It has been a while since I posted in my series “Rio Texas Websites that Work.” It is about time to look at some more websites in our annual conference that are using the web to reach the mission field.

This week, Spring Creek United Methodist Church.

This website has a lot going for it from the homepage. That is critical. Unless you make a good impression right away, users may just move along. The site makes great use of colors and fonts that are consistent throughout the site and consistent with their branding. If nothing else, visitors’ first impression is of a modern, professional looking site.

Now that you have seen it as it lives on the web, let’s take another look.

Here are some of the things that really make the home page work:

• Photos – Spring Creek uses a rotating banner that features images of the people of the church being the church. Many of the images focus on children. I can assume that Spring Creek is a welcoming place for kids.
• Clear Statement of Mission – Want to know what Spring Creek is about? You don’t even need to click.
• Community Event – What a great way to let people know that your church wants new people, spotlighting a ministry open to the public that serves a need in the community.
• Worship Location and Times – I am a fan of listing worship times and location right on the front page. However, sometimes design comes into play. The link is so obvious, I think this works just as well.
• New Visitor Link – Spring Creek makes it easy for first-time visitors to find what they need. Let’s click through and see what they offer.

The drop-down menu connects visitors to the information they might want to see before making a decision to visit the church. They cover beliefs, expectations and worship times and location. There is another feature that I don’t often see: information on the lay leadership of the church. Most churches tend to list only staff contacts. However, if a church has strong lay leadership, it makes sense that people might want to reach out to them instead. I hadn’t really thought about this before, but it is possible that a potential visitor or someone very new to the church would feel more comfortable reaching out to a lay member of the church than to clergy or staff. It also sends a message to visitors who have some church experience that this church takes lay leadership seriously.

There is a lot to like about this site. Go ahead and look at the fill site at www.springcreekumc.org

Want to know how your church’s website stacks up? Rio Texas churches can get a free “Church Website Review.” Don’t worry, we won’t post the results here. They will be emailed to you for your review.

Need to get started with a new church website? Get help getting started with a free “Website Help” Request. We will send you information and advice custom tailored to your church, technical ability and budget.

Know of a great church website that work in Rio Texas? Let me know in the comments so I can share.