Should Staff Photos be on Your Church Website?

Imagine yourself in this position: you are new to the area and looking for a church to visit. As you look through several church websites, you click through the pages trying to get a feel for who that church is and what programs they have available for your family. As you click on the staff page, what are you expecting to see? What do you hope to get out of this page?

There’s something about knowing who the pastor is, age-specific ministers are, and even how large the staff is that makes the church feel more welcoming and personable. However, while including a staff page on your church website may seem like a no brainer, what to include may be another story. Take a look at a few pros and cons of including photos on this page, as well as some staff page tips so you can create an effective church website.

Pros and Cons of Including Staff Photos on Your Church Website

There is no black and white answer when it comes to adding church staff photos on your website. However, here are a couple of pros and cons to help you make the best decision for your church.

Pros

• Familiarity: Including photos of your staff automatically makes your pastors more recognizable and familiar for guests. This could be reassuring to families looking for the children’s pastor or just visitors wanting to meet the teaching pastor. We love how Redemption Mount Holly included photos of the whole family for familiarity’s sake.

• Role Clarification: When you include photos of staff, you can also clarify who they are what their exact role is. This not only creates unity and understanding among the staff but also helps members and visitors know who to turn to for specific situations.

Cons

• Harder Updates: When you include staff photos on your church website, it’s crucial that they look professional and consistent. So, if you choose to not include them, updating your staff page when turnover happens becomes so much easier. Take a look at how The Neighbor Hood Church has created a great staff page without photos.
  
• Legality: Anytime you include photos on your church website, you open yourself up to legal issues if not done correctly. When including staff photos, you must have written permission from that person to be legal. Sometimes, it’s easier to take the safe route and exclude the photos here.

How to Create an Effective Staff Page

Whether you choose to include staff photos on your church website or not, there are a few key things to keep in mind to make sure your staff page serves the purpose of letting people know about who you are as a church and as the people who serve there.

• Keep it updated: Transition and turnover will occur at your church no matter the size. So, when it does, be sure to update your staff photo with new position information and new people as they join your staff.
• Include a biography: Site visitors land on this page because they want to get to know your staff better. Be sure to include a brief biography. Don’t be afraid to make this fun!
• Connection information: It’s a good idea to include staff email addresses and social media handles on this page so that they can be found elsewhere on the web, too.
• Get permission: Lastly, be sure that you have permission from each staff member to use whatever information you choose to post on this church website page.

Find more examples of staff pages for inspiration in our list of 20 amazing church website templates and themes.

Also, for even more details on creating a church staff page, check out this article.