WWWD: Things to Avoid in 2005

It's that time again, when the the year comes to a close, and thoughts of the new year ahead bring great hopes.

Many things have happened in the world of online ministry, and the potential for growth and advancement continues to drive us to provide you with better, more effective tools. At ForMinistry, we want you to see your website as a great tool for effective communication and connection.

In order for this to happen, here are some things to avoid as you consider how to continue building a better ForMinistry website in the year 2005.

If you're looking for more design tips, go to the WWWD section of web_builder.

General Avoidables

Unclear Vision or Purpose

It's never fun scrolling through a website trying to figure out what it all means. Make sure anyone can clearly understand what your site is saying, especially through any new design changes or any major content changes.

Outdated material

Make sure as you look forward to updating your site with new material and resources, It's always good to have a resevoir of material and work that you've collected on your ForMinistry website. But take the time to archive those items on another page, for example, the "Previous Messages" page, or "Archived Resources" page. Uploading new and fresh material is one great way to keep up interest and connection on your website.

Home Page Avoidables

Clear and Simple

Your home page is usually the first thing that is seen on your site. Especially for the first time visitor to your site, you want to do everything you can to grab their attention. Make sure your home page is clear and simple. Let each person that comes to your site know exactly what you are about, especially what is valuable to them.

Graphics and Images

Use graphics and images that have content effect, not just to decorate. In other words, use images and pictures that tell something about your ministry, that link to another item (like a new program for your group), or specifc people or places that are involved with your group. If you use an image to highlight something that is on another page (for instance, a new ministry page) link that image to it.

In-page Links to Different website areas

The menu bar that lists out your website's pages and sections is a great way to organize everything, but too much can be burdensome. Make sure you have a list of all the pages and sections somewhere in your files, but not every page needs to be shown on your website menu.

You can link to specific pages fro your home page (or that section's home page) - for example, the "Missions" home page can link to the "Missions Articles and Resources" page, the "Supported Missionaries" page, and the "How You Can Get Involved in Missions" page - by having a text item for that page with a brief description linked to it.

Archive Avoidables

Archives are a great way to keep great material on your site, and allow more traffic and visitation to occur.

Archives Acting as Main Pages

This becomes more and more apparent as your website grows in age as well as content. For example, the main page for your Missions Section should not soley be a list of articles and news reports. Highlight a few of the most important (or current) items, and create a link that goes to your "Missions Archive" page, that can include every item you've highlighted on your site, in dated order.

It's never a bad thing to provide a way to access recently featured items quickly and easily. Have the most current items listed at the top, then the older items after them.

Undated archives

When you do get around to building an archive area or page, make sure you take the time to date the material that you have. There's a great feature in the Web Builder tool that allows you to show the date either on a text item itself or on its teaser. Just go the text editing tool and input the date you want shown in the area next to Date, then scroll down to Display Options, and click on the box next to date either in the Text Display Options or Teaser Display Options.

Related Text

A great way to keep interest and traffic moving through your website is to connect articles and text items through the Related Text tool. To use this function, in the text editing window for that text item:

1. Select Click here to add/remove related text (scroll down to the bottom of the window)
   
2. Check the box next to Click here to display the related articles list.
3. Choose a title (optional) and where you would like this list to be viewed in this text item.
4. Select the Add button and choose articles you wish to add to the list.
5. After the last selection, click on Save and Update.
   
   
6. What you will see on your text item is similar to below:
   
   
   

You can have a number of articles grouped and linked together this way, so as one article is read, there is a great probability the Related Text articles will be viewed as well.

But most important of all, enjoy what you see on your website and the work that has been put into making it great!

Until next time...
Henry Kay, web_builder host