1.\u00a0“When’s Mass?”<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n 2.\u00a0“Where are you?”<\/em><\/strong> 3.\u00a0“Is anyone there?”<\/strong><\/em><\/strong> 4.\u00a0“What goes on here?”<\/em><\/strong> The website should advertise the ministries in operation at the parish and provide a way of getting involved. If you do this, it will be easier for new\u00a0parishioners\u00a0to integrate into parish life.\u00a0The latest Parish bulletin\/newsletter should be easily available for download.\u00a0There should be a list of upcoming events or a calendar which people can easily integrate with their own electronic calendars on their computers or mobile devices. I thoroughly recommend Google Calendar<\/a>.<\/p>\n 5. Media<\/strong> (a) Images<\/strong> (b) Audio<\/strong> (c) Video<\/strong> You don’t have to go crazy with media. Less is often more, but make sure you don’t completely neglect it.<\/p>\n
\nIf I’m going to a parish’s website, chances are I’m looking for the Mass and Confession times. Please don’t make me have to click around for five minutes and dig into submenus before finding them.<\/p>\n![\"Mass](\"http:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Mass-Times1.png\")
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\nThe other main reason I’ll be looking at a parish’s website is because I’m out of town and I’m looking for somewhere nearby to go to Mass. The address of the parish should therefore be easily accessible and not in some tiny font at the bottom of one of the pages. An embedded Google map is also very much appreciated \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nProvide me with a simple way of speaking to someone to find out more information.\u00a0Provide me with telephone numbers and email addresses. I’m not a great fan of the\u00a0“Contact Us”<\/em>\u00a0forms, but they’re okay\u00a0as long as someone actually checks the messages sent from them<\/strong>. This rule is equally applicable for emails. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve filled in online forms or sent an email message to the parish and never received a reply.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nYou want the visitor to your website to get a good idea of what parish life is like.\u00a0The information on the website must,\u00a0must<\/strong>,\u00a0MUST<\/strong>\u00a0be kept up-to-date. It is not going to fill me with confidence if I see that the last newsletter uploaded is two years old…<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nFew people want to read pages of text, so make sure you use plenty of engaging media:<\/p>\n
\nMake sure the photographs on your website are of good quality. Show the wide scope of parish life. Include pictures of the clergy and the different ministry leaders.<\/p>\n
\nMake the Sunday sermon available for MP3 download or, if the priest is uncomfortable with this, you may like to link to the weekly sermons available online at\u00a0WordOnFire.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nNobody is expecting you to become the next Stephen\u00a0Spielberg.\u00a0 However, even the most basic of digital cameras are superb quality these days and there are free tools available to do the video editing. Why not produce a promotional video? Or how about a short video of the pastor welcoming the website visitor to the parish? Keep the quality high and make them short and to the point.<\/p>\n