Building "In-House"

If you decide to go for the "in-house" option (and someone else is building it) it's worth asking for an example website to look at first to make sure you're going to get the right results. Also stay hands on in the design process even if you don't understand the technical stuff - ask for regular updates on how things are going.

Advantages of building in-house

• If you have someone with enough time, skill and commitment they can be a great free resource.

• A webmaster that gets involved with church activities is handy in terms of keeping the content fresh.

Disadvantages to building in-house

• Getting a site that looks too "home-made" - whilst it can be quite easy to build a website it is not always easy to meet the required standards.

• If your webmaster leaves you could end up with a site that no-one can work out how to update, or you may be left with a site that can't be removed.

• Whilst in-house volunteers can be very useful they need to be committed to regular updates - if they lose interest or become too busy with other things the information on your site will quickly become out of date which will then reflect badly on your church.

Using Professionals

It is advisable to check out some examples of their work before commissioning a professional designer, and shop around for quotes as prices can vary.

Ensure that you are getting a site that is easy to maintain and update

Advantages to using professional web designers

• If you pick the right designer you should get professional results

• Most professional designers offer technical support once your site is up and running.

• Professionals should be experienced in search engine submission  - it won't matter how good your site is if no-one can find it!

Disadvantages to using professional web designers

• Cost - some web design companies can be prohibitively expensive

• Using professional web designers ought to give you good results however it is our experience that the results can be variable - a site may look nice on the surface but some designers do not work to an adequate level of accessibility and many do not adhere to the W3C web standards.

At Christian Web Solutions we believe that every church deserves a good website and will do our best to help whatever your budget.

Content Management or "Click and Build" sites

Some companies offer something called a Content Management System (CMS) otherwise referred to as "Click and Build" - A CMS is a software package that allows you to create, edit and publish web pages without needing to learn how to code (though a basic knowledge of HTML is handy). This method offers a web based editing interface that works in a similar way as webmail packages.

Advantages to using CMS

• Much less technical knowledge is required

• No additional software is required

• Some packages provide a range of design templates to chose form

• Changing the look of your site is simple to do without affecting the content

Disadvantages to using CMS

• There can be hidden support costs if you need help

• Some companies will charge you an annual fee to use their systems

• If you have a specific design in mind you may not find an appropriate template

Christian Web Solutions prefer to build using a CMS called Drupal - we charge a one off fee for designing and putting together your site for you (as opposed to just giving you a software package and leaving you to it). Technical support is free and hosting charges are small.