Digital Web Magazine has a helpful article that could be well applied to most ministry websites.
Ten things your web sites should be doing
- Offering regularly updated information (blogs, CMSs, etc.)
- Increased efficiency in news and information distribution (RSS, ATOM, etc.)
- Alternative methods of information distribution (email newsletters, RSS, del.icio.us, etc.)
- Enhanced notification and announcement systems (pings, email alerts, etc.)
- A place for your site’s users to offer feedback and input (blog comments, forums, etc.)
- Improved performance and code optimization (CSS, XHTML, etc.)
- Multiple ways to access information (multi-faceted navigation, folksonomies, etc.)
- Intelligent system to system communication (XML, SOAP, etc.)
- Collaborative communication and documentation (Wikis, blogs, etc.)
- On-demand support feedback (user-driven FAQs, click-to-chat, etc.)
Does your church or ministry website offer any of these methods of communicating with your visitors? Maybe it should.
I may have to take my own advice for the ministry sites I’m involved with.