Is Your Website Kosher for Pesach? - April 4, 2012

Is Your Website Kosher for Pesach?

With Passover beginning on April 6, the coming days and weeks are a great time to bring some extra attention to your website, as well as to remind your members of all of the holiday resources available to them. Here are some suggestions:

1. Where's the Chametz?

Just as we turn our pockets inside out and bring a candle and a feather to the neglected corners of our homes in preparation for Passover, so can we take the coming weeks as an opportunity to tidy up our online homes. So, where’s the chametz on your website--and how can you dispose of it?  

• Update outdated content
• Comb through for dead-ends and create opportunities to connect and interact
• Fix and/or remove broken links. There's nothing worse than offering stale references to website visitors. There are a number of free broken link checkers available. Try one.
• Break up copy-heavy content with bullet points and/or graphic elements. If Moses could part the Red Sea, you can part with a few uneccessary words. Free your website from weighty verbosity and make your pages scannable.
• Read from your members’ perspective

2. Get Unstuck

Nothing is written in stone. (Well... almost nothing!) The good news is that your website content not only can but should change to reflect the latest of what’s going on in your community. If you're feeling "stuck” in how you approach the content on your website. What better time of year than this to experience the liberation of trying something new. Choose one area you will focus on and take the first steps towards freedom.

In addition to following the steps in #1 above, be sure to feature all upcoming Passover-related events and activities prominently on your home page. And remember the importance not only of having your calendar and events up-to-date, but also of offering members a next step, e.g. an email address for more information, an opportunity to volunteer, or an event registration form.

3. Who is your Moses?

While you don’t need to have a divinely appointed leader to keep your online presence relevant and engaging, leadership is essential. If you haven’t already, form a communications group that can delegate tasks and get things done. One great place to begin is by looking at your Home Page. Is it welcoming and easy to navigate?

4. Spruce the Place Up

Just as you might place fresh-cut flowers in different rooms around your house or synagogue for the holiday, consider what small gestures would bring color and cheer to your online space. Think of .jpgs and .gifs as spring bouquets by placing bright, community-filled images not only on your Home Page but on landing pages throughout your website.  

5. Encourage Retail Therapy 

There’s no doubt many of your members have some shopping to do before April 6. If you already have a Jvillage website, does your community know that every purchase made through your online Marketplace benefits your organization? From haggadot and cookbooks to Judaica and those final touches for your seder table, your members can do all of their Passover-related shopping online, effortlessly contributing to your revenue.

Include information about the Marketplace in your newsletters, announcements, and Religious School communications, reminding your community to make their Passover purchases online. It is a win-win proposition.  

6. An Orange on Your Website?

Many of us will include an orange on our seder plate, a symbol of what was once thought not to belong -- women on the bimah -- now taking its placeamong the traditional bitter herbs and charoset. Bringing something new to your website can be a great way to start a conversation among your members. 

Consider asking folks to send pictures from their own family seders this year, then create a Virtual Seder Slideshow. Remember that all of the content on your website reflects and communicates your values as a community.