Church websites aren’t designed to be useful. Too many words. Too many clicks to find basic information. Recycled photos and information from years ago.
There’s a difference between having a church website, and using a church website. A church’s website is a communication tool.
Intentionality is the center of a powerful church website. UX and UI, content, and accessibility are a few key concepts to consider after nailing the basics.
The basic must-have list:
1 - Standard service days and start times
Display the standard service days, times, and themes (Bible class, small groups, prayer, evangelistic, etc.) in a high touch area. On the home page, consider “Sunday morning service at 10 a.m. - View all services” hyperlinking to a webpage containing all service details.
2 - Physical address(es)
Where’s the church located? The address should be on the home page next to the service details. Display the entire address including the city and state.
3 - General contact information
A general email address and phone number are ideal. Implement communication channels that make sense for your church.
4 - Footer
Footers are useful spaces to display common information on all webpages. There are a couple of caveats to consider. Use hyperlinks to webpages for frequently updated information (e.g. events, announcements). Use text for standard information (e.g. contact information, physical address).
5 - Biographies
The church’s website isn’t an ideal space to hold leaderships’ well-decorated biographies. Share individual biographies of 200-300 words highlighting relevant contributions to the church accompanied with a link to a personal website.
Developing content
Identify what makes information relevant. Any text on a website needs to serve a purpose. Content needs to be easy to find. Keep the clicks less than 3, preferably 2.
Less content is more.
Write for the everyday human. The information doesn’t have to be dumbed down, but it does need to be digestible. Translate complex jargon into layman’s terms. Think MSG or NIV translation. Don’t KJV us.
Repetition
Refer members back to the church website as much as possible. When church announcements are going out, add in “Visit the church’s website at [domain] to [call to action].” Incorporating the church’s website into a task helps members adopt it.
Great church website examples
Remix Adventist Church is easy to engage with.
Change Church is clean and straight to the point. There aren’t a ton of distractions. The color selections contrast well.
Elevation Church is a pinnacle of church websites. It can be a little overwhelming because there’s so much to engage with, but they do have multiple physical locations and tons of e-campus groups to cover.