Chosing a Church Website Provider

This can be a daunting task,as there are so many different church website solutions available these days. You can never guarantee you are going to make the right choice, but if you know what to look for and the right questions to ask, you are forewarned. Below is a sure fire list that will assist you in making an informed decision about your future Christian partner in Internet Technology.

Once you've got a list of church website providers that appear to meet your requirements, visit all their websites.

1. Are the staff church going Christians? Sounds like a basic question but Chritian IT staff who attend church regularily will know your requirments and will all be pulling in the same direction, (towards Christ!!!).
   
   
2. E-mail any questions you may have early in the morning of the business day. It is a test to see if anyone's home, and how well and how courteously the church website company you're interested in handles your inquiry. Any that don't respond by the end of the business day should be dropped from your list immediately ("auto-responders" do not count). Trust us on this one - although a provider may look “good on paper”, if they're so busy they can't get back to you by the end of their business day, there's no way they'll be able to give you adequate service, especially if you run into a problem. If you only get an answer in the evening or at night it's a good sign that the provider has a “day job” and is a part-timer, making it likely you'll hear back on a question only once in a 24-hour period.
   
   
3. Make sure they offer what you require. Ask to see a demo of their church website. Ask for a free trial to test the service. If they are not confident enough in their product to offer this, simply look else where.
   
   
4. Make sure there is a contact phone number on the site. Although generally e-mail is the best way to request support, may be times when an urgent enquiry has to be made. You could make a trial call - ask a few questions to see how helpful they are.
   
   
5. Ask for a few references of others. Generally if they have established business', they must be providing adequate service to keep these customers happy.
   

Get Help

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Choosing a Church Website Provider
• Search Engines (are you lost or found?)
• Resource of links related to church websites.
  

• Email Glossary
• Internet Glossary
• PC Glossary
  

Members

• Church Website Administration
• Church Intranet