Building a church website can feel like a huge, overwhelming task. Not only do you need to make decisions about which platform to use, what your church website goals are, and what the design needs to look like, but somehow you have to figure out what church website pages to include too.
However, before you put in your two weeks’ notice and never look back, let us help you break it down into easy, manageable pieces. Choosing the right church website content for your site is actually a lot simpler than it may seem. Churches are all different, but there are seven church website pages every church needs.
Take a look at what those pages are, what the goal of each page is, and what elements to include below.
7 Church Website Pages To Include On Your Site
1. New Here? Or “I’m New” Church Website Page
Goal:
The goal of the I’m New church website page is to give visitors the information they need to take their next steps. This page should be a mixture of welcoming, relevant information that encourages people to visit your church.
Elements to Include:
- Location information
- Service times
- A FAQ or “What to Expect” section. Answer the following questions as a starting point:
- What should I expect to happen when I arrive?
- Where do I park?
- What are your worship services like?
- What is the typical attire?
- Is childcare available?
- A welcome video (Take a look at this great example)
2. About Page for your Church Website
Goal:
Think of your church’s about page as a bio, resume, and mission all rolled into one. This page should give guests an idea of who you are and what your purpose is. Check out this article for more details.
Elements to Include:
- Brief church history
- Mission and vision statements
- Beliefs
- Location and times
- Membership information
- Information about your pastor and a link to your staff page
- Tell who your pastor is (link to a bio)
- Contact info and/or a contact us form
3. Church Website Giving Page
Goal:
Your church’s giving page should communicate why tithes and offerings are important, what the money goes towards, and should make giving online as simple as humanly possible.
Elements to Include:
- A “Give Now” button
- Branding that matches the rest of your site
- Security information
- Scripture about why tithes are important
- Specifics on what the money goes towards
- Budget and annual giving information
4. Staff & Leadership Church Website Page
Goal:
The goal of the staff page is to introduce site visitors to your staff so that they will recognize faces and feel more comfortable when they attend your church. It’s always helpful to sort the staff by ministry areas (i.e. children’s ministry staff, executive staff, etc.)
Elements to Include:
- Name
- Position
- Contact information
- Staff Photos (or not)
- Individual mission/purpose statements
- Background information
5. Sermons and Media Church Website Page
Goal:
When you upload your sermons online, visitors can get a better idea of what to expect before attending, members can listen to sermons they may have missed, and the message of the Gospel can be heard anywhere that people have access to the Internet.
Elements to Include:
- Sermon audio
- Sermon video
- Notes/Outline
- Sermon series information
- Date of sermon
- Filters (to search by theme, preacher, etc.)
- Live stream content
6. Events
Goal:
Keep people in the know by providing details about all of the events happening at your church.
Elements to Include:
- Event specifics (date, time, location, cost, etc.)
- Childcare information
- Sign up forms
- Calendar and list views to make events easily findable
Psst! You can save yourself from duplicating efforts when you integrate your church management software.
7. Ministry-Specific Pages
Goal:
Inform website visitors about each of the specific ministries in your church. Each of these pages should give an overview of that ministry as a whole.
Elements to Include:
- Ministry objectives/goals
- Specific event information
- Security information where relevant (i.e. children and student ministry pages)
- Staff information
- Contact information
A Final Thought
As you continue to plan out your church website pages, make sure to be as concise as possible. According to Nielsen Norman Group, new visitors to a website spend on average less than a minute reading the site. So, work to provide the needed information, but do so in a way that is easily skimmable and digestible.