What a church website needs: pages, words and photos
A church website needs a handful of pages that stay true week after week: service times and location, a page for newcomers, what you believe, your ministries, sermons, how to give, and how to reach the office or the pastor. The hard part for most congregations is not deciding what goes on the site. It is keeping it current when the volunteer who built it has moved away. Plan the pages around who will update them.
Who uses a church website
A church site has more audiences than a business site, and each comes for something different:
- Newcomers checking service times, what to expect and whether they will feel welcome.
- Members looking up this week's events, last Sunday's sermon, a sign-up or the prayer list.
- People in a hard moment searching for a pastor to talk to, a funeral, a wedding, a baptism.
- Neighbors who need the food pantry hours, the AA meeting room or the polling place.
Your home page should serve the first group above all, because members already know where to find things and will use the menu. Newcomers decide in a minute or two whether to come.
The core pages
Home
At the top: the church name, the service time or times, and the address, in plain text. Under it, a welcome line in your own voice and one button: "Plan your visit". Then this week's events, the latest sermon, and links to give and to contact the office.
Plan your visit
The single most useful page for growth. It deserves its own careful writing, and we cover it in detail in what a first-time church visitor wants to know. In short: what happens on Sunday, how long it lasts, what to wear, what you offer children, where to park and where to go in.
What we believe
Visitors from other traditions want to know where you stand. Write a short, plain summary first, a paragraph or two, then link to your full statement of faith, creed or denomination's statement. If you belong to a denomination, name it and link to it. If you are non-denominational, say what tradition you are closest to.
Ministries
One section for each active ministry: children, youth, adults, seniors, music, outreach, small groups, the food pantry. For each, say who it is for, when and where it meets, and who to contact. If a ministry has not met for a year, take it off.
Sermons
Recordings or videos, newest first, with the date, title, speaker and passage. If you stream on a video platform, embed the latest one and link to the full list. Many churches only need the last few months on the site.
Staff and leadership
Pastor, staff and lay leaders with a photo, a short paragraph and a way to reach them. A personal paragraph from the pastor, in their own voice, does more for a newcomer than a formal biography.
Give
Explain the ways to give: in the service, by mail, by check, and online through your giving provider, with a button that goes straight to it. Add the legal name of the church for checks. If people ask about tax receipts, say when statements are sent; for questions on what is deductible, point them to their own tax adviser.
Events and calendar
One list or calendar that someone actually updates. A calendar that still shows last Easter is worse than none at all.
Contact
Office hours, phone, email, mailing address if different, and a way to request prayer or pastoral care. Say who reads prayer requests, so nobody is surprised.
Pages for life events
Many people find a church when they need a wedding, funeral, baptism or dedication. A short page for each, or one "Weddings and funerals" page, should explain whether you serve non-members, who to call, and what to expect in the first conversation. Keep fees off the page unless you have a fixed policy; "please call the office" is enough.
Photos that help
The best church photos show real people in your actual building:
- The congregation during a service, taken from the back so faces are not the focus
- The front entrance as visitors will see it on arrival
- The children's area, clean and bright
- A fellowship meal, the choir, a service project
Ask permission before posting identifiable faces, and never post photos of children with names attached. Most churches have a simple photo release or announce that photos will be taken at events; ask your leadership what your policy is. Avoid stock photos of strangers with raised hands: visitors can tell, and it undercuts the welcome.
Who keeps it current
Before you redesign, decide who updates what:
- Weekly: the sermon, the events list, the bulletin if you post it. This should be a five-minute job for the office.
- Seasonally: service times for summer or holidays, ministry schedules.
- Rarely: beliefs, staff, history.
If only one volunteer knows how to log in, the site will go stale the day they step back. Pick a setup where the office administrator can change a time or an event from their phone. What a website panel or editor should let you change lists what should be easy.
What to leave out
- A long church history on the home page; give it its own page.
- Inside language newcomers do not know, such as ministry acronyms or room names like "the Fellowship Hall annex".
- Old event flyers and expired sign-ups.
- Members' phone numbers, home addresses or prayer requests with names.
- Several different giving links that do the same thing.
The contact path
Make the office phone tappable and put it on every page. If the office is open only a few hours a week, say when, and give an email that someone checks. A pastoral care line or "If you need to talk with a pastor" box helps people who arrive at your site during a crisis.
What to do this week
- Check that the service time and address are at the top of the home page and correct.
- Remove any ministry, event or staff member that is no longer current.
- Ask the office administrator to change one event on the site, and see how long it takes.
- Take a few photos at an ordinary Sunday service, with permission.
If your church already has a site with good content that has become hard to update, you can see your site rebuilt and judge it before anything changes.