5 Things Your Church Website Needs Now
Your church website is the front door of your church. If anyone is thinking about checking out your church, they will go to the website first. This is why you need to pay attention to your church website. Most churches structure their website for their congregations (insiders). But I recommend thinking about the "first-time user" for your website and gear your language and content towards them (the outsider). A weekly review of the website is a must for any church that wants to encourage its congregants to invite their friends to church. Here are five things your church website needs.
A good domain name. Don't use acronyms like acfchurch.com or sfcc.org. Instead, spell out the church's name and (if needed) the location so people can easily find the name and location. (i.e., livingfaith.com or livingfaithwoodstock.com). This will also help your rankings on Google. Use a web domain service to find and purchase your new domain name. Making your church easy to find is step one in reaching people.
Pictures of the people in your church. Stop with the generic stock photos. Show actual people from your church at your church. Smiling faces (not backs of heads) is the best way to show who attends your church, and it builds trust with the people who are checking out your website. Yes, this means you will need to update your website every 2-3 months.
Invitational language. Think of your website like it's having a conversation with someone unsure about coming to your church. Use invitational language instead of informational language. On your site's front page, you could say "Welcome Home." Or "A Place For You." This communicates welcome and invitation. Your subsequent pages could be named "get involved," "about us," or "next steps." All of this language helps engage in conversation with someone checking out your church.
Service times and locations are large and upfront. Please don't make me have to search to find your service time and locations. It would be best if you had this right up front as soon as I see the site – "Join Us Sundays at 10 AM" and then the location. The font should be bold and prominent. Let people know they are welcome to attend. If you have a "what to expect" section, you can add a button below that directs them to information on what to expect, what to wear, what to do with kids etc. Remember, for someone to come to your church, they have many questions that they'd want to be answered first.
Past Sermons. I would never have believed this before, but my lived experience has taught me that people will watch your church online before they ever attend your church. This is why you should have your services (sermons only) available for viewing or listening (via podcast) for those who would like to check out what you say first. Use a YouTube channel and/or Apple podcasts to create a library of past sermons. Put the link to that on the front page so that people can quickly search and watch a few minutes of a message (which is what they'll most likely do).
There are other things to think through about your website, but these are the big 5. Please email coach@abnwt.com if you'd like help with your church website. We are always here to help you.
Jeremiah works as an Effectiveness Coach with the ABNWT District of the PAOC. He is a passionate and creative leader who believes that the church is the hope of the world. He uses collaboration, innovation, and inspiration to challenge churches and their leadership to engage in the only mission Jesus ever sent his church on: making disciples.