Welcome to The Jerusalem Christian Gifts Shop

During troublesome times as war continues to be declared on us in Israel:

Thank you for visiting The Jerusalem Gift Shop!
Christian gifts from the Holy Land. Israel is still at war against the forces that seek to “wipe her off the map.” These are days to prepare and be prepared as war continues to be declared on many fronts. We thank you for your prayers and customer support.
I WILL BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS YOU…
(Gen 12:3)

A blind person visiting a Christian site should be able to easily view and receive the messages provided on the site; this also applies to those with different kinds of limitations. No matter the limitation of the user the webmaster should strive to present the word of God through good designs and structures to all persons regardless of physical, software and hardware limitations.

After designing the website, it is wise to check it with the internet explorer browser and also with Netscape – this double check will help you see how the site looks in both systems. It will make the site of the ministry or church accessible to all, because it can be easily viewed with both browsers. The need for all church members to access and use ministry sites can not be overemphasized – it is imperative. This helps to spread the word of faith all around the world, as anyone can gain access to the system and enjoy the facilities of the ministry without stress.

The best way to begin working on a church site will be to first get all the facts and arrange them properly – this should be done before beginning the coding process. Truly, it is the best way to properly represent the vision and purpose of the church, ministry or business.

Thou Shalt Nots

1) Lack of accessibility (i.e., by using church-y lingo)

Simplify the language used on your church web site. Explain your meaning when you must use a lesser known word. The Old English your “Statement of Beliefs” is likely written in can be confusing to readers. For those obscure Christian words with no simple substitution (e.g., sin, baptism), you could link each word to a pop up that defines it in layman’s terms.

2) Not-so-personal

This is where the basic site plan is pared down to a stale and boring flyer.

The average surfer wants to get a feel for your church, not just find out what you believe or where you meet on Sundays.

If your site is void of personality, put some life into it. Put in minor biographical information about your staff, next to pictures of their smiling faces. Use photos, in modest amounts, from church gatherings: in the design, on title pages, or in a gallery. Use a fluid color scheme.

Make sure your church web site conveys an accurate representation of your congregation.

3) Cobwebs

Cobwebs grow on neglected web sites. If there are script errors and bugs that no one got around to fixing, those are cobwebs. If the calendar still has last Junes events on it, those are cobwebs. If your staff page lists the youth minister who left two years ago, that is a cobweb.

If you abandon maintenance of your church site, your site will be completely useless to both your congregation and anyone local who stumbles upon it. Searchers may even think you’ve abandoned both sites, online and off-line.

To counter the cobwebs you should have a regular webservant or web team.

4) Poor layout

Have you seen a “forever scrolling page”? The one page site is a common design blunder. Instead of organizing information into separate pages (and with a menu), all the information is lumped onto one page, one bit after another. That is just one example of a poor layout choice.

5) Lack of domain name/using free host with ads

Do spend the small amount of money to secure a real web address for your church site! If your church name has been taken, change .com to .net, or add “the” or a dash, or just be creative by coming up with a website name that includes your church name or abbreviation.

6) Too much personal information

My husband introduced me to a lady in an online bible study group who had been stalked on the Internet. Just looking at a weeks worth of her posts: she had said something about the region she was in, her IP was easily accessible, and we knew she worked at her church as a secretary. Plus, we knew her first name. Within one hour I was able to find her, mainly because of her bio on her church’s staff page. As a result of that detailed bio, I found out about her kids and other intimate details of her life.

When adding personal information, pictures, etc., to your church site, bear in mind the security of the people involved.

7) Ugly, Ugly

Examples of ugly site design include, but are in no way limited to: mismatched color schemes, large animated graphics, 300k pictures, giant text, and outdated clip art. These can be avoided entirely by having a professional design the site.

Lack of promotion

Sites need “web promotion” to be of use in Internet outreach. For example: if someone in your area “googles” to find a church, you must be listed in Google to show up in search results.

You can upload a site to the Internet, sit back, and no one will ever see it. You must tell the world it is there by adding your URL to search engines and related directories.

9) Too much

There are many ways to go overboard in site design, e.g., sound blasting music, too many options in the menu, and so on. These blunders, like having a downright unappealing site, can be avoided by having a professional involved in the creation of your church web site.

10) One track mind

It is all about potential! A church site can be utilized for both outreach and fellowship. Having a one track mind concerning your site isn’t a carnal sin, but it can be a waste.

Overall, be sure to put a lot of prayer, thought and planning into your church website, and it’ll turn out great.