Building and Managing Your Website

Technology and Social Media
 
Today, synagogues are beginning to understand the importance of the various social media tools available to them.  Facebook, Twitter, blogging and email are all becoming important tools as we work to create greater engagement and reach into our communities. And at the heart of all these communication tools, both offline and online is the synagogue’s website. All of your communication should invite people to a deeper and richer conversation that is centrally located through your website. But who in your organization manages the development and updating of your site?

We conducted research that showed that synagogues are successfully managing both the building of their website and updating of information on their sites in very different ways. For instance, we found that the majority of synagogues built their existing website through either a lay person with experience or they hired an outside professional. The day-to-day management of the site was primarily handled by internal staff.

But one of the surprises we saw in our research was that while most of the synagogues are satisfied with the website they have today, they indicated a strong desire to add new features to their sites that would make them more engaging and help to connect with the community.

The shift from a website that provides basic information to one that truly engages a community requires the rethinking and restructuring of how synagogues have been managing this process. And building a truly engaging site, and managing that site are two very different functions. Where should those functions live in a synagogue structure today?  Should there be a website committee?  Each synagogue will answer this differently depending on the size of their community, the interests of lay leaders and the interests of key staff.  

Here are a few things to consider as you think this through:

Building a new website.  It’s an iterative process; there will always be new technology, new people, new programs, shifts in you membership demographics, changes in our larger society. Beyond updating, plan on a redesign at least every three years to present your organization as current and welcoming as possible.  

·         Consider the creation of a website task group to take this on. It’s one of the most effective ways of building involvement in the community and getting new ideas and actions into play. This is not a standing committee, but a task group that has a life of six months. And the website task group reports directly to the board.

                  The six month time frame should breakdown into 4 phases:

·         community input and research - 1½ months

·         website outline/architectural planning - 1½ months

·         build the site - 1½ months

·         populate the site with your content and test launch the site - 1½ months

·         The website task group should be comprised of six to eight members of your congregation (remember the larger the group the longer the process). These members should be the most tech-enthusiastic members of your congregation, mixed with one professional staff and one or two non-technical lay persons who represent your target demographics.

·         The process must begin with seeking input from your membership. What does the membership want from a website? The more input into this process the greater opportunity for success and launching an engaging website that your community will use.

·         Once the site is launched, this task group should be recognized with a special Shabbat service, followed by the formal announcement of the site. Although this group has completed their work, most synagogues will find that several members of the task group will volunteer to move over to the committee now responsible for the management of the site. Again, utilizing task groups with limited scope projects is one of the most effective ways of building involvement in the community.

Maintaining an engaging website.  The overall desire for engagement that already exists in your community, combined with the right online engagement tools results in an effective website for membership engagement. One will constantly be raising the bar for the other. With an engaging website, managed by different people in your congregation, you will see an overall increase in your reach and effectiveness.

·         Overall website management should be under the direction of a committee that is engaged in outreach and community building. It should not live with a technology committee. And one professional staff member should be assigned to support this commitment.

·         Each committee in your organization should have a member that is responsible for updating their section of the website (including the board).  

·         The Hebrew school should be one of the most active users of the site: Individual teachers can create member groups for their classes, informing parents of progress, assignments, upcoming events and presentation of recent projects.

·         The clergy also should be active contributors to the site.

Set up a dedicated task group to provide your synagogue with the site your community wants and needs. After all, your website is a key entry point into your community. How to start the process? Look for a platform that is easy to maintain, has the online tools you need now (and provides room to grow), and you’ll thank me in the months ahead for this one -- that allows unique logins for access to maintain only certain sections of the site. Get the right people writing the content while not giving them access to areas that could bring the site down. With that, Happy Holidays.