Creating a Congregation Website
Our congregation listings average about 1,300 hits every Sunday morning. Be ready to welcome online visitors, and turn them into real-life visitors. Many congregations report that most visitors have checked out the congregation first on the Web.
Getting a Website
Your congregation doesn't need its own computer; internet access is frequently available at public places like schools or libraries, or a member of your congregation may be able to help out.
Hosting
Website hosting can be free or cheap, depending on your needs. If you have a budget for your website, you might consider buying your very own domain name (http://yourchurchname.org). The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) has no official recommendations for web hosting services or design assistance.
- UUISM.Net is highly recommended by fellow UU webmasters. They offer low-cost website hosting, email lists, etc. specifically for UUs.
- MyDomain: You can cloak your site so that all pages have the same label on the browser and do not show the true URL. This allows you to change internet providers without users having to learn a new address. They also handle mail forwarding. *Thanks to Bill Chess, the Nature Coast UUs webmaster for this info!
- FreeWebspace is a guide to services that provide free or paid web space. Many of them don't place ads on your site, and also provide easy tools for creating your site.
Design
- The UU Web Templates are pre-designed websites that you can adapt for your UU congregation.
- Web Style Guide explains established design principles and covers all aspects of web design—from planning to production to maintenance.
- Welcoming Websites Wizard is a distribution of the Drupal content management system which is tailored to meet the needs of UU congregations.
- UUWiki: Content Management System covers some of the pros and cons of using a CMS, and reviews some of the more popular choices.
Help
- "A Brief Introduction to the Gentle Art of Crafting a Website" by Dick Shelton and Kent Koeninger is tailored to UU congregations.
- UUWiki includes excellent information for beginners and for the more technically-inclined.
- Websters is an email list for UU congregation and organization webweavers: ask questions and share tips, tools & techniques.
- Browse existing congregation websites for ideas and inspiration.
- See the UUA's Standards and Style Guides for ideas about formalizing house styles and quality guidelines.
- Web Site Development for Religious Organizations offers advice and information for religious organizations about planning, publishing and maintaining an organizational website.
Information to Include
A Basic Checklist
Thanks to Ted Pack of the Stanislaus UU Fellowship, CA, and author of "Suggestions for Church Web Sites," and the websters list for these recommendations:
- Congregation name and complete meeting address (and mailing address, if different).
- The name of the building you meet in, if different from your congregation name.
- Directions to your building—include text instructions and perhaps a map: MapQuest, Google Maps.
- Telephone number.
- Web editor email address.
- Congregation email address.
- Fax number—if your congregation has email but no fax, services such as efax.com and callwave.com will give you a free fax-to-email phone number.
- Meeting times and schedule of other services for adults and children; upcoming sermon topics and RE topics are a nice addition (see "Guidelines for Church Electronic Newsletters").
- Accessibility information: Is your meeting place wheelchair accessible? Is there handicapped parking? Are there large-print hymnals? Headphones in the sanctuary?
- What to wear; especially for children if your RE program has activities unsuited for "Sunday Best" clothes, but important info for the comfort of all first-time visitors.
- Short statement of beliefs—some people may have surfed onto your page not knowing what the heck a Unitarian Universalist is; write your own intro, and/or include links to some of the following:
- UUA Principles & Purposes.
- "Welcome to Unitarian Universalism: A Community of Truth, Service, Holiness and Love," by Tom Owen-Towle, is an introductory UUA pamphlet.
- "Unitarian Universalist Origins: Our Historic Faith," by Mark W. Harris, is another useful UUA pamphlet.
- About Unitarian Universalism: UUA.org's Visitor section.
- UUA Principles & Purposes.
- A link to UUA.org (banners provided).
- A link to your district.
- A Newcomer FAQ (additional sample) might be helpful to first-time visiters. A simple thing like letting people know what to wear can help new people get up the courage to visit, and feel more at home right away. Consider including a page with answers to "What Newcomers Want to Know Before Their First Visit":
- What should I [and my children] wear to this church? [This is by far the most frequent query.]
- Is there childcare/Sunday School during church?
- If my child doesn't separate well, can she or he stay with me in the service?
- Are there any [insert race] people in this congregation?
- Are people of [race] welcome in this congregation?
- Are there bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgendered people in this congregation? Are they welcome?
- Are there people in the congregation who believe [insert belief here]?
- What goes on during the worship services?
- What should I [and my children] wear to this church? [This is by far the most frequent query.]
Better Left Out
Ask permission before posting:
- Personal information about your members (phone numbers, addresses).
- Photos of your members.
Plug-In Content
Content that updates itself! Use social media plug-ins to provide content from frequently-updated sources.
- Add a Facebook Activity Feed. To show what's popular on the UUA site, enter "UUA.org" in the "Domain" box. Adjust the other settings as you like, and then click the "Get Code" button for the HTML to plug into your site.
- Add a Twitter Feed. To show the UUA's Tweets, enter "uua" in the "Username" box. Click the "Test Settings" button to see a preview (adjust the preferences and appearance as you like), and the "Finish & Grab Code" button to get HTML for your page.
- Add the UUA RSS Feed. Show "UUA Top Stories" on your site in text or through banner images.
Administration and Ownership Considerations
In most cases, a communications vehicle that represents a congregation should be owned and operated by the congregation as a whole, and be used to further the mission and values of the congregation. Along those lines, here are some specific areas that might be helpful for congregations to consider regarding their websites:
- Financial ownership. The best way to ensure that the congregation is the owner of the website is to have the congregation as an entity directly paying for the hosting plan, domain registration, and any other one-time or ongoing costs associated with the website. This is far preferable to having the costs come out of an individual’s personal funds.
- Administrative access. It’s a good idea to make sure that at least one staff person has full administrative access to the congregational website, and at least three people in the congregation (including the staff person) have full administrative access. Full administrative access includes having the username and password that gives the greatest possible control over the hosting plan, the domain registration, the content management system, and any other utilities that are critical to the existence and maintenance of the website.
- Content management access. At least one staff person, and at least three people total, should not only have access to the site, but also be willing and able update the content on the website in a timely manner. To facilitate this process, it may be necessary to provide some training and documentation to help people learn to update the website.
- Accountability and support for people updating the congregation’s website. A communications committee, the governing board, or other bodies within the congregation can regularly evaluate whether the website is furthering the mission of the congregation, and whether or not the people updating the website are adequately supported.
- Respect for copyright. Congregations should consider using copyright notices, Creative Commons licenses, or other notices that explain how content found on the website may be used. And congregations should respect copyright by only posting text, photos, videos, etc. that they have permission to reproduce.
- Internal and external clarity about which communications vehicles represent the congregation as a whole (in which case they should be held to the above standards) and which communications vehicles are the property of an individual. Internal and external clarity about how the congregation’s name may be used. A good rule of thumb is that if the congregation’s name is used in the title of a website, then the congregation as an entity should have control over that website, and the congregation should be represented positively and accurately by that website.
Making Your Site More Accessible
- Website Accessibility includes basic tips for making a website accessible, as well as links to other sites with additional detail and helpful software tools.
We Have a Website!
- Let us know about your site for a link on our congregational listings.
- Submit your web address to major web search engines.
For more information contact web @ uua.org.
This work is made possible by the generosity of individual donors and congregations. Please consider making a donation today.
Last updated on Tuesday, March 29, 2011.
Updated and Popular
Popular New Searches
For Newcomers
Learn more about the Beliefs & Principles of Unitarian Universalism, or read our online magazine, UU World, for features on today's Unitarian Universalists. Visit an online UU church, or find a congregation near you.