On my YouTube channel I've organized a number of the training videos into groups to make them easier for you to view. In addition to the link to that is an article that summarizes what the video series teaches.
CLICK HERE to go to one on How to Write for the Web.
Writing for the Web—suggestions for success
For ministry leaders accustomed to writing for paper-based communications, writing for the web presents new challenges and requires new skills. In this article we’ll discuss some of the differences between paper-based and web-posted communications and what to do about them to help you make your web-posted writing achieve your ministry goals.
What’s new in web-posted communication
It’s non-linear communication.
In contrast, when writing for a paper-based publication, we assume that our readers will start at the beginning of an article and progress in a linear manner through it to the end. We take this progression for granted as we construct our arguments or teaching.
You can’t count on that linear progression for material posted on the web. Readers can scroll up, down, jump to a page or section or topic at will.
One suggested solution is to divide your material into manageable chunks that make sense on their own.
Provide clear markers (top of page, beginning of list, index, etc.) and links so they can go to these sections easily.
The reader is in control.
When you publish something on paper, perhaps a newsletter article or update in a ministry publication that you send out on a set schedule, you decide what you want people to read and when you want them to see it.
You give up this control when you publish on the web. You put the material out there and your readers come to you if and when they want to.
There are two areas that you have to deal with concerning this issue. First of all, we often say our writing is done to serve our constituency. We have to put the works of service into practice in writing for the web. Our heart and attitudes often need to be changed before we can change the outward format.
Second your material has to be organized in ways that serve your readers that help them get the information they want. It doesn’t matter how cool you think something is or how necessary or important if people aren’t accessing it.
You find out what your readers want by observing what is accessed on your site and what isn’t. You ask what they want, in surveys, in informal conversations, in structured interviews.
One of the great things about the web is that it is such a fluid, flexible medium. If something doesn’t work, you haven’t printed 50,000 hard copies that are suddenly useless.
What isn’t new in web posted communication
The importance of content over design
It seems that with every new technology it is easy to become enamored with the latest innovations and forget it’s simply another tool we can use to tell the story of the gospel and the role of our particular church or ministry in sharing it.
One of the signs that a ministry is more enamored with the new tool than the effectiveness of their communication is an overemphasis on web design for design’s sake. I realize some of my following comments are my personal reaction, but when I go to a ministry web site, I usually go for information.
If I want to be entertained I go to a movie. Flashing animations and overly complex designs do not impress me, they irritate me. I realize that there is a place for every sort of technological wizardry for web sites for teens, gen xers etc., but as with any publication, if your site is for the average middle-aged church goer, don’t assume that the latest web magic your web designer is dying to try will impress them.
The importance of honesty in your communications
This would seem to be obvious in any web site that calls itself Christian, but I have seen and had personal experiences with far too many web sites recently, where the look of the web site does not truly reflect the ministry. In the past few months, my husband, a pastor on study leave has attended two seminars put on by national ministries that we found on the web. Both web sites were highly professional, very well done, very technically advanced. One assumed the seminars would reflect the same degree of professionalism.
They did not. In one, the presenter used overheads (no PowerPoint projection) and didn’t even bother to write in the fill-in the blank statements, on old, well-used acetates. In the second, the highly advertised Christian leader who was supposed to speak did not even show up. Very different than the high tech, super professional web site that advertised the events.
It is the responsibility of every leader in a church or Christian ministry to make certain that their web presence and presentation is a true representation of the ministry itself.
Many publications for small businesses have written much about how an elaborate web site can make a small business look like a major organization. It’s also true that your web site can make any church or ministry look like a professional mega-ministry. While the value of that technique may be debatable from a business perspective, to represent yourself as something you are not in ministry is not communicating with integrity.
Final advice for leaders writing for the web
Be involved in the graphic design and final form of your web site material.
Don’t just pass content on to your web master without being involved in how it will be presented. Take the time to understand and work together on breaking lengthy content into sections. Learn how to layer content.
Think about what other topics relate to yours and learn how to link to useful additional material. Talk to; survey, learn about how your readers want to take in your information and structure your material to meet their needs.
Don’t assume fancy design equals ministry value.
Don’t be intimidated by technological expertise. Good communication principles never change. If you don’t like how something on your web site works and most of your constituency are people in your age group, they probably won’t like it either.
Read Jakob Nielson’s book, Web Usability. It is a classic on the value of information over appearance on the web. It's a few years old, but the basic principles still apply.
Do an integrity check on your finished web site. Ask yourself, “Does this correctly reflect who we are as a church or ministry? Is this a true representation?
Do we follow up on the promises we make on the site?” Instill in everyone that works on your web site that you want to communicate with honesty and integrity in images as well as words.
Pray that the Lord will help your web site to be a true representation on who you truly are and your place in ministry. Pray for wisdom and insight that no matter what tools you use, the truth and power of the gospel message will be clearly communicated.
Please share your thoughts, comments, questions!