October is Online Reviews Month at OurChurch.Com. We have been discussing everything about online reviews; How to get them, where to put them on your website, and how they impact search rankings & people’s decisions.
Most churches think that online reviews will be submitted based on the experience that someone has at their church. However, what about the possibility of a review being submitted because the church website design was poor?
Reviews that people submit based on their experience at your church will either be positive or negative (we hope they are mostly positive). However, if someone were to submit a review about your website, it will most likely be a negative review. Why?
People expect a website to function well, load quickly, and be easy to navigate. If your website does all of these things, you have met their expectations and nobody will notice. However, if your website has failed in any of these areas, you open up the possibility that someone may get frustrated and post a negative review.
It is kind of like driving… If you drive to the store and the roads are smooth, have no potholes, and are well marked, you don’t think to yourself, “Wow! I am going to tell everyone I know that the roads by my house are awesome!” However, if you have the opposite experience, you may tell your friends or even write your local government officials about how bad the roads are.
So how do you prevent a bad experience on your church website?
Check and Correct
- Task someone to review the website at least once per month. This can be a volunteer or a staff member of the church.
- Ask them to visit each page of the church website and click on every link. Make sure they check to see that each page loads properly and each link works (this includes checking links to sermons, online forms. photo galleries, and calendar events).
- Have them email the list of issues to the web team or webmaster (if the person checking the website doesn’t have the ability to make any corrections needed).
- Split up the site into sections if the website is large. This way they can review one section of the site each week (and the entire site is still reviewed once per month).
Don’t let your website be the cause for a negative online review. -Mark Steinbrueck
What other things can you do to prevent your website from causing a bad online review. Post your comments and questions below.
If you would like to talk with one of our experts about your church website, please click here!
President at OurChurch.Com
Mark has served as the President of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, leading the Custom Website and Sales departments with dedication and expertise.
Over the years, he has managed hundreds of custom website, graphic design, and marketing projects for churches, non-profits, businesses, and schools.
Beyond his professional work, Mark is deeply committed to serving his community. He coordinates and packs over 700 meals each week for children through One Community Now’s Pack A Sack for Kids program, volunteers in the Children’s Ministry at Generations Christian Church, and participates in a weekly Bible study.
