Churches: How Your Website Can Do More¶
Source: https://www.wte.net/Churches-Your-Site-Must-Do-More
Date: July 2022
Author: Eric Garrison
Food trucks and churches share an unexpected commonality: both often underestimate their need for dedicated websites. Relying solely on social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram undermines the ability to build sustainable followings. This article presents five practical strategies to enhance church and food truck websites.
Homepage Call-to-Action (CTA) Buttons¶
CTAs function as clear directives guiding visitors toward specific actions. The author emphasizes that "every click loses up to 40% of a page's visitors," necessitating strategic prioritization. Effective CTAs employ power words such as "learn," "discover," and "see." Examples include church-focused CTAs like "Learn Why" (connecting Lent to community engagement) and food truck CTAs like "Find the Truck" (addressing the most commonly searched question).
Current Calendars and Food Menus¶
Fresh, updated content is essential. Google's Caffeine algorithm update prioritizes "freshness," meaning stale information damages credibility. Organizations should regularly update event calendars and menus while refreshing "evergreen" pages through internal linking, user comments, and curated external content.
Ask for Help Through Crowdsourcing¶
The 1-9-90 Rule applies here: 1% contribute content, 9% share it, and 90% consume it. Effective approaches include recruiting ambassadors with clearly defined roles, using targeted polls, and posing relevant questions that encourage visitor engagement.
Create an Online Community¶
Building community requires valuing visitor comments, curating external mentions, and attributing external content with appropriate links and "nofollow" tags where applicable.
Social Media for Beginners¶
The author recommends focusing on a single platform initially—Facebook for churches, Instagram for food trucks. Posting times matter: Facebook performs best Monday-Friday at 10am and noon; Instagram excels Tuesday-Wednesday, 10am-noon. Keep external links to under 30% of Facebook content, as Instagram doesn't support direct external links.
Websites represent ongoing commitments requiring expertise and resources. WTE Solutions offers professional support for churches and food truck website development.