Most of us prefer to keep our personal contact information private. We usually don’t share our phone numbers, emails, or addresses unless we need to. However, as churches, our information needs to be easily accessible so that people can connect with us. Our church communicators recently discussed this topic in the Facebook group.
Monica Hilderbrand said,
“I just spent almost ten minutes looking for the phone number or physical address of a church on their website. I finally gave up and went to Google. Please, PLEASE put these details above the fold on your home page.”,
Many others chimed in to echo Monica’s comment and also provide deeper insight.
“Yes! I have spent way too much time searching on websites. I run an event that I advertise to local youth groups once a year, and trying to find the address on their church website is sometimes near impossible. Trying to find an email address is sometimes even worse.” – Amy Peak
“Most people aren’t looking for the physical address first. They’re looking to see if they connect with the church. While contact information is important – including service times – it absolutely shouldn’t be above the fold in the most important real estate on the entire site. That space should be used for telling the visitor how your church can make their life better. Like many have said, the most effective place to put contact info is in the footer.” – Jonathan Carone
“What if I told you there is no fold? But seriously, the fold changes on every screen size. People know that now and are used to scrolling. So we don’t really need to throw tons of info at the top anymore. But contact info should be available at least in the footer. That’s crazy that they didn’t have it at all.” – Paul Cox
It may not be essential to put all of your church’s contact info on a giant banner at the top of your homepage, but at least include it in the footer of the homepage. Also consider adding a “Contact Us” tab on your site, where you can feature all relevant phone numbers, addresses, social media accounts, etc. The bottom line is to make the information available. Here are the reasons why this is a must:
- There may be potential members, donors, church staff, or a journalist who need to contact your church for various reasons.
- You don’t want to miss any opportunities to connect with people, organizations, or ministries.
- Information gathering should be quick and easy; people have little patience for finding a single contact detail.
- The more information you provide, the more secure people will feel about your church.
By following the advice of our church communicators, you will make your church more accessible for visitors and others who may be unfamiliar. In this way, you make it known that your church is ready and willing to connect with them.
