How to get support for a new Lodge website

In this blog, we’ll help you get support for a new lodge website from your Lodge’s existing members.

Since 2011 Masonic Website has been helping Lodges find new members by building them websites or updating existing ones. Launching a new Lodge website can be one of the biggest projects a Masonic Lodge can undertake, not to mention one of the biggest investments (despite MasonicWebsite being fantastic value. See our prices) There can be a lot of unknowns along the way, but one thing is certain: support from the Lodge brethren is a necessity.

One of the most critical steps in launching a new website happens before implementation: first, you’ll have to pitch the idea for a new site to key stakeholders – usually the WM, Secretary and other senior members and/or the Board General Purposes. Knowing what to say and how to say it – as well as anticipating what questions they’ll have – can be the difference between getting the green light or failing to get the project off the ground.

Each of the Lodge stakeholders will have different wants, needs, goals, pain points, and visions for the website. It’s important to cater for as many of these as you can when you pitch the idea. It’s worth mentioning that Lodge membership, and particularly lodge leadership can be of a generation that didn’t grow up with technology. There may be some problems you need to overcome around technology in general, or websites in particular. Don’t assume everyone understands how their tablet/phone/computer works. We have dealt with “problems” that were in fact due to needing to update the OS, poor wifi and a range of others user issues. We have also worked with clients who had Lodge members that were used to looking at poorly designed websites, so we had to explain how modern sites work. Whatever the technical literacy of your Lodge members is, it’s worth pitching it to the lowest common denominator in terms of IT experience.

What if you already have sign off for a new Lodge website?

This blog is specially for those who know that their Lodge or Masonic venue needs a new website, and are trying to get support for it. If you already have the go-ahead for a new website, then find out how the Masonic Website process works.

How to get buy-in for a new Lodge website from senior Lodge members 

Regardless of how busy the Secretary or WM is you’ll need their support no matter what. The website will be the main tool to present the vision and mission for the Lodge, and since they ultimately are likely to have the final say, they’ll be the most important Lodge members you need to convince. Without the support them, this project won’t go very far.

So find a time to sit down with the WM and Secretary and talk about what they envision the purpose of the new website is. Be prepared to explain why your Lodge’s digital presence needs to improve or change, and try to anticipate some of the issues on their mind as well. What might be their frustrations or concerns about your current site if you have one? How do they find its functionality? How can you help them achieve their goals?

Your leadership’s top considerations:

  • How will the website represent the Lodge?
  • How many new members will the site attract?

The website will serve as your face and voice in your community. When meeting with the Lodge leadership, bring some examples of other Lodge websites you admire (there are some great examples of the sites we have built at MasonicWebsite in the portfolio section) including those from the competition if there is any — along with any analysis of the current website if you already have one.

Expect to hear, “Do we really need this?“

It’s no secret that a new or updated website will require a resources involving time, effort, and budget to get the best from it. At some point those who hold the purse strings will need to review the proposed cost. You need their buy-in ahead of everyone else in the Lodge.

How much is this going to cost?

They’ll want to know how much everything will cost, when it’s due, and what the terms of the contract are. Having that information before the meeting will help paint a clearer picture and set expectations. How we work at Masonic Website is laid out in our FAQ’s. If you would like to receive a copy of our process document to help with this conversation then please contact us

What is the ROI?

Whether in the form of anecdotal or qualitative data, the Lodge will want an understanding of the return on investment. It’s important to consider the lens of success through which they might be looking and have examples of ROI. These can be found on the MasonicWebsite site.

Some helpful ways to provide ROI include:

  • Sharing an example of a Lodge who increased membership.
  • Showing a competitor’s new website, alongside their rank in search engines and social media engagement. (We can help with this)
  • Explain how the cost of working with MasonicWebsite is repaid through every new member attracted to the Lodge

How much work is this going to be?

Your leadership will also want an understanding of what will be needed to launch a new website:

  • Who will be involved?
  • What is the timeline?
  • How much help will the website designer provide? Website providers (like MasonicWebsite) have the ability to help vary how much of the workload throughout the website rollout they do. At MasonicWebsite we offer a turn-key solution. We will do everything if you want us to. In fact we can create you a website from just a Summons. Other clients of ours want to be much more involved in the design process. Either way is fine, find out more by dropping us an email

How to Get support for a new Lodge website from technically minded Lodge members 

Expect to hear: “(Insert the most technical phase you’ve ever heard)”

Technically minded Lodge members will want to know the ins-and-outs of all the technical aspects of a new website.

Their likely top considerations:

Is the hosting safe and secure?

Everything we build at Masonic Website

  • Is very quick to load. Site speed (Load times) are a very important ranking factor for Google. google hates slow websites. – We run various tools to make the site fast
  • Has an SSL certificate – Never accept or even view a website without a Secure lock (SSL) symbol.
  • Has regular back ups – We set up weekly and monthly backups as part of our process
  • Use a CDN – This is built into the hosting we use.
  • Uptime/Downtime information – Our sited have an industry beating 99.99999% + uptime because we only use industry leading hosts like 123reg or WordPress.com

Feel free to ask us for any other information in this area to help you build your case!

Do we provide email addresses?

Yes we can no problem. However it is worth considering whether a free, easy to set up, use and transfer Gmail accounts might work better for you. We will talk this through with yu.

How to get buy-in around membership

Expect to hear, “How will this attract more members?”

As your Lodges’s most (only?) powerful marketing tool, your new website will be a critical online space to engage with your community. First impressions matter (visitors will make a subconscious decision about your site in about three to seven seconds). However without a website they literally will never have heard of you.

Membership top considerations:

How will a new site help us boost membership enquiries?

Bring case studies and ROI data (MasonicWebsite can help with this) about similar Lodge’s success.

You might hear “We already have a Facebook to Twitter (X) page.” – Congratulations, this is a tiny part of the overall marketing available to you. However you do not own that, ir is owned by the platform ie Facebook. They constantly change how the platforms work, recent changes on Facebook have lead to peoples feeds being full of pages hey do not follow, whereas only around 20% of followers of a page now actually see posts from that page. Twitter operates in an echo chamber. It’s hard to discover new accounts outside those you are recognised as being interested in. You won’t find new Lodge members via social media.

General buy-in

  • Take the time to talk to your brethren about what they feel sets the Lodge apart. If they feel involved the whole process will run much more smoothly
  • Share ideas and inspiration from other Lodge websites
  • Don’t design by committee – There needs to be a clear, short sign off process for website development or it will take for ever

We can do a Zoom/Teams/Google Google if that will help. 20 minutes to run through any questions Lodge members might have. This is usually unnecessary but can be useful.

How can we bring more attention to fundraising?

Creating a website that celebrates and supports the charity efforts of your Lodge will be a big factor in gaining support for a new website.

  • Share any examples of posts about charity from other MasonicWebsite Lodges
  • Discuss which charities to feature on the site, and what assets (logo’s, images etc) you have for them
  • Propose ideas for how they can be involved in content creation, and ask how they want to be involved

How to get support for a new Lodge website key takeaway

The look, feel and functionality of your Lodge’s digital presence is more important than ever these days – it will be the biggest tool that can help the Lodge grow (or even survive!). But unless all of the stakeholders agree, you’ll have a hard time actually getting started.

The pitches you’ll need to make to your team members and stakeholders will vary. Before meeting with each person or presenting in Lodge or at a BGP, take the time to consider what’s important to the relevant person, and arm yourself with resources (MasonicWebsite can help) that can help you ease any questions or concerns before they arise.

Ultimately building a new or updating an existing Lodge website is the best way to attract new members to your Masonic Lodge. MasonicWebsite has been doing this since 2011 and know how to help you get support for a new Lodge website right through the sign off process. Once achieved, we can have your Lodge attracting new members within weeks.

How to get sign off for a Masonic venue website

At MasonicWebsite we have been building Masonic venue websites for a long time. The process of sign off can be even more complicated. There are even more stakeholders.

We built this impressive website for our clients at Wakefield Masonic Hall in West Yorkshire England. They are delighted, and are pleased that they followed the above process to get support for this new website from the Lodges that meet there. It is worth considering that the cost of the website will be split between the Lodges featured, so it offers excellent value for money. Contact us today to find out more about a new or updated website for your Masonic venue, or for the group of Lodges that meet at your venue

Get Support For A New Lodge Website - Masonic Website. Wakefield Freemasons