"A website isn't a necessity."

"Lets just go with the free template for now and upgrade later." 

"It isn't like anyone actually pays attention to how nice it looks."

"We would love a website but they are too expensive, too much hassle and we wouldn't be able to update it."

These are just four of the most used excuses that churches use for not having a professional website.  That is all they are, though - excuses.  Just like any business, the impression that a church's website makes can determine whether a potential member ever walks through your door.  I am going to debunk these myths and turn these excuses for not having a website into reasons for making it top priority.  

"A website isn't a necessity."   - 96% of people will turn to the internet to find a place to worship.  Most of them will visit the first one they find that appeals to them.  Even if they were invited by someone in your congregation, they are likely to look to the web for more information before visiting.  Without a website, your church isn't even seen.  And those who are invited may still come to be polite, but they have most likely already made up their mind due to the lack of web presence.  If the goal is to reach the most people possible with the message, then why limit yourself by not using all the tools available?

"Let's just go with the free template for now and upgrade later."  -   The truth is - websites can be expensive.  Perhaps you have talked to a company that offers to sell you a template for $5,000 (for limited pages) or a custom, unlimited page website for the low price of  $30,000.  Sure maybe you could afford the template, but why pay for one when so many places offer the same type of thing for free? So why not just settle for the free template and then upgrade later, when it fits better in your budget?  If you settle for the free website, then you will just get frustrated at the time it takes to update it for no results.  A template is not search engine friendly and even if someone gets to your site, there is no personality on it.  If your website is your first impression, don't you want people to see the true heart of your church?

"It isn't like anyone actually pays attention to how nice it looks."  -  Everyone talks about how important search engine optimization is, but what most people fail to mention is the bounce rate.  A bounce rate is determined by how long visitors stay on your site.  If a website is hard to use or unattractive, then the bounce rate is going to be extremely high: 75% to 100%.  A lot of template places guarantee that your site will be found only to fail to mention that most people won't stay on your site longer than 3 seconds.  What can you learn about a church in 3 seconds - NOT MUCH.  It is like buying a piece of furniture.  Granted every chair will provide you with a place to sit, but some of them you just don't want to look at in your house.  A website should be a place for members and visitors to gather information, learn new things and share with you and each other.  And it should be somewhere that they want to be.

"We would love a website but they are too expensive, too much hassle and we wouldn't be able to update it." - This is an excuse that does have some weight behind it.  Most companies offer over-priced, over-fussy unusable websites.  We have the solution.  Okeedoke Studios provides churches with completely custom website designs that are partnered with our content management system that makes updating, blogging and expanding exceptionally simple for an extremely affordable price.  This way you don't have to settle or over pay. So let's meet and we will show you what we can do to make your church visible in 2010.