Your church’s website is a crucial stepping stone for communicating with your community. Whether it’s a long-time member or a new resident to your town looking for a church home, your site is a way to declare who your church is and what’s going on within the congregation. Because your church is a growing and changing body, it’s a good idea to audit your site occasionally to create an optimal experience. Here are a few tips to help you get started on a review your existing site or create a brand new church site design.
The best church websites serve two major purposes: Draw in new people and inform current church members.
Regarding new people, your church website is oftentimes the first thing new people will look into before physically attending a service.
For new people, you should view your website as the front door of your church or the real first impression. Whether through a Google search or seeing an ad about your church on a social media platform, new people will judge your church (good or bad) based on what is presented on the church website.
Regarding your current church members, the church website should serve as a tool to keep everyone informed and offer any tools the church may need to engage with the body.
With this in mind, here are the five most effective elements of a church website:
Include Your Mission and Values
People want to know who you are as a church and what you are all about. Therefore, any effective church website will include the church’s mission statement and values.
Your mission statement should be visible on the front landing page of your site. It should be one of the first things people can see. People will know your church’s primary focus and goal as soon as they arrive on your webpage. Something to keep in mind regarding your church mission statement is that it should be short and straightforward. Effective mission statements are easy to understand and remember.
An effective church website will also include the church’s values. This does not need to be on the website’s front landing page, but the church values should be easy to find. You can include them under a header like “I’m New” or “Who We Are.” Listing your church values informs people about your specific culture. It would be best if you had anywhere from 4-8 values. Anything over eight becomes hard to remember.
Your church values should be brief and immediately connect people to the heart of what you’re all about. People want to know more about who you are before taking the step of physically attending your church, which is why it’s vital to include your missions and values on your church website.
Make It Personal!
Effective church websites will intentionally make things more personal to create a greater sense of connection for people. The first thing to make your church website personal is to include pictures of smiling people. Smiling faces tell the person visiting your website that this church makes people happy. These photos should consist of a mixture of people volunteering on various teams. If people visiting your website can see themselves in the pictures, it makes your website more personal and creates an immediate feeling of connectedness.
Another great way to make your website unique is to include a list of the church staff, bios, and pictures. People want to know who is leading the church and working at the church. Your church website should have a page listing all the staff, their titles and positions, a way to contact them, and their picture. To make it more personal, you can also include a small bio of your staff. You can include their education, experience, and background. You can also make it less formal and have their passions and interests.
Whatever direction you decide, including some information regarding your staff, especially the Lead Pastor, is important. People want to know who is leading the church, why they are in that position, and their story. Effective church websites will help new people feel like they already know the Pastors and leaders of the church before ever walking through your doors.
Make Information Easy to Find
Effective church websites are easy to navigate and present information in a clear way. People should not have to dig to find the information they need. This is why your front landing page should include the most vital information like service times, address & location(s), online service links, and a “What to Expect” section.
For example, people want to know what to wear if there’s a children’s ministry and what will happen when they visit for the first time. You can address all these questions under a “Plan a Visit” or “What to Expect” section.
You do not want to include all that information on the front page of your website since it would take away from the other virtual information. However, you should have a link or a button on the front page that brings people to a landing page with those details. Other things that should be easily accessible on your site are information regarding Small Groups, Student Ministry, Next steps, Volunteer Opportunities, and Past Sermons. Again, these should be excluded from the front page in detail, but there should be a header on the front page with drop-down options where people can go to a landing page to find that specific material.
Social Media and Streaming Links
Another practical element to include in your church website is social media and streaming links. Social media accounts allow people to visually see more about what your church looks like week to week. You can only include so many pictures on a website design. With social media, you can consist of many photos and videos that will help people see and experience what happens at your church.
Social Media is another great tool to show people that your church is a happy place where connection is found. You should also include streaming links for your online services. You can include a “Watch Online” or “Online Campus” button that people can click on to find where to go to stream your online services. Both your social media and streaming links need to be included and accessible.
Utilize Online Giving
Effective church websites will include an area where people can give their tithe and offerings online. You can include either a “Giving Button” or a “Giving” tab on the header of your front page. Those buttons will take you to a landing page explaining what giving is and how to give. You can present multiple options like giving online, through text message, or by cash or check in person.
Here is a list of some great online giving tools:
The overall goal is to make giving simple and easy to use from any device and resources like this can help make that a smoother process for you.
Your church website will inspire people to check out your church in person or cause them to look into other church options. This is why it’s essential to have a church website that is clear, simple, informative, personable, and easy to navigate. Follow the steps above to help your website become more effective!
