Media campaign and message. Social Media strategies must be thoughtfully constructed and planned prior to execution to not end up chock full of rookie mistakes or even worse…irrelevant.  Also remember that in order to properly manage your businesses Social media that it takes time and consistent communication with other users to build a strong following, brand recognition and respect.

Understand that it’s about the WHOLE picture ~ Using Social Media correctly requires a team effort which should combine company branding, customer service and sales initiatives to constantly interact with the online marketplace and do so in a consistent manner.  Yup – use every crayon in the box!

At the end of day, successful Social Media in business is about engagement, creating a trustworthy Social Media identity, client acquisition, increased sales, and better brand awareness locally & globally.  Then you’ll have a business that’s gold star worthy!