Does your church need a website?
The mission of the church is unchanging: "Go into all the world" (Mark 16:16 NLT). But our world has changed: much of our activity and communication now happens in the digital world.
As of December 2015, over 3.26 billion people—more than 40% of the world's population—use the Internet. Almost 87% of all Americans are online. A research report reveals that American Internet users spend an average of 33.8 hours online every month!
If people are online, then to reach them, the church needs to be online too. But many churches have found that launching a website can be expensive and time consuming.
Two ways we can help
1. We can save you time.
We build websites using Drupal, a content management system (CMS) developed by a global community of people who freely share what they create. One really great thing the Drupal community creates is called a distribution, a sort of pre-built, customizable "kit" for a certain kind of website.
Think of it like this: Imagine that you were assigned to set up a new office. Most offices contain several similar items, like a desk, a few chairs, a bookcase, a file cabinet, and a lamp. Suppose that you could begin your task by ordering a "starter kit" containing these items. You can personalize and add to the items, but the starter kit saves time and money, and it assures that all the essential pieces fit together and arrive quickly.
A distribution is a little bit like that starter kit. Drupal developers who have built several instances of a certain kind of website—in this case, a church site—have identified the features that are usually considered essential for a church website and collected them into a "kit," or in Drupal terms, a distribution.
So instead of building your church website entirely from scratch, we can start with a distribution and personalize it to fit your needs. That means we can work with you to get your site online much more quickly! And because we save a lot of time, we can pass our savings on to you! So, in addition to saving you time . . .
2. We can save you money.
Less development time means less cost. It's that simple. But keep reading, because we have a special offer later in this blog to save you even more!
Take a look at an example distribution called "Open Church." Here is sample website based on the Open Church distribution.
Watch for these features as you explore the site:
- A top header for your church logo and menu
- A rotating banner to feature images of your church, people, and activities
- Spaces on the right for announcements and important information like your schedule of services
- Areas below the rotating banner to feature special events or topics. These features can link to more detailed information on other pages of your site.
- Contact information, location, and maps
- Drop-down menus so users can easily find information about your church ministries, staff, events, service opportunities, and media
And be sure to notice these special features:
- Responsive website design— displays well on all devices (desktop computers, notebooks, tablets, phones, etc.)
- Built-in media functionality to make your messages available to an audience beyond your church doors
- A blog to stay connected with your church family
- A page for information on how to support your church
- Pages to help visitors learn more about your church and to contact and connect with you
Everything in the distribution can be personalized with your church logo, pictures, and content, so your church website will be uniquely yours! By starting with the distribution, we can have your website up and running quickly!
And here's even more good news: mention this blog entry when you contact us, and we'll give you an extra discount on a professionally developed website from Covenant Design!
Contact us today, and let's get started.
