Until the last few years the majority of church websites were frankly awful, usually cheaply put together by an enthusiastic amateur volunteer from within the church who often had little understanding of how to structure information or of design aesthetics. To further worsen the effect, after the initial burst of energy the enthusiasm would die off and the site would be less frequently updated leaving a poor and out of date site. Fortunately most churches have now moved onto their second or third generation site and standards are improving rapidly, although they maybe still somewhat behind most secular organisations.

Too many churches used to think of their website as just another form of brochure or like an advert on the side of the building that once done is complete and can be left. In fact most successful websites are updated frequently and build a community of regular visitors, users and contributors. The site is a living, breathing thing that needs frequent attention and loving care way beyond the initial work and launch. Ideally a team will be put in place to manage the ongoing development and updating of the site. Ideally you would have a writer/editor and a roving photographer plus someone with overall authority to check and sign off before publishing. Not all churches have the staff to do this at first but it is worth the investment of time and even money as the website can often become one of the main tools for communication with both church members and the outside world.

Increasingly church websites are becoming more 'sticky' and providing content that draws visitors back regularly. Probably the biggest traffic-driver is the sermon podcast, allowing people to listen to sermons they may have missed or want to hear again. Providing accurate details of forthcoming events, meeting times etc will also be a very useful service for members. It remains a big challenge for churches to attract visits to its website from people outside of the church, particularly unbelievers who may have questions about the Christian faith or who are contemplating visiting a church. In my experience a surprising number of non-Christians visit church websites. For many it is far more comfortable to surf a website than actually visit the church in person and this can be a vital first point of contact between unbelievers and the church. This means it is important that the site makes a good impression, that people feel at home on the site and can find what they want. I have seen good church websites drawing significant numbers of visitors and many churches feature the Alpha Course prominently on their website.