Montclair Presbyterian Church

In the past few weeks, in response to discussions at our Web Survey Follow-up meeting, we’ve been working on a big pile of site improvements…

Home page main statement/tagline:
One clear message from that meeting was that we should simplify the ‘big statement’ on the home page. Accordingly, we have…

• shortened the main message considerably
• removed links from the statement (except for Learn More) to make it easier to ‘take in’, while italicizing the key phrases to call attention to them

We’re still on the fence as to whether we should ask the MPC community for ideas on a new statement/tagline, or if we should wait for guidance from the Mission Study team. Opinions welcome!

To increase our ‘social media’ aspect, we have…

• revamped the top nav to give the blogs their own category. This meant combining About Us and Where We Are, but that was a change that made sense anyway.
• added icons directing folks to our YouTube and Flickr resources as well as our Facebook page (and reduced icon size to make the home page less ‘busy’)
• started allowing comments on the Family Living blog, dipping our toes into true conversations with site visitors

To trim the amount of stuff on the Calendar Highlights section (and generally de-emphasize it on sub-pages), we have:

• set up a system to prevent “private” events from showing up on the Calendar Highlights section on the home page. Some non-MPC events will still show up there if they reinforce the idea that we are community-friendly (such as Al-Anon) but generally we’ll be focusing more on MPC
• begun work on moving the calendar to the bottom of the site home page and replacing it (on sub-pages) with a calendar icon that links to the overall Google Calendar

What’s next?
To give our site more of a personal voice — and to encourage folks to drop by — we’re adding a new “Why I go to MPC” section. And we need your help! The following note will be in the bulletin this coming Sunday:

Why MPC?  Please Share Your Story
The MPC Tech Team is looking for ‘Why I go to MPC’ stories/statements that can be added to the MPC website. Could you write one for us?  Your statement wouldn’t have to be long– 100 to 250 words only, please — and it could really help bring new people here on Sunday.  Is is the community?  The music?  The preaching?   Was there a special experience that keeps you coming back?  Just send your statement/story to whympc@mpcfamily.org . Questions?  Please contact Steve McKiernan at spmckiernan@gmail.com, or any member of the MPC Tech Team. Thanks for sharing!

You are heartily encouraged to submit your story.

We had a wonderful meeting with about 15 respondents to the Web Survey on Sunday, June 5th– lots of participation, careful thinking, great ideas. Linda took copious notes that the Tech Team will review at their next meeting; here’s a summary of the main points:

Action Items for the Tech Team

1. make sure the website addresses our two main audiences very well: existing members and new members, most importantly young families.
2. explore ways to make the website more useful to existing members (tools for committees? a more focused calendar?)
3. develop a much more focused message for the home page. We didn’t love the visual design for Edgepoint Church, but boy, it sure is admirably direct and single-minded.
4. once the message has been defined, figure out how to simplify the home page visually (this process lead to a revised design eventually– but the message focusing part necessarily comes first)
5. improve our process for adding new photos to the site
6. work out a strategy to make the site more of a social hub (by allowing comments on weblog postings, for example)
7. keep lines of communication open with community members such as the attendees of this recent meeting

Keeping the Conversation Going

1. we’ve created a Google Group to allow us to send messages to people who attended the meeting or otherwise indicated they’d like to be kept in the loop. We’d keep the messages to a minimum: notices of new blog postings, requests for feedback to specific proposals, etc. Of course, Group members could unsubscribe at will.  And of course we’d be happy to add more folks to the group at their request.
2. we’ll keep updating this weblog with our progress on the action items above, posting ideas, links, questions, etc.

In April of 2011, the MPC Tech Team posted a Web Survey and invited the MPC Community to fill it out. We’re happy to report that we received over 50 responses! We’ll be holding a follow-up meeting with folks to who completed the initial survey to discuss their responses and consider the future path of the website.

Here are the original survey questions:

1. In redesigning our website, the first thing we need to define is our intended audience.  Please select your “top three audiences to target” from this list:
   1. established MPC members
   2. new/visitors who are under 35 yrs old
   3. new/visitors who are 35-45 years old
   4. new/visitors who are 45-55 years old
   5. new/visitors who are 55+ years old
   6. lesbian/bisexual/transgender folks
   7. new/visitors who would bring more ethnic diversity
   8. other (enter your choice below)
2. How should we present ourselves to the audiences you’ve indicated above?
   1. serene and peaceful
   2. established and traditional
   3. hip and cutting edge
   4. young and vibrant
   5. enthusiastically activist
   6. warm and friendly
   7. other (enter your choice below)
3. Which of the following websites fit most closely with the way we should present ourselves?
   1. St. Gregory Episcopal
   2. the current MPC site
   3. West Hollywood Presbyterian Church
   4. Community Congregational Church Tiburon
   5. College Park Church
   6. Edgepoint Church
   7. Mt. Zion Reformed Church
4. When you visit the current MPC website, what do you most often want to do? (Please limit yourself to 2-3 responses)
   1. Find out about upcoming church activities
   2. Learn something about another member or committee
   3. Read Contact (newsletter) online
   4. Access the church membership directory
   5. Contact the church office
   6. Listen to a recent Sermon
   7. View pictures of church activities
   8. other (enter your choice below)