When I tried to log-in, I couldn’t remember my password. When I tried to re-set my password, I was told that my email address isn’t registered. So I emailed support with this issue, and this message appeared on the screen after I submitted my issue:

What do you think about this tiered level of support – i.e. pay more for a faster response? Would a plan with a quicker response cause you to pay more for a service?

(For the record, Plaxo responded to my email within the hour – nice work!)

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1. Tweet to beat cancer. Great example of the simple power of Twitter.
2. 50 things that are being killed by the internet. Which of these resonate with you?
3. 10 ways to make the most of Facebook for your business. Steve Fogg suggests these principles equally apply for churches.
4. PDF to Word. Convert a PDF into an editable Microsoft Word document.
5. Six useful books on writing. What other resources have you discovered that have helped you write better?

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I don’t normally click on advertisements, let alone dodgy-looking advertisements like this, but it was late, and intrigue got the better of me.

The page I arrived on screamed ‘scam’.

It reminds me of so many websites I’ve come across (usually unintentionally!) that are selling a weight-loss solution, or a self-help guru, or the world’s best pick up lines (ok, that last site I may not have come across by accident!).

Here’s what part of the homepage looks like:

I’m always wary of a site that offers massive, life-changing promises, by someone I’ve never heard of.

Also, the only mention of Jesus (the reason for preaching, and the means of preaching) is:

“Jesus was a great story teller.  You can be a great story teller too.”

Apparently the creator of this preaching course has learnt some powerful preaching skills in his 32 years of preaching – but there aren’t links to any of his sermons on the site (when I emailed to ask why, the author explained that he doesn’t have the bandwidth to allow mp3s on the site). However, he does address the person who is skeptical – just give him a call on his cell phone!

I hope this isn’t a scam. I hope (perhaps naively) that the guy selling this course actually does have skills in preaching Christ, and does want to share those skills with others.

Regardless of whether or not this is a scam, there’s a lesson here for website creators. Perception is important. It’s not everything (content is important too) but if your site screams scam, it doesn’t matter how good the rest of the site is, or the quality of the content you’re offering – visitors just won’t trust what you have to say.

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If you find these kinds of lists interesting (there’s nothing wrong with that by the way – I love them!) then you might want to check out a couple of other related lists on the TIME website:

• 25 best blogs of 2009
• Best inventions of 2008
• Best websites of 2008
• 25 best blogs of 2008
• Best websites of 2007
• 5 websites you may not know

UPDATE

50 Best Websites 2010

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I’ve been exploring the websites of many churches, and more recently, the websites of church database providers. I think some of them need to realise (or be reminded) that customers (or, if you’re a church – potential visitors) getting in touch with you is a gift. No one is obliged to contact you. It takes effort to make contact. I have to go out of my way to contact you. Even if people are getting in touch to complain, this too is a gift – they made the effort to contact you and to pass on their feedback – and this shouldn’t be treated lightly.

So don’t make them walk over hot coals to contact you.

Here are three examples I’ve recently been frustrated by.

1. The ‘jump through all our hoops’ scenario

I wrote to a company with a question. They didn’t have a phone number or an email contact. Not even the name of a person I could speak with or address my query too. Just a contact form:

What I was writing about didn’t fit into the categories required. There wasn’t a category for ‘other’ – what should I do? I just selected a category I thought was the closest match – which wasn’t very close!

I then had to create an account to submit my question. Weird. Why do I need to create an account to ask a simple question? I then received this email:

Because your reply will be automatically processed, you MUST enter your reply in the space below. Text entered into any other part of this message will be discarded.

[===> Please enter your reply below this line <===]

[===> Please enter your reply above this line <===]

Why? Why should I jump through so many hoops, fit myself into your complicated system, just to send you a simple query?

2.The ‘no option for me’ scenario

A contact form is an appropriate way of enabling people to get in touch with you. But don’t make it restrictive. Either keep the form so broad that anyone can use it, or create enough options for the multiple reasons people might want to contact you. Not like this form:

Which link would I use if I want to enquire about buying the product? Which link would I use if I wanted to write with a question about the features of the product? These contact links are restrictive, and don’t make it easy for the customer to get in touch.

3. The ‘you must give us all your details’ scenario

I’ve discovered this with many of the church database providers. In order to send them a question (e.g. for the research I’ve been doing for the articles I’m writing about church databases), I couldn’t just send an email. I had to complete a long and complicated contact form:

Why? Why do I need to provide all this information just to ask you how much your database costs per year?

If it’s required, say so!

And finally, if you are going to make visitors complete a long form, please at least mark which fields are mandatory (a * is the most common sign for a required field). Completing a form, clicking submit, only to discover that all the fields were required to be filled in and so needing to start again, only adds to the frustration of the experience.

Lesson: don’t look a gift contact in the mouth

Customer (potential church visitor) contact is a gift. Don’t make it difficult for people to give you this gift.

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10 of the best in the Sydney (Anglican) Diocese

• Barneys Broadway
• Church by the Bridge (Disclosure – I work here!)
• Lower Mountains Anglican Parish
• St Faith’s Narabeen
• St Luke’s Liverpool
• St Marks Avalon
• St Marks Pennant Hills
• St Matts Ashbury
• Summer Hill Anglican
• Toongabbie Anglican Church

International Inspiration

There are over 220,000 (and up to 450,000, depending on where you look) websites in the United States alone, providing lots of inspiration for church website design and functionality, not to mention some interesting ministry ideas. These websites are in a league of their own compared with the design and functionality of most sites in Australia, so it wouldn’t be fair to compare them with most of the sites here!

Here’s a list of international sites to explore:

• Bethlehem Baptist Church, United States
• Calvary Christian Center, United States
• Church on the Rock, United States
• College Park Church, United States
• Dulles Community Church, United States
• Gateway Fellowship Church, United States
• Kingsfield Church, United States
• Mars Hill Church, United States
• Park Community Church, United States
• Pembury Baptist Church, United Kingdom
• Soul Purpose, New Zealand
• River City Church, United States

What are your favourite church websites?

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