Guidelines for inclusion in my directory of web services providers

(Search my directory here.)

This page is obviously addressed to website design companies and web designers, not church webmasters.

Listings are free (to companies), but your company's corporate website generally must adhere to these simple guidelines:

Your corporate website must include address (street or P.O. Box number, city, state or province, and postal code) and phone number(s).

Reason: Church websites should include this important information, preferably on the home page. If you don't have the good sense to put this important information on your own corporate website (somewhere, at least), then I don't have the confidence you'll include it on any church websites that your company designs. Note that I do not insist upon there being an email address on your corporate website. In fact, I don't include email addresses in the listings. This is so that I don't unintentionally help spammers harvest your email address.

(I will make an exception if asked for female freelance designers who work out of their home. This is for their safety.)

Your corporate website must provide information about your services, and the information should be easy to find.

Reason: Church websites should include information about the church and about the Christian faith. If I have to hunt around your corporate website to figure out what is that you do, then I don't have the confidence you'll include this important information on any church websites that your company designs, and ensure that it's easy to find.

You must have church websites in your "portfolio" that I like.

Reason: My list of web services providers is a "select" list and not open to every company or graphic designer who asks. I want to ensure that companies included in the directory can do quality work. I reserve the right to refuse to include any company or person for any reason.

Information on your corporate website must be legible and readable.

If your corporate or personal website is a Flash site with unreadable 6 point body type (for example), then I don't have the confidence you'll design church websites that are legible and readable.

Keep in mind that visitors to your corporate website want information about your company and might be willing to struggle with reading small, illegible body type on your website. However, churches hope and expect to have visitors to their website who come with their personal defense barriers up already. (That is, they're already suspicious of churches and Christianity.) If they can't read the information on a church website, and easily, they'll be gone in seconds.

Website last updated: 30 May 2010 | Email: David Gillaspey