Survey: Web Sites Crucial to Church Advertising Success
WASHINGTON (RNS) People who use the Internet to "shop" for a
church home will likely be turned off by a poorly produced church Web site,
while a slick, interactive site could help draw new members in if a church
invests the right resources, say the authors of a new study.
A group of students at Hartford Seminary surveyed individual church Web
sites and compiled questionnaires. They found that churches that invest in
up-to-date Web sites do a better job of catching the attention of would-be
churchgoers.
"A poorly done Web site may be more of a detriment for a church than no
Web site at all," said Scott Thuma, a professor at the Hartford
Institute for Religion Research.
Thuma said the sample of 63 church Web sites was not scientifically
representative of all church Web sites, but said the study highlights the
growing importance of a church's presence on the World Wide Web.
Of the Web sites surveyed, Catholic parishes represented 26 percent,
Southern Baptists nearly 16 percent and nondenominational congregations 13
percent. The remaining 45 percent were a mix of evangelical and mainline
Protestant, Jewish and Muslim houses of worship.
Most of the churches surveyed -- 75.8 percent -- rely on Web-savvy members
to create their Web sites. Nearly half of the Web sites were the idea of a
lay member, while pastors pushed their churches onto the Internet 30 percent
of the time.
Fifty-six percent of the Web sites were operational within two months, and
in half of the cases, a committee or task force helped set up the site. Just
under half -- 43 percent -- said their sites were aimed at a public,
non-church audience, while only 7 percent said their sites were geared
toward their own congregations.
Thuma said the most important aspect of a parish Web site is that it be
comprehensive, easy to use and interactive whenever possible. That is
especially important for people who use the Internet to find a new church,
and for young people, he said.
"Increasingly, your Web page may be the only glimpse people ever have
of your congregation," he said. "At least spend as much time and
money on your site as you would on your congregation's landscaping. Plant
something on the World Wide Web that will attract, not detract, from your
church's mission."
-- Kevin Eckstrom. Copyright 2000 Religion News Service.
12/13/00 |
