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Valuable website usability articles by Jakob Nielsen
Two very helpful pages from Jakob Nielsen about website usability. A confusing website is one that visitors will leave. Quickly and permanently.
Jakob Nielsen is a recognized website usability expert. You can also sign up for his AlertBox newsletter.
http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/11800
The blink test: website visitors assess your website in a split second. Will yours pass?
Human brains are wired up a certain way. You cannot break human cognition rules and still communicate – this applies to a vast variety of situations. That the message is 'spiritual', or otherwise beneficial, makes no difference.
Online, everything is subject to the brutal 'blink test' – the lightning fast algorithm our brains apply to a website, magazine article, video short, or anything else, as the infographic explains.
http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/11627
Protect your WordPress website today with these security features
Church Mag reports an increase in attacks to hack into WordPress-powered sites (which these days are 22+% of new website launches, including many church sites). They recommend urgent action to increase the security of all WordPress.org sites.
http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/10620
How to put an introductory video on your church homepage
People expect video shorts. If well-made, these can communicate a lot in two or three minutes. They are ideal for the homepage of a church site. Making a video short is not rocket science, and you'll find a lot of help at Trinity Digital Media and from the books Professional Web Video, and How to Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck: Advice to Make Any Amateur Look Like a Pro. Read more...
http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/10470
Make your church, ministry or nonprofit site mobile friendly
There really aren't any exceptions to this. Your site needs to completely usable on a smartphone or tablet.
If your site runs on WordPress (a great way to go for any sort of site, not just a blog), there plugins such as WordPress Mobile Pack or WP Touch which will set this up for you in seconds.
For other sites, there are various ways...
http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/8980
Getting more visitors to your church or nonprofit site or blog
Practical easy advice to implement on your site or blog. These are not things you need to pay an 'expert' to do, and be very leery of anyone offering guaranteed results or paid-for backlinks (which Google will penalize you for).
Do make sure that every page of your site or blog has separate, visible, sharing buttons for the 'Big 4' social networking options: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+, which will share a ready-made well-worded post about that page, to each site.
http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/8863
Build effective church websites that reach the community
Without a website, a church is effectively invisible. With a website, you potentially create a shop window for the community to peer through. What is on display, especially 'near the glass', is very important.
http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/5876
Church growth advice - an outsider friendly church website can contribute to church growth
It is not uncommon for church websites to be very inward focused and therefore unable to communicate effectively with outsiders in the community.
http://internetevangelismday.com/church-growth.php
Vineyard church website design
How to create church sites that can reach out effectively into the community.
http://internetevangelismday.com/vineyard-church-website.php
Assemblies of God church website design for AG / AoG Pentecostal Church webmasters
This guide explains how to create church websites that are outsider friendly and can reach into the community.
http://internetevangelismday.com/assembliesofgod-church-website-design.php