Creating A Mobile Version Of A Church Website

The future is mobile. With research showing an on-the-go culture spending more time on their mobile devices than in front of their computers (Pew Research, April 2009), reaching these people in motion should be a key strategy for any church.

One of the biggest changes that have resulted from this movement is the use of mobile devices to access the Internet. This has spawned a new micro-industry for mobile websites. Churches with existing websites should pay attention to this trend, but they should also follow some practical wisdom when making a mobile version of their sites.

Content and Speed Top the List
In keeping with the consistency of websites, mobile sites should focus on the most relevant content such as contact information, directions, upcoming activities and searchable text. By providing simple navigation through text menus, these main mobile requirements can be met with easy, clickable links.

Equally important are fast-loading pages. On mobile devices that typically operate at slower bandwidth than most computer connections, this is a top priority. Easy ways to ensure fast load times include using simple text-only links and also limiting the number and size of images on the page. Some experts even recommend avoiding images altogether to ensure minimum page loads.

Keep It Simple
Using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a best practice for building mobile sites that are easy to use. Good design tips, such as not using horizontal scrolling and a two-page maximum for content, provide an excellent framework for displaying the mobile site on a wide variety of devices.

In keeping with the simplicity, using scripts, such as Java, or Flash animations are not recommended because they do not load on many mobile devices. Other things to avoid are the use of frames and tables, as they can display inconsistently from device to device.

Using Unique Mobile Domains
One of the most common ways to host a mobile site is to use a unique sub-domain, such as m.churchwebsite.com. By doing so, users will experience much faster load times compared to using the main church website. Additionally, it's a good idea to set up an automatic redirect on the main website URL when a mobile device is detected by the server. In this way, mobile users can simply type in the church website URL and be seamlessly transferred to an optimized mobile experience. If contact forms are used, adding security and even a "cookie" to remember user credentials is a recommended best practice for ensuring confidentiality of the user.

Applying Mobile Wisdom
Several churches have created solid examples to learn from and possibly even emulate. Though similar, each has taken a slightly different approach.

• New Hope: m.enewhope.org
• LifeChurch.tv: m.lifechurch.tv
• Seacoast Church: m.seacoast.org
• Henderson Hills: m.hhbc.com
• National Community Church: m.theaterchurch.com
• Northside Christian Church: www.mynorthside.com

Several companies have products specifically focused on creating mobile websites.

• MobiSiteGalore - mobisitegalore.com
• MoFuse - mofuse.com
• MyChurchMobileWebsite - mychurchmobilewebsite.com

The potential impact of leveraging this relatively simple technology may be even more significant than when churches first started leveraging websites. In a culture that thrives on anywhere, anytime information, the future certainly looks mobile.