Updating your browser can improve your church website experience

Just like there are a multitude of car manufacturers offering different features and benefits for drivers, there are different ways to access the World Wide Web through browsers.

Having an old or outdated web browser can have a huge impact on your experience updating your church site or even surfing the net. Some browsers are faster than others, and some display images and content differently. Some offer more built-in security features and others support the latest trends in design technology. Outdated browsers don’t always work the way they’re supposed to and that can complicate the process of updating your church website.

In order to have the best online experience possible, it’s a good idea to use a recommended web browser and that the one you choose is up-to-date.

Here’s our list of recommended browsers:

Firefox  (PC, Mac)
Chrome  (PC, Mac)
Safari  (PC, Mac)
Internet Explorer 9  (PC)

Reasons to use a good browser:

• Faster page loads
• Fewer crashes, more stability
• More built-in security
• Support for the newest web technologies (HTML 5, CSS 3, Javascript)
• Simpler browsing experiences using tabs and downloadable add-ons

You don’t have to know all the differences between these browsers to improve your experience; these browsers are free to use, and you can use the one that you like the most! 

Are people finding your parish website online? 5 tips to improve SEO.

Have you heard the acronym SEO? It's short for Search Engine Optimization. What it means in a nutshell is that a website is primed to be easily found through a search engine. If you've ever used Google, Bing, or Yahoo search engines to find things online, you know that you don't always get what you're looking for.

Sites that are SEO-optimized generally appear closer to the top in search engine results. Where your website appears among those searches is your ranking, and unless you're already at the top it's worth improving your position.

If a parishioner wants to know a church's street address or phone number, the parish website is the first spot they'll likely check. But when the web visitor doesn't know your website address they'll likely do a search. Will a snowbird find your parish website if they're searching for the closest church?

Good SEO makes your site easier to find. Here are five simple tips to improve your parish's SEO and drive you toward the top of search engine results.

5. Keywords and Keyword Phrases
These are simply a collection of keywords that help search engines identify the main topics of your site. These words are invisible to visitors, rather they appear in the META tags of a page -- and if you're a Websites from Our Sunday Visitor user you can find and adjust your keywords through the control panel. Google has recently reduced the importance of keywords in META tags, but some search engines still use these to help identify content.

Use keywords that are descriptive and as unique to your parish as possible. What sets your parish apart from others that share the same name?

Good example:

St. Paul Church Philadelphia, Philadelphia church, catholic church Philadelphia

Bad example:

Catholic, St. Paul, Catholic church, St. Paul mass schedule

Keywords and keyword phrases should be bite-sized -- don't exceed 5-7 words per keyword phrase. It's best to pick 5-10 keywords and phrases. You can certainly do more, but beyond the first 15 it's unlikely you'll improve your odds.

4. Header / Headlines
Most pages have a headline that displays main idea of that page in big, bold letters toward the top of the page. E.g. "St. Paul Catholic Church Huntington" as a header will be found faster by search engines, which means your site will be found faster when looked for. This is your <h1> tag, which is markup code for Header 1 tag. This tag should be present on every page and should prominently display the main idea. Search engines look for these headlines when they index.

3. Alt Tags
Have you ever hovered over an image to see the small text appear that describes the image? These are alt tags and they're important because search engines look for these tags to help describe content. They can impact your ranking.

2. Backlinks
The more people that link to your website the better your ranking. Search engines consider these backlinks as a form of reputation. The more people that link to your site, the more likely it is that your site is the primary location for the original search terms. Invite other websites to link to yours!

1. Content
In the modern age of websites, content is king! Keeping the content of your website relevant is the number one way to improve your SEO. Don't be afraid to update content, load new images and tell new stories.

The marriage of all these rules will ensure your parish website is easy to find through search engines!

Small Parishes Face Unique Challenges, Websites Can Help

Blessed Sacrament Parish in Bridgeport, CT, has a small and humble membership of about 200 families and is one of the smallest parishes in the Diocese. Having a small parish, a tight budget and a limited staff can be a challenge, so the parish Reverend Fr. Reggie Norman decided that Websites from Our Sunday Visitor was one way he could communicate with his parish at a reasonable cost.

"Knowing parishioners go to the website is amazing," said Fr. Norman. "A website is imperative for small parishes. I have a part-time secretary and a part-time [Director of Religious Education] that works 16 hours a week. The rest is reliant on me.”

Having a website is a simple way to strengthen the communication effort for any parish and is currently helping Blessed Sacrament to reach their audience in a cost-effective way.

"We save on paper and time by having sign-up forms online. [Parishioner's] can get information on the web, fill it out and bring it in. Having information online cuts down on a lot of time spent on the phone," said Norman.

Having a website hasn't just saved them time, it's also served to inform outsiders on their ministries. "It’s also a great opportunity for people outside of parish to get an idea of who we are and what we’re about."

Visitors can learn more about the parish's ministries, see photos and videos of recent events, check the parish calendar, and even learn about sacraments.
"It's a one-stop-shop for them," said Fr. Norman. And according to Norman, the benefits aren't just for the visitors. "If I can streamline and be more effective through technology, it allows people to contact me on a constant basis. The fees we pay are reasonable -- even for a smaller inner-city parish. It's the best value for a good product.”

Fr. Norman admitted that he was concerned about the technological learning curve. Given his current responsibilities, he was unsure if he’d be able to take on more by learning how to create and maintain websites.

“You can customize it in an easy online environment. You don't have to learn programming,” he said. “Now it's second nature. I'm putting in my bulletin weekly and I don't even have to think about formatting or how I’m going to do this.

“I can tell whether I like something or not by how involved I get. There were times when I was up all night working because I just didn’t want to quit.”

See for yourself how easy it is to use Websites from Our Sunday Visitor. 

Schools need great web sites too!

Does your parish have a school associated with it?  How about diocesan schools or high schools?  Who administers the web site?  Are you able to allow various organizations to update their section of the site?  Our schools are making great use of technology for tuition payments and reporting grades,  but we appear to be missing opportunities to communicate distinctive competencies,  and mission.   And in many cases we don't have a means for alumni or other donors to contribute to the school electronically.

Schools have had web sites for quite some time.  The challenge is maintaining them.  So often a talented parent or student provides the service for the site and then moves away or graduates.  New content management systems such as Radius Web Tools make it very easy for non-technical people to maintain content on the web site.  In fact there can be several people who are able to update their part of the web site.  By providing easy-to-use content management tools,  the school can create and maintain a web site regardless of who matriculates.  And the school can incorporate a tool for electronic donations on the web site.

We have seen some really good examples of parish and school web sites which reflect the relationship with the parish as appropriate to the organization.  Check out St. Agnes in Phoenix, who elected to use one system with a clear distinction of school and parish.  Notice that St Agnes school also prominently offers Online Giving as an option to donate to the school.

Another example is St Thomas Aquinas in St. Cloud, FL  who has the school identified in the menu structure of the parish web site. 

Review your school web site and let us know what you think!

While you are at it don't forget parish youth groups.  The content management system is flexible enough to allow them to have a section on the parish web site that they maintain. 

Foster community with your website

I occasionally like to review the conclusions that Dr. Charles (Chuck) Zech draws from his two books on research about behavior of Catholics.  In "Why Catholics Don't Give and What Can Be Done About It"  and the continuing in "Best Practices of Stewardship Parishes", Chuck observes that parishes that have active and vibrant communities accompanied by generous financial gifts use similar practices.  One recurring theme relates to communicating to parishioners through tools such as newsletters and websites. Separately, Al Winseman describes levels of engagement in "Growing an Engaged Church".  Church member engagement begins with "What do I get" and ranges from "What Can I Give" to "Where are we going". 

The challenge for all of us continues to be time.  With the high level of activity in the parish office, we find ourselves deferring some items to handle the "urgent" needs of today.  Yet we must find time to provide our parishioners with interesting and useful information and evidence of how we serve out our parish mission if we are to move parishioners to higher levels of engagement. Our parishioners must feel that they belong at the parish and believe in and support the good works of our parish.

A number of parishes are stepping up to this challenge and are deploying web sites (along with other communications) that are accessible and interesting.  They are taking the step to provide information that brings parishioners back for more.  Our Sunday Visitor introduced "Faith In Action" websites to help parishes get up and running quickly so they can focus on specifics of the parish.

Some examples of beautiful parish websites include:  www.stedwardpb.com ,  
www.sjvaz.net and   www.hgcatholic.org 
 

Update Your Status

So you have spent some time creating new pages and editing existing ones. You're adding pictures, uploading a year’s worth of bulletins into your new website, and adding all the flourishes that make your parish website unique. You even ran an announcement in the bulletin talking about the new parish website so your parish will take notice. 

Now it is time to update the rest of world -- outside of the parish. 

Just like when you move to a new house you notify all your friends, family, and businesses about the new location, the same should be done for your new online home.  The post office makes you fill out a change of address form so your mail gets forwarded... but there is no official form for your website!

What about all the links on all other websites that might have an old or new domain name for your parish?  Access all your accounts, from the diocese to the phone book and change or alter the new website address. Here are just a few places to remember to change your status.

• Diocese information
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Your blog(s)
• Phone book
• Chamber of Commerce listings
• Local newspaper listings
• Any Directory you may be posted in. Local service organizations like the Boy Scouts, Knights of Columbus, related forums, etc.

Do an online search for your parish and check the results.  When you find a site with old info, make the contact and update your status! (Websites that link back to your site are called backlinks.)

Easy Website Updates for the Lenten Season

During this Lenten season I’ve noticed quite a few interesting things that parishes using OSV’s websites have done to keep everyone up-to-speed on church activities. After seeing all of these great ideas I thought I would take a moment to share a few tips with you in order to keep your parishioners in-the-know. 

Tip 1. Start with adding a special tab or section specifically for Lent which leads to a page that has information about activities that will be going on for the next 40 days. 

Tip 2. Include a page on Ash Wednesday, what it means, how we should reflect, and the special mass times to receive ashes. Some parishes are creating pages with special slideshows with the Stations of the Cross on them. 

Tip 3. Create pages on your Eucharistic Adoration events and times. Don’t forget to include the actual meaning of these events, giving your parishioners knowledge about the Catholic faith and what we believe in this time of year. 

Tip 4. Consider starting a blog on your site specifically for the season. Ask the parishioners how they are sacrificing. How are the children in the parish being asked to participate? Ask the children what they are giving up or doing for others during Lent. 

Tip 5. Finally, consider sending or posting daily spiritual meditations, prayers, and reflections. 

Once you have implemented your Lenten section on your website make sure you promote it. Parishes are doing this by mentioning it in their bulletin with references to the information found exclusively on the website. They’ve also made announcements at the end of mass informing the parish about the Lenten and reflection sections on their website. 

Your parish website is a window to your community. It’s that location that your parishioners can turn to for their spiritual knowledge and growth. Why not make the most of it during this special time of year.

What kinds of things are you doing with your parish website during Lent? Go ahead and leave a comment on the blog so that we can continue to share ideas.