Establishing Web Presence

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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.

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

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.


Ways to establish a Website

Outsource

  • Professionals
  • Volunteers

Do it yourself

  • Use a website design program
  • Use "blog" creation site
  • Use a "wiki" creation site

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

Helping people find you

External links

DIOCESE OF GUILDFORD

Planning
Creating
Promotion and Search Engines
Updating ideas
Graphics