Mister Nifty

Ok, let’s discuss websites. There are two different types of church websites.
1. Static Websites - RIP YOUR HAIR OUT
2. Dynamic Websites - SLEEP BETTER
STATIC WEBSITES
A STATIC website is a series of pages usually created in a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) environment like Microsoft FrontPage or DreamWeaver with the content embedded in each page. The very word STATIC defines how content is affected. STATIC means “fixed or stationary position,” “showing little or no change,” “lacking development.” (Direct Quotes from dictionary.com).

Each page is created like you would create a Word document. The only person who can update this type of site is the guy who has the web editing software. To get multiple licenses for the software can get expensive if you have more than one person editing the site. So, in other words, your website eggs are all in one basket. Only one person in the church can edit your site. Read the typical scenario below that I hear over and over.

Scenario:
Some guy/gal from your church has Microsoft Frontpage or Dreamweaver and knows how to upload files to a website. They are excited to get a website up and running. Chances are, they are not a graphic designer, and aren’t educated in marketing a church. The problems really start months down the road when Pastor Joe is pulling his hair out because the latest upcoming event on the website is from six months ago. People visiting the site see that your church does not have its act together, and your image is way outdated.

The problem is when people from churches put up static websites, they rarely update them. Why? Because using FP and DW are time consuming, tedious tasks. Plus, you have to know some programming code to make the sites look great.

My advice to you is to stop using static websites. Stop paying for visits to the therapist because you are having anger issues. JUST SAY NO!!! Can’t say no? Contact me for my Static Websites Anonymous class that meets every Friday.

DYNAMIC WEBSITES

The word DYNAMIC means” characterized by continuous change, activity, development or progress,” (Dictionary.com) This definition should be reason enough to want a dynamic website. DYNAMIC websites are easy to manage, easily changed and developed, and simple. You don’t have to have any software or programming expertise to update dynamic websites. Dynamic websites are usually run by a database software called CMS (Content Management System). There are many different brands of CMS. A lot of them are free to the public. With a CMS, you do not have to worry about designing a new page every time you want to add something to your site. You simply add a new content items (text, photos, etc.) and the software on the backend does all the work for you. Read the scenario below to see how it can drastically affect your church:

Scenario:
You are the proud owner of a new dynamic website. You have assigned Sister Jane (An lady in her early 60’s who is acquainted with computers) to add events to your calendar. Sis. Jane goes to www.yourchurchsite.com, types in her user name and password, and clicks “Add Event”, fills out the appropriate user-friendly forms and hits save. BAM - the information is automatically saved to your website. Meanwhile, Sam (A kid from your youth group) is adding photos to the media gallery with just a few clicks in his internet browser. Sis. Jane doesn’t have a degree from MIT, but she sure is lethal with her event adding skills. Sam hasn’t even finished eighth grade and he’s making killer photo albums. Your site is up-to-date and you are getting more and more traffic every day. Your web light is shining. You are sanctified proud.

With DYNAMIC websites, you don’t have to worry about depending on one person to keep your site updated, you can delegate the important parts to several people - EVEN NON-TECHY PEOPLE!

The coolest thing about DYNAMIC websites is all the content is stored in a database. If you want to change the look of your site, you do not have to reenter ever content item. You can change the entire look of your site by adding a new theme in two minutes or less. AMAZING. Why would anyone want a dull, boring, static, brochure website?

FREE CMSs I RECOMMEND
WordPress
Joomla

I recommend you host your site at GoDaddy.com. (Deluxe Linux Hosting Package - $7.95/Month) Godaddy will automatically install these software packages and you don’t have to worry about any programming. It is turnkey and no loss of hair or brain cells.

Please read my tutorial post on how to set up a CMS at GoDaddy.com.