Church websites in July

At home and Abroad

For July I’ve used the theme of ‘travel’ to suggest blog posts and articles which are inclusive to your readers. Summer holidays and the weather at home are two of the most common topics of conversation between friends and strangers alike. Similarly, these topics will engage and interest your usual visitors as well as strangers to your site. By creating a conversation on your website and blog, you are doing online exactly what you would do when meeting people in real life. The weather and holidays are a great way to make small talk, and it leads to more in depth conversations and lasting connections. Not always immediately, but opening up conversations like this is the perfect way to connect with other people. You’re using common ground and beginning a dialogue. By starting off with regular, everyday topics you establish a link with new visitors while still engaging those who already stop by.

St James and St Christopher

July sees two Saints days, both connected to travel, St Christopher and St James. It’s not usual to mark these days in any special way, but the theme does make a good starting point for your blog and website in July. Write a blog with some background information on the lives of these two saints and what they stand for. July is a time when many people are thinking of their summer holidays and you can relate this to the stories of these two saints. Talk about the lives of pilgrims of the past and how we can all take some of their message and spirit with us when we travel. Discuss how we can travel and meet people from other countries and other cultures with a kind and open heart.

No Need to Travel

Many different people from different backgrounds can visit your blog and website and it’s important to engage them as much as possible. Whether your visitors are travelling this summer or not, there are ways to bring them into the conversation. Anyone can be a traveller in their heart. Being involved in community projects and helping others is important and you can ask your visitors to share their stories of reaching out to those in need. This would also be a good place to encourage anyone who is involved in projects helping vulnerable people abroad or those arriving here in need of help, to talk about the work they do. This simple suggestion can spark a chain of events and make your website a place of excitement. This creates a buzz. It allows those who do this selfless work some exposure in the hope that others will follow and it also engages your visitors in the stories created here.

Whatever the Weather

Everybody likes to talk about the weather, or more likely moan about it! While our weather is a constant source of frustration to us, it is also a conversation starter, a way of breaking the ice with strangers and something that unites us. July is the month when some weather traditions that we don’t adhere to anymore, used to be practised. While we don’t still follow these traditions, the topic does make a good basis for your blog and website. It was once thought that whatever the weather is on the 1^st of July would continue through the summer. Thankfully this isn’t necessarily the case! The weather in this early summer month is important to most of us and the summer is when most of us take our holidays. With this holiday and travel theme running through your blog and website this month, you can appeal to a wide audience who can all relate. Talk about the weather traditions and then about how much importance we all put on having fine weather in the summer. You can take this simple starting point in any direction you want – to talk about perspective and misplaced importance, or to talk about how the weather affects our mood and outlook.