How to make a web page

by Rev. Dr. Arne H. Fjeldstad

A Web page for evangelism can be

1. just like any other web page presenting yourself, your family, work, hobbies, your cat or dog (or whatever pet you might have), your car, topics of special interest to you, in short: whatever you choose. You do not need to address religious issues at all on the start page. However, such a page (or pages) serve as an introduction to friendship and should offer links to other pages with more about your life and faith.

2. a general interest page without any explicit "gospel message" but challenging people to consider their own view and prepare them to read on with an open mind to pages with clear Christian content.

3. a page presenting a Christian "angle" to popular issues of general interest challenging people to consider their own view and attitude.

4. a page with one or more testimonies of how people encountered God.

5. an apologetic page aiming to answer questions about the Christian faith and/or Christian life and ethics.

6. an "easy to understand" page explaining the gospel in simple, relevant terms.

7. a page with a novel, fiction story, a fairy tale, etc. introducing or alluding to basic stories from the gospel.

8. an evangelistic Bible study.

9. a Bible quiz, or questions related to Christian issues, etc.

10. a questionnaire on topics of general interest, science, life, ethics, etc - with an automatic opportunity to read your view after filling in the form.

Remember; you have probably less than one minute (60 seconds) to catch the visitor's interest! If he or she becomes interested and curious enough to click on, you need to continue to stimulate the visitors curiosity and keep your pages short and easily read. Every page must aim at keeping the reader's attention. And, always give the visitor an opportunity to interact with you on each page via e-mail, signing a guest book, filling in a questionnaire, etc.

A few more suggestions

1. General

• Aim at dialogue, not confrontation. Internet is for interaction, not one-way proclamation.
• People (and their stories) are often much more interesting than philosophical ideas
• Be personal but not private. A nice picture of you can help people become more open and find it easier to send an e-mail.
• Try to answer the journalist's questions; who, what, where, why, when on your pages.

Register your web site (or different pages depending on the topics) with the major search engines. Use many popular words as meta-tags (hidden "keywords" used by the search engines) to attract attention. Don't forget to mention your web site (or special pages) to friends in e-mail groups, etc.

2. Language

• Watch your language, keep it simple. Avoid "slang" and idioms. Quite a number of your visitors may not have English as their first language.
• If possible try to make the page available in other languages.
• A good sense of humor is always welcome.
• Don't be "preachy"
• Always explain Christian words when you need to use them.
• Have somebody read the text with a constructive critical mind.
• Always use the spell checker!

3. Layout

• Funny illustrations and pictures stimulate the visitor's curiosity.
• "Neutral" illustrations are often better than Christian symbols.
• Keep the pages short and easy to read. Don't be afraid of open space.
• Avoid "heavy graphics" that may take a lot of time to download. Don't overload your page with graphics and illustrations.
• Consider carefully when to use Christian symbols.
• Let the visitors decide if they want to listen to music when they enter your site.