Establishing Web Presence
From VincentWiki
This page is meant as a beginning resource for followers of Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac interested in establishing a web presence.
Why have a web presence
That's where the people are!
- More than ONE BILLION people are on-line!
- ALMOST 70% OF THE US POPULATION
- From the above statistics it is clear that the Internet is no longer predominantly an English speaking medium.
"Faith Online: 64% of wired Americans have used the Internet for spiritual or religious purposes"
- [http://www.pewinternet.org/about_mission.asp Pew Internet Internet in American Life Study
- "The 64% of Internet users who perform spiritual and religious activities online represent nearly 82 million Americans. Among the most popular and important spiritually-related online activities measured in a (2004) national survey: 38% of the nation’s 128 million Internet users have sent and received email with spiritual content; 35% have sent or received online greeting cards related to religious holidays; 32% have gone online to read news accounts of religious events and affairs; 21% have sought information about how to celebrate religious holidays; 17% have looked for information about where they could attend religious services; 7% have made or responded to online prayer requests; and 7% have made donations to religious organizations or charities.
- Surfing for Salvation Pat McCormick
What to expect
If You Build a Web Site, Will They Come?
- The chances of finding your website among the billions of websites are very small even with search engines
- A Google search shows some 23,500,000 for parish
What should you expect in building a site?
- Three things to be remembered...
- It’s not as hard as you think (up to a point!)
- It's not as easy as you think (but the difficulties can be minimized)
- Just because you build it does not mean that they will come (but at least you have a chance)
Before you start
Get the sequence right!
It is not "Ready, aim, fire!" but " Aim, ready, fire!"
- Why should they come? YOUR INTENTIONS
- What do you really want/expect to happen? YOUR HOPES
- Why will they come? THEIR MOTIVATION
- Let the “Beginners Mind” be in you. TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED
- Who does it well and why? DON’T RE-INVENT
- Learn from others.
- What to expect building a site? PLAN, PLAN, PLAN
Steps in establishing a web presence
- Ten Internet ‘best practices’ for e-ministry by Terrell Sanders
- The "Heal Your Church Website" is a wonderful resource targeting church webmasters. However the following links do not seem to be functioning at the moment.
- Seven Deadly Sins of Web Writing "Heal Your Church Website" (search for the word deadly)
- 2003 Trends in Logo Design "Heal Your Church Website"
- 2003 Ten Most Violated Rules in Web Design "Heal Your Church Website"
- Blogging: Web Publishing on the Cheap "Heal Your Church Website"
Ways to establish a Website
Outsource
- Professionals
- Volunteers
Do it yourself
Helpful resources
- Wonderful set of clearly written explanations of various dimensions of the Internet
- "eFuse.com offers information, inspiration, and assistance written in plain English by professional writers and designers so it's easy to understand and use. eFuse.com is for everyone who wants to build a more attractive and effective web site. Learn what you need, painlessly. No experience necessary. You'll be web-savvy in no time."
- Available in Spanish and French
- The Technology Place for Non-Profits
- First Time Visitors
