When I was a minister in a vibrant, busy congregation there was always something more caring and time-sensitive to do than sit down and write for the congregation’s website. Because the website had no clear deadline (like sermons and newsletters and pastoral care) it stayed at the bottom of my to-do list for years.

What I didn’t realize then, and what I know now, is that our websites must be high priority. And it’s not enough to simply keep them functional and up to date. They are where we tell the world who we are, what we do, and why it matters.

People’s experience of our websites form indelible first impressions. In the minds of online visitors:

• If our websites are wordy and sparse on people, we are wordy and sparse on people.
• If it’s hard to find what you need on our websites, it’s hard to find what you need from us.
• If our websites are full of insider language and graduate-level language, we are too.

It can take a lot to undo those first impressions.

Instead, let’s show how our congregations are welcoming, warm, and accessible. Let’s show that by looking at our site with “outreach glasses” – using the lenses of the people we want to reach. Wearing those glasses involves thinking about what the people are looking for when they come to our sites. Each comes for a reason, whether they’re seeking emotional information or technical information.

Here are some kinds of questions that website visitors bring:

• Who are Unitarian Universalists? What do they stand for?
• What are the people like? Could they be my people?
• How can I get involved in something meaningful right away?

I invite you to join me in looking at your website with “outreach glasses.” Look with the lenses of someone who’s spiritually progressive, someone whose ideas about the sacred don’t fit neatly into any creed, someone who wants to make a difference in the world – yet is not familiar with Unitarian Universalism. Take a look, and talk about what you see.