While social media like Facebook and YouTube are great tools, your church website is the central hub. It's the place to discover everything about your church – who you are, upcoming events, how to connect, and even live stream services. A well-maintained website keeps your community informed and engaged, bringing them back for more.
Engaging your audience on your website becomes even more critical when you consider the average time spent on a webpage: a mere 54 seconds. But fear not! Keeping visitors hooked offers a surprising range of benefits, both clear-cut and unexpected. Let's delve into why website engagement is a win for your church.
Not surprisingly, the more time visitors spend on your site, the more they’ll engage and interact with you and your content. This can lead to them reaching out by phone or email, or sparking up a conversation in an online chat during a live stream. They may download flyers or sign up for community events.
There’s also a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) benefit to keeping visitors on your website for awhile. High engagement rates can signal to search engines like Google that your site provides valuable information. Providing useful info helps you rise in the search engine rankings, keeping you on that coveted first page of search results.
Bounce rate measures the percentages of “unengaged sessions” on your site. This means visitors stayed on the page for less than 10 seconds. A good bounce rate is considered to be 40% or lower. The longer people spend on your site, the better your bounce rate will be.
A poor bounce rate can be a problem, because it can indicate to search engines that your site’s content isn’t engaging or relevant. This could damage your search rankings, making it harder for visitors to find your website.
When your website offers valuable and engaging content, visitors become invested. They return for more, eager to explore what your church has to offer. This deeper connection naturally opens the door for them to experience your services in person.
And the good news doesn't stop there - the more visitors you keep engaged, the more search engines recognize your website as a valuable resource. This can gradually boost your domain authority, making it easier for others to find your church online. Remember, SEO is a marathon, not a sprint, so be patient – the rewards are worth the wait!
Now that the importance of driving traffic to your website is clear, let's discuss some practical strategies on how to make it happen.
In today's digital landscape, video reigns supreme, captivating audiences on both social media and websites. According to Statistica, a whopping 40% of U.S. users watch online videos daily, with younger demographics even more engaged – 53% of those aged 18-34 are daily viewers. This translates directly to your church community, especially younger members who heavily favor video content.
According to Christianity Today, 22% of churchgoers watch online more often than before the pandemic – they’ve grown accustomed to the accessibility and convenience of live streams. This trend highlights the importance of offering a high-quality live stream experience for your online community.
One option is to simply live stream directly to Facebook, but there are drawbacks. For one, Facebook has restrictions on the music you’re playing — you may find that they’ve muted your broadcast, even if you own the rights to the songs. Also, Facebook recently announced a new policy that your page or profile must have 100 followers and must be 60 days old in order for you to live stream to it. If your church has a smaller or newer Facebook presence, you may not be able to live stream directly to the platform.
The better option is to live stream directly to your website, embedding a video player to your page. At BoxCast, we offer a video player with various benefits:
Make sure your site’s content is engaging, relevant and true to who you are as a church. Provide a mix of mediums — everyone takes in information in different ways. Be sure to mix in:
Place your regular live stream(s) front and center, possibly even on your home page. Give easy access to past services with a VOD page. Your video doesn’t need to be limited to church services — mix in ministry highlight videos, pastor’s updates, podcast videos, or a video highlighting your church’s mission.
Photos and graphics are a great way to show off your church community. We suggest including photos of the outside and inside of your building, making sure each shot is well lit and clean. Include plenty of pictures of your community members attending services, events, or serving in your community.
This is an opportunity to tell your story. Mix in long and short form copy about your church. Give visitors the option to read as much or as little as they’d like. Include an About Us page, notes from your pastor, and blog posts on topics your community cares about.
Build trust with prospective members by encouraging church members to share their stories through quotes, posts, and videos that you can share on your website.
A user-friendly website goes beyond aesthetics; it shapes visitor experience. It directly influences how visitors perceive your church, how easily they can navigate and find information, and whether they feel the need to engage further. Make sure to consider:
First and foremost, make sure the site is easy to navigate. Utilize a clear and consistent layout for all pages, and add descriptive labels and search functionality.
Nearly half of your audience is finding you through their phones - 45% of web traffic in the United States originated from mobile devices in 2023. Make sure your site is optimized for mobile devices. This will include optimizing navigation bars, font size, photos and videos, and buttons.
Is there anything worse than a page that loads like it’s from 1995? Improving website load times is important for providing a user experience, increasing engagement, and even improving SEO performance. These days a quickly-loading site is expected. Be sure to compress your images and reduce redirects.
Visitors rely on your website for the latest happenings at your church. To keep them engaged, prioritize these two areas for regular updates:
It’s important to maintain an up-to-date calendar with details on upcoming services, events, and activities through your church. Include links to forms, contact information, and all other necessary details. BoxCast Sites offers an integration with Google Calendar that’s easy to connect and update.
Fuel your homepage with fresh news! Regular updates and announcements keep your church community informed and engaged. It's a win-win – your congregation stays in the loop, and your homepage becomes a vibrant hub of activity.
Many members of your community — especially the younger generation — are on social media every day. Posting interesting content is a great way to get them to visit your site. Here’s how you can make your social posts stand out:
Keep your posts short, sweet, and enticing enough for readers to want more. This is especially important for videos. You can post a short clip that entices viewers to click over to your website to watch the full video. At BoxCast, we’ve got a new product called Sharing that makes it super easy to edit sermon clips and post them to Facebook. Don’t forget to post the link to your website in the description or comments!
Respond to comments and messages quickly, directing people to your website for more info. You might also want to hold live Q&A sessions or run polls and questionnaires to keep the conversation going.
Make sure your CTAs are clear so viewers know where they’re headed. Another simple way to drive traffic to your site is by adding a link in your bio.
Keeping visitors on your church’s site is great for boosting web metrics, but most importantly it’s about creating a welcoming digital space that reflects the warmth and community of your physical church. A well-designed, engaging, and informative website can be a powerful tool for ministry, helping you to reach out to new members, keep current members informed and involved, and spread your message of faith and love more effectively.
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