Matt Sanders, pastor of family ministries at Journey Christian Church in Apopka, Fla., said navigating the church’s old website on his iPhone and iPad was an ordeal.
“The website was built for a desktop-computer screen, but everyone is on their cellphones or tablets these days," said 28-year-old Sanders. “When you read it on an iPhone, the text was too small. You had to scroll all over the place to see the content because it didn’t fit on the small screen. It didn’t represent who we were as a growing church."
Church leaders looking to grow their 1,800-member congregation in innovative ways turned to a Web-development agency for a solution. The company built the church what’s known as a responsive website, which shapes itself to the screens of all personal computers and mobile devices.
“The new website is more enjoyable," Sanders said. “There’s less clutter, and it’s easier to see on a phone without having to fight to get to it."
As the shift toward mobile continues to fuel the development of hundreds of smartphones and tablets of varying screen sizes, Web designers are working to craft websites that fit perfectly on any device.
“I strongly believe it’s the future of the Internet," said 35-year-old Web developer Jody Resnick, founder of Ocoee, Fla.-based Trighton Interactive, which created Journey Christian Church’s site. “I think apps have a shelf life of a couple more years because they are so fragmented. It’s also easier for most companies to address all devices at once with a responsive website instead of an app for every platform."
Resnick said that more than 25 percent of the Web traffic the church receives comes from tablet users.