Easter is prime opportunity to reach people in your community who may be looking for a church to worship with on Easter or other related activities Easter weekend.
Many churches recognize this and want to put information about their Easter services and events online.
What’s the best way to do this?
There are basically three options:
- Add a webpage to the church’s existing website.
- Create a microsite specifically for Easter.
- Create a landing page specifically for Easter.
Let’s take a closer look at these options and the pros and cons of each.
1. Add a Webpage to the Church’s Existing Website
The new page will have the same domain name, theme, and menu as the rest of your church website. Usually a URL like mychurch.org/easter is chosen.
This gives your Easter page consistent branding with the rest of your church website, and it will be easy for people who come to the Easter page to click around to the rest of your website and learn more about your church.
Adding a web page is also the easiest option to implement with a website builder or content management system.
2. Create a Microsite Specifically for Easter
A microsite is a small, website with a handful of pages. It typically has its own domain name (e.g., EasterAtCalvary.org) and a different theme from the church’s main website.
Because it has a different domain name and theme from the church website, there will be some disconnect between your church and your Easter events. In fact, I would only recommend a microsite if you are intentionally trying to downplay your church’s role in the Easter events. This doesn’t make sense for promoting Easter worship services, but it could make sense if your church does an Easter Eggstravaganza or Easter Cantata as an outreach to unchurched people.
A microsite might also be a good option if on Easter you are launching a big new series or initiative. For example, a microsite would be good if your church is kicking off a sermon series about evidence for the resurrection with supplemental book study, Bible study, or discussion groups. Another example: a church is launching an initiative to proclaim the gospel and serve the poor in the city of Springfield, a microsite called RiseSpringfield.org might help people in other churches or no church at all connect with this initiative.
Because a microsite is its own separate website, there’s more work involved: registering a domain name, installing/building the new site, finding or designing the theme, and so forth.
3. Create a Landing Page Specifically for Easter
A landing page is a hybrid between a adding a page and creating a microsite. The page is added to the existing church website, so it would have a URL like mychurch.com/easter. But because landing pages are designed to promote one specific thing and illicit one specific response from the visitor, they usually omit a lot of the options and information that might be on other pages of the website.
For example, some church websites have a sidebar with a place to subscribe to the newsletter, a graphic promoting small groups, maybe a list of upcoming events, or the latest blog posts from the pastor. This sidebar would not be on an Easter landing page. In fact, many landing pages are so focused, they don’t even have a navigation menu.
An Easter landing page is a good option if you want people to take one specific action like ordering tickets to an event, subscribing to an email list, or filling out a contact form. It’s OK but not ideal for branding. And it’s definitely not a good idea if you want people to visit the rest of your website and learn more about your church.
It’s important to note that not all website builders and content management systems support landing pages. If you’re considering this option, read the help pages or ask your website developer/provider first.
If your website system does support landing pages, the amount of work involved with creating a landing page is usually a little more than a regular web page and less than a microsite.
Which Option Is Best for Your Church’s Easter Outreach?
For most churches, adding an Easter web page to their existing website makes the most sense. But hopefully, this article provides a good sense of those circumstances in which a microsite or landing page would be a better option.
More:
Our Courageous Storytellers membership site is focused on Easter this month. Check out our plethora of Easter resources and join now to get access.
