AS SEEN ON SCREEN

'WITH ALL THIS STREAMING AND ZOOMING I CAN'T REMEMBER WHERE MY PARISH IS'

In the interests of writing a blog I have called up on the screen one church website after another. This is not a wholly new experience for me but I now have a sense of where we are with websites in this unusual year 2020. On-line Christianity has come into its own during the present emergency.

I have long understood that as in so many human enterprises there are good and bad examples, some so good that they indicate a costly professional origin, others not so good. And why not? As a knowledgeable curate once said to me, 'If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing badly.' Sometimes badly is as good as it gets and we have to come to terms with something that's less than satisfactory. We leave improvement to later.

On the other hand (there's always the other hand) it's true that it may be better to have nothing than have a second-rate item. One element in a good church website is a panoply of pictures, pictures of people, that is. Not all vicars come with the looks of Sam Heughan or Gabriella Wilde but some do and they make good pictures. Some even make convincing presenters who would not disgrace a television show. In my local parish church we are lucky. We have capable performers in front of a camera. To see what can be done, go to St Paul's, Old Ford, London, St Mary's Longfleet or St George's, Leeds.

To state the obvious (this is one of my main strengths), the first impression made by a website is likely to determine whether the onlooker goes any further. A prominent 'Welcome' jumping out of the screen (see the St Clement's, Manchester or the St John's, Knutsford website) has the merit of assuring a visitor that he is not dimly perceived as a threat rather than a possible customer. A beautiful picture of some kind, whether of congregational faces or a handsome busy church interior or exterior will do the trick. Visit St Nicholas's parish church, Durham City.

And then there must be ease of access. A visitor to the website who manages to find a way quickly to whatever department or person is of interest is somebody who is already on the side of those inviting him in. He or she is likely to go on to explore the site with an appropriately alert mind. There is then the question of what makes enticing content. Have a look at Knowle parish church, Christ the King, Kettering, St Peter's parish church, Ravenshead, Holy Trinity, Norwich and Holy Trinity, Claygate.

As I say, on-line Christianity has come into its own during the present emergency. That will not stop when we're out of lockdown. We must seriously consider that our websites will give a clear indication, to surfers and others, of what we are or are not about. We have to take opportunity by the forelock.

The cartoon appearing today comes from Ian Barclay, whom I had the privilege of welcoming to my pages when I was an editor. To find out more about the Revd Ian and to see some of his work, go to his website. It's worth a visit. Welcome to the blog, Ian, and thank you.

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