Christian Websites - Three Things to Avoid When Building a Christian Website

With so many Christian, and so-called Christian websites out there, the coveted first page position, as with any website, will have to incorporate a few different strategies for success; i.e., targeted SEO (search engine optimization), relevant content and reciprocal backlinks, etc. This is all academic though from a professional's point of view. However, aside from all that, the following three tips will help you in any current or future Christian website project. Finding trustworthy website development software and online hosting can be confusing and needlessly expensive. So, in your search consider this advice from the pros:

1. Beware of scams. There are many website design companies out there that will allow you to develop a website and provide hosting for a fee. Usually for around a $1,000 dollars you can use one of their pre-made site templates that, although may look modern and professional, will be very limited in customization and design change flexibility and/or SEO customization. Also, in addition to the template fee, a hosting fee of around $30 dollars per month, not including all the extras such as more storage space, special programs like a calendar, or picture upload and video capabilities will be charged. This all adds up to a hefty monthly overhead cost that's totally unnecessary. By learning from a reputable online website development course, your overhead costs with all the bells and whistles included will never have to be above $20 dollars per month.

2. Look for storage space.  There are many website development/hosting sites out there that offer very little storage space. This is very important to Christian websites because without proper storage space your site will not be able to upload pictures and videos, have music, sermons or teachings available for download, or be able to incorporate an editable calendar, just to name a few. I've seen development/hosting sites out there that only give you a measly 250 or so Mega Bytes of storage. A well designed and useful Christian website needs at least 1 to 2 Giga Bytes of storage space to be of any real value to its congregation and those on missionary assignments.

3. Be sure of design flexibility and the ability to incorporate full search engine optimization customization.   For future growth, design flexibility is an absolute must. The internet is always changing as well as the needs of your congregation. A ready-made website template may not allow you the future flexibility you'll need. Also, many ready-made website templates will not allow you to incorporate search engine optimization and keyword strategies for your site, leaving you hopelessly lost in cyberspace and un-findable in search engine searches such as Google or Yahoo.

From all the research I've done, the best thing to do that ensures the least expense with the most long term value is finding a good online course that teaches you how to build a website from scratch and includes hosting. This way your custom website will have total flexibility for growth and design changes or additions as well as practically unlimited storage capacity. And all this should be available for around $10.00 per month-never more than $20.00 or so dollars per month with all the storage space, bells and whistles, or extras available once your website is created. Doing it yourself and learning how is your best bet. It's the choice I made and I'm glad I did. It saved me thousands of dollars in creation costs and saves hundreds per month in hosting fees. Most reputable online courses charge between $300-$800 dollars and provide email access to the instructors for help.