As we emerge from winter and move towards spring, we also move through the season of Lent - a time of reflection, prayer, and contemplation. In the time of the church, Lent is a time of preparation, of looking forward. We also look back on the sacrifice made for us. We bring this into the present - the here and now.

In the life of a Christian webmaster and our churches and ministries, Easter plans are being laid out. During this time, our intention is to strip away the things of this world and simplify. For some, it is a time of fasting - giving something up, maybe even some of your digital connections - a digital fast.

Let us not just put our technology aside for a while, let us think deeply about how these avenues and channels can have a positive impact on our lives and the lives of others. I suggest adding something more (giving something extra) to your practice during these 40 days - reflecting on your church website and social media accounts and their content.

Lord, give us knowledge, wisdom, insight, and discernment as we contemplate your Word and your work in this generation.

Lord, give us the gift to see ourselves as you see us, and others as you see them.

We spend a lot of time online - our phones, our computers, our televisions, and our cars are all connected. Do we let them shape us, or do we shape them? What is our role in shaping what others encounter and experience as they are online? How much time is spent in choosing how we spend our time online?

Let's start simply - review and evaluate the content you already have online. Just minutes a day throughout the season will generate a lot of momentum. What would happen if you set aside 10 minutes a day for 40 days to focus on a single page on your website? If you are getting 8 hours of sleep a night, 10 minutes accounts for just 1% of your waking hours. If you have a 1% improvement over the previous day every day for 40 days, your net increase after those 40 days will be 48.9%. Let's get started!

Is the information on your website accurate and complete?

First, let's start by looking at every page on our websites and making sure all the information there is still correct. Don't do all the pages at once - pick one and really examine it closely. For now, let's focus on the pages about Lent, if you have one (you should, by the way). If you don't have a page dedicated to Lent, look at the page where you list your worship times and other opportunities to gather. Each week, pick another page and reflect on the story it tells. What has changed since it was posted and needs to be updated? What needs to be removed? What needs to be added? Are the dates, times, places, and names correct? Run spellcheck - is everything spelled correctly? Check the grammar - the words could all be spelled correctly, but the wrong word was chosen.

What content can we give up? What content do we need to add?

How readable is the content?

Read the pages out loud - how does it sound? Does it flow? Does it make sense? How many words do you need to look up in a dictionary? Ask other people to read the text and give you feedback. Choose people from a variety of age groups, education levels, cultural groups, and familiarity with your church and the Gospel. It's one thing if you understand it; quite another for someone else to understand it.

How many words are there? How many words should there be? Short answer - enough to cover the topic. At a minimum, though, there should be around 250 words for the main content on a page. Some types of pages could go much higher - upwards of 2,000 words or more. Make it too long and people stop reading. Keep it too short and people go elsewhere for more information.

How is the content organized? Using headings and bullet points helps people find important information more quickly. Long, run-on sentences and paragraphs mask the important information you're trying to convey. Make sure there is enough 'negative' space so readers can pause in between topics and ideas.

Who is our intended audience? How are they perceiving this?

Are the links on the pages accurate and helpful?

Next, what links are there on the pages? Where do they lead? Do they all work? Every visitor to a web page is looking for "what's next?". Do a little deeper examination - what is the link text, the link title, and the target of the link? Links are connections - does every page relate to at least 1 other page on your website? How do they relate? Have you connected them (with links)?

What pages link to this page? How do people find this page? Are people finding this page? Which other pages on your website link to this page? Ask the same questions about the links on those pages - is it clear where the link is taking them and why? Have you shared this page on your social media accounts lately? If it's worth putting on your website, it's worth sharing.

What links do we need to give up? What links do we need to add?

Are the images on the pages compelling and relevant?

We are visual beings and photos are attention-getters. The best images you can use are ones that really reflect who you are. What images are used on the page? Are they 'scroll-stoppers' - would you stop scrolling through your Facebook or Instagram feed to look at them more closely? Don't use stock images - find someone within your organization with a passion for taking photos and have them capture pictures of your people and the activities you have. Check lighting, clarity, composition, colors, orientation and size of your photos. Check out some best practices and recommendations on this wiki page - Images. Use variations of the images as header images and profile images on your social accounts.

What images can we do without? What images could we add?

Does the style match your other published materials?

Having a consistent style between all your publishing outlets helps unify your message and builds trust with your readers. Things like logos, images, colors, fonts, common terms to use - and not use - in your materials all contribute to your brand. Churches have compiled complete style and brand guides for their communication teams to help with consistent branding and identity. Here is one from Saddleback Church and another from Life.Church.

Does the message from your website match the message and tone heard and seen in your worship space?

Where else does this content exist?

Check Google My Business, Bing Places, Yelp!, Facebook, Instagram - especially if we're talking about times and events. If office hours are changing, make sure they are in sync across all the various places that display it.

For those that do practice a digital fast, how can they get this information? When would be the time to get this to them?

What now?

Whether you start before Lent, during Lent, or after Lent, investing some time in deep reflection on your church website will be productive. I know that going through this exercise for Christian Web Resources has produced many things for me to do, which can be daunting - if I try to do this on my own.

Go in peace - serve the Lord.