First Presbyterian Church
Spring 2002 Survey Results

For six weeks during April and May, 2002, visitors were invited to complete a brief online survey.  Of the several thousand visitors, approximately 135 accepted our invitation and responded, but not necessarily to every question.  Since some have inquired about the results, the following evaluation is offered.  The survey question as presented is followed by by the tabulated answers.

At the end of the survey is a brief position statement regarding the original purpose of the church website and future plans as a result of this survey.

The Survey

1. Your spiritual orientation is:

2.    How frequently do visit this site?

3.    What country are you from?

4.    Are you a:

5.    Are you:

6.    How are you connecting to the internet?

7.    I am primarily interested in:

8.    I think the site needs more:

9.    If the Sunday service were available live, on streaming audio, would you log on each Sunday morning at 11:00 am CST to listen?
 

10.    If some, (not all) sermons were archived, and you could log on a listen at your convenience through a format such as RealAudio, would you download?
 

11.    Some have requested an automatic notification when the web site is updated.  If this is begun, would you like to be added?  If so, please enter your email in the space provided.  Under no circumstances will your email address be given to anyone else under any circumstances for any purpose.
 

12.    Site Design. The web site was designed with very few photos and graphics so that it would respond quickly.  Some have suggested that the website be redesigned with photographic collages, background wallpapers, different page designs and a new navigation system.  This could be done, but some of these new elements will slow down the response time when pages load (you will wait longer) and require that you learn a new layout system.  What do you think of the current design?

Some observations derived from the survey:

1.    Foreign visitors during the survey were from at least 20 countries.
2.    Of the 14 foreign responders, 12 used 28.8 modems and 2 used 56.6.
3.    US responders were from at least 5 states, 3 colleges and 2 government bodies.
4.    There was an even balance between men and women, ordained and laymen.
5.    Of those expressing an opinion, well over half indicated they came for sermons and theological content, and expressed an interest in more of the same.
6.    The overwhelming majority are content with the site as it presently operates. 
7.    Where blanks were provided for written comments, there were 38 responses: identified as 27 men and 9 women.
8.    Written opinions of the site's usefulness were:
        a.    positive                               23
        b.    constructive                        12
        c.    negative                                3

During the Survey these were the most visited links for May, 2002
The top 25 or so most frequently visited links for the month of May

The Original Mission and Function of the FPC Website. 
 

When the website project was conceptualized five years ago, there was a definite purpose in mind: to create a means of providing information to our congregation on an almost instantaneous basis.  The primary focus was on information; the capability of quickly communicating with our members and providing access to biblical content for spiritual enrichment. Since site construction was, and is, driven by time and manpower constraints, the initial design concept was adapted from a very simple Microsoft FrontPage flow chart template. Since 28.8 modems were the standard at that time, a conscious effort was made to minimize graphics and other elements which impede page loading.

A brief  evaluation of the May monthly usage statistic chart does, in fact, reveal that the vast majority of our visitors who entered the website went directly to the Recent Updates link.  There, many read The First Epistle,  the Current Sermon, or visited other sermon/Bible study links, or went elsewhere in the site.  Indeed, 69 of the survey responders indicated that they came for sermons, 14 for the Epistle, 12 for theological information, and 6 for staff email.

What you told us in the survey.
1. There were suggestions for other format styles we should consider. 
Ans. Many of those ministry sites are oriented more to commercial enterprise than congregational support, which is our purpose in ministry. 
2. There were other suggestions that we include interactivity, digital images of activities, message boards, monthly updates from each church department, pop-out menus, and other cutting edge web design elements.
Ans. Since the church operates a Microsoft-based network, effort will be made to minimize any potential software conflicts. Many of the current trends in web design, especially those which require extensive use of plugins, downloads and special scripts to correctly display, and consequently increase design complexity and download times, are simply not  feasible for extensive use on this site because of the time and manpower constraints.
3. Some indicated that information should be posted in a more timely fashion.
Ans. We will endeavor to improve.

Our conclusion. Based on the response received, the initial intent of information delivery and spiritual nourishment is apparently being met, and not only for members of our congregation, but apparently for hundreds of others as well. For the vast majority of our visitors and users, the current navigation system and basic design scheme are acceptable.

What we plan to do in the future. We will endeavor to continue to provide biblical content, information useful to Christian growth and sanctification, as quickly as possible. Some minor changes will be made, but the site appearance and navigation will not change dramatically in the near future.  Those responders who volunteered their email addresses will, at some point soon, hopefully, be placed on a system that automatically notifies them when updates have been posted. Archived audio for downloads will be considered, but may be some time coming.

We are profoundly appreciative of all who responded to the survey.  If there are additional comments, improvements, or suggestions, they may be directed to the webmaster.