Religion is the fastest growing internet segment today. Catholic internet viewership is at an all-time high. You would think that would all be well and good, right? Well not exactly.
The simple truth is that our Parishes are unable to take advantage of this huge opportunity that the internet offers for effective Parish evangelization and stewardship. Catholics are scouring the web for Catholic content and spirituality but they are not going to their home Parish websites. It's a tremendous opportunity loss for our Parishes.
It's All About Content. Period.
99% of Parish websites are failing. It's true. It's hard to sugar-coat that painful reality. No skipping around the bush on that one. Nobody reads our Parish websites. Period. It's a sad fact. So blunt. So true.
Tell me this. When was the last time you actually looked at your own Parish website? Hmmm? If you haven't visited in a while then guess what, neither has the rest of your parish congregation.
While there are several reasons why Parish websites fail, the most important reasons pertain to Content - or the lack thereof.
Let me ramble off a few.
No Content. Most Parish websites were designed to be online Parish brochures. A nice online catalog with pretty pictures, address and phone numbers, a calendar of events and a list of employees and services. But in today's world of impatient and spoiled internet surfers, Mass schedules and phone numbers just don't cut it anymore. They need more. They need much much much much more.
Static Content. Visitors stop coming to a website if it looks the same as it did during the last visit. If there's nothing new, why bother? Right?
Old Content. Nothing can be more frustrating on a website than seeing articles from last month or, worse, from last year. If the parish won't bother giving me fresh content, why would I even consider coming even just once when the internet offers me choices that are far better and wider?
Not Mobile-Friendly. Majority of internet surfing today are viewed on a handheld mobile device. If your Parish website is not easily readable on a mobile device, the reader simply quits. They've been spoiled by the mobile internet with so much nice and sophisticated well formatted articles, that they simply disengage when faced with a non-mobile Parish website. If the Parish website does not look like an online magazine to readers, they are gone. And gone for good.
(Check out this related article about Google's new announcement and how it has further doomed your old website.)
One Visit. One Chance
It is the simple truth. Your Parish website is failing because it can not offer to satisfy the curiosity and interest of the average mobile phone user today. And the painful truth is they will give your Parish website one visit only -- one chance. Maybe two. But if they leave unfulfilled, they never come back.
We Can Help
ParishWorld can help your Parish build its internet reader base. Allow us to show you how we can convert your old static website into your Parish's dynamic online center for Prayer, Study, Giving and Evangelization.
Download our free ParishWorld app from your mobile phone's app store today.
Visit our website http://mobile.parishworld.org. Or call us at (818) 446-6793 for a free online demo.
