A website is a powerful tool for any church – big or small.
It is a vital means for you to connect with your community and reach a wide range of people. A well planned and strategically built website has the potential to attract new members to your church. A website should be a great tool to communicate information to both current members and your community.
Building a website entails careful attention to details. If you want to create the ideal website for your church, you need to be committed to doing so.
If you already have a website built, just follow through and see if you have done the right thing. Pick up from wherever it applies to you. Let’s get started.
1. Choose a Host and Domain
Basically, in building a website, the first thing you need to do is buy hosting and a domain name. In the past, web development was often a bit more technical, requiring standalone pages to be built and designed using HTML.
Today, many different platforms make the website building process easier and allow you to get very professional looking websites for affordable rates. But since the idea is to help you get it done yourself, several beginner-friendly hosts like Bluehost, Hostinger, and HostGator are also available.
You also need to decide on a domain name, and it’s essential to get this right as many of your members and potential members will probably attempt to type it directly into the URL bar. The domain you choose will be a part of your church’s overall branding. You may be able to get your church’s name, but if not, then you might have to add something more peculiar, like your location to the end of it. Make sure you make it easy to pick and remember.
2. Install Your CMS
If you’re going with a beginner-friendly host, then this makes installing WordPress on your site much more straightforward. Simply go to your cPanel and find an application that is named something like one-click install. Follow the directions on your screen, and it will automatically install WordPress on your site.
It is a pretty simple process, but if you’re having trouble finding your cPanel or figuring out how to install WordPress, make sure you look through your host’s documentation and tutorials. That should suffice.
3. Choose a Theme
Fortunately, there are tons of existing WordPress themes designed specifically for the functionality that churches require. Here are some of the popular church themes.
• Charitas Lite
• WP for Church
• Forgiven Theme
• Risen Theme
• Outreach Pro Theme
• Church Themes collection
Any of the above themes would be an excellent choice for your organization. Most of them are premium, that is, you’d have to pay a token to access them. Charista lite, however, is a free WordPress theme and could work for your church as well.
4. Choose Your Plugins
Plugins are 3rd party applications that you can integrate into your core platform. A plugin allows you to add very advanced functions to your website without hiring a developer to build them from scratch.
You don’t exactly need any plugins for your WordPress site to function, but they can offer additional features you might enjoy. However, almost every site should install Yoast SEO for search engine optimization and Akismet for spam blocking.
Google Analytics is also vital as it lets you see how people are finding your site and what they are doing on the site. Besides the more general plugins, there are church-specific plugins you can also install on your site.
5. Customize Your Site
Planning out your church website is an essential step in the website building process. It helps you determine what content needs to be written, how users will navigate your site, and your overall functionality.
You understand that you’ll need to cater to your current congregation, new members, and other groups you likely have like cell groups, Bible study, or discipleship classes.
After you have the website well planned out, you can begin customizing your site’s visual appearance. Depending on the theme you decide to use, you might upload the theme’s demo content, which will mirror the demo theme. Then, you won’t need to do much as all you have to do simply swap out your content, and you’re good to go.
6. Launch Your Site
With everything all set on your site, it’s time for your site to live. You don’t necessarily need to do a big launch, but if you already have social media pages, you can share the link there.
You should also make sure your members know that the church now has a site, and you’ll be posting events and sermons there regularly.
Building a website for your church doesn’t have to be an arduous task. Using WordPress simplifies the whole process of building a beautiful and functional website.
Even though your church website can bring new visitors through your doors week after week, you need more handy resources to help you follow them effectively after their first visit. With ChurchPad, you can manage your members’ and visitors’ data using our unique tools and features. Don’t fret; it’s just as affordable as hosting your website. Visit our pricing page to learn more about our payment plans. Whatever your budget is, we’re sure you’ll find your fit.
If you have any questions related to building out your church website?
Please ask away in the comment section or contact our support team at care@churchpad.com.