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. "Why Should UUs Get On-Line?" by Margy Levine Young offers more information about all kinds of online communication, and how it can help your Unitarian Universalist (UU) group.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 Unitarian Universalist (UU) webmasters. They offer low-cost website hosting, email lists etc. specifically for Unitarian Universalists.
- 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 Unitarian Universalists webmaster for this info!
- FreeWebspace.net 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. Companies like GeoCities and Tripod put ads on your site, but are very easy to use.
Design
Help
- "A Brief Introduction to the Gentle Art of Crafting a Website" by Dick Shelton and Kent Koeninger
- UUWiki has some excellent information for beginners and for the more technically-inclined.
- "Websters" is an email distribution list for UU congregation and organization webweavers: subscribe to websters to ask questions and to share tips, tools & techniques.
- Browse existing congregation websites for ideas and inspiration.
- Web Site Development for Religious Organizations
Information to Include
A Basic Checklist
Thanks to Ted Pack of the Stanislaus UU Fellowship (CA) 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
- "We are Unitarian Universalists" by Marta Flanagan is a 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
- A link to UUA.org (banners provided)
- A link to your district
- A Newcomer FAQ (sample, sample) might be helpful to first-time visiters. Here are some questions that people want answered even before they visit one of our churches for the first time. Even a seemingly simple thing like letting people know what to wear can help new people get up the courage to visit. 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?
Better Left Out
Ask permission before posting:
- personal information about your members (phone numbers, addresses)
- photos of your members
Making Your Site More Accessible
- Try to reduce download time so folks with slow connections don't have to wait long.
- When using tables, be aware that reading browsers (as opposed to viewing browsers for sighted people) read content across rows, not down columns.
- When including images, be sure to specify text for the alt tag: alt="photo of dogs running" or alt="*" (for a bullet, for instance).
- Website Accessibility on UUA.org
- Checking Your Web Pages For Accessibility includes basic tips for checking, as well as information about toolbar programs that help analyze web pages for their accessibility to people with disabilities.
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.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
