PCC News

Essential information to include:

• Church location(s) – street name, postcode, pin on a map
• Nearest parking
• Contact details – a name, number and email address
• Is the church building wheelchair accessible?
• When is the church building open during the week?
• Dates and times of regular services, activities and groups
• Style of services (traditional, family service, communion, worship band)
• What’s available for young children during services?
• Special events (if in a village or church hall, what’s its location?)
• Baptisms, weddings and funerals – who to contact

Calendar

Include a calendar showing services, activities, regular groups and special events. In a benefice with multiple churches include services and activities across all churches, colour coding different churches so it’s clear. Use a free Google Calendar at www.google.com/calendar

Photos

Keep the majority of photos of the building away from the homepage. Photos of people are more engaging. Ask permission before taking them and clearly state they are for the website. Free good quality images Try these websites: unsplash.com,freeimages.co.uk, pexels.com,pixabay.com and lightstock.com  (“faith-focused but paid for”).

Web address

Keep it short and easy to say and spell. Include on noticeboards, banners, posters, leaflets, invitation cards and service sheets. Promoting special events Use Eventbrite for online booking/ tickets – it’s free, simple and easy to use. Add the link it creates to your church website as a ‘Book now’ link. If taking payments, contact Parish Buying at www.DofN.org/eventbrite to get reduced payment rates from Eventbrite.

Mobile friendly

Check what your existing website looks like on a mobile phone. More people now visit websites
through mobiles than on a computer, so if it displays poorly you frustrate visitors and miss out communicating with them. Using a modern website system (examples below) ensure you don’t have to worry about mobile compatibility – it just is by default.

Simplicity

Don’t overcomplicate your website or fill it with unnecessary content. Keep it simple and clean; white space is good in between short sentences. Never use a background pattern or unusual fonts.

Local links

Show you’re an integral part of local community life and link to local websites such as the village hall, parish council, pub, sports clubs, cafes and businesses. Ask them in return to link to your site. This raises your listing on Google.

Online giving

Make it easy for visitors to give to your church. Set up a JustGiving page for projects and appeals and link to them from your website. Have a general donations page and donations via text message. Read more at www.DofN.org/txt