The 7 Things Your Church Website Needs
The 7 Things Your Church Website Needs
Building a Guest-Focused Website
Social media is excellent, but most churches have forgotten the importance of their websites.
Great social without an excellent website is like having the best fishing boat money can buy but forgetting to upgrade your net. You'll still get fish, but more are getting out than you could ever realize.
1. A Mobile-First Design
According to Oberlo, as of December 2023, 56.1% of all web traffic came through mobile phones. A stat that further qualifies the significance of the point I’m going to make is the chart below showing that 91% of those 30-49 and 85% of those 50-64 years old are using their smartphone to do searches on the internet.
Having a website is a great start, but if it's not easily accessible or optimized on a smartphone, you’re missing a significant opportunity to reach new people in your community.
2. Header Background: The First Thing They See
A high-quality photo of the people in your church smiling and interacting with each other.
OR
A video that highlights the whole experience and focuses on the people. A worship/preaching recap is excellent, but that's not the entire experience. Show what the welcome is like. Show the coffee shop. Show the check-in for Sunday School. Show happy families talking. Show the worship. Show the preaching. Show everything!
I highly recommend hiring someone from your local district to take photos/videos and edit this if you don't have someone from your church. It is 100% worth it and will help guests more easily decide to come to your church. Yes, you can also use your smartphone to get someone to help you edit.
3. Call to Action: Plan Your Visit
Create a button that is placed on the header and navigation bar.
This should lead to a video or series of photos that walk a guest through the experience of visiting for the first time.
For example, your pastor says, "Thank you for your interest in attending [insert church]. If you're coming from this direction, then..." Then b-roll, or photo, of the outside of the church. "When you walk into this entrance..." Then b-roll, or photo, of someone walking in and being greeted.
The guest should be able to put their name, phone number, or email, whether or not they have children and the date they plan on coming.
This should send a notification or email to someone on staff who needs to follow up as soon as possible. Tell them by text or email: "Hey, [Guest Name}! This is Chris from [Church Name]. We're excited to see you on Sunday. I'll be at the check-in booth with your gift at the big orange wall on your right when you come into the church. Please let me know if you need anything before then!
This is where most churches drop the ball. But guess what? This is your opportunity to change things for your church and start getting more people to visit for the first time than ever before.
Most people will not take action unless you ask them to. So ask them! A clear call to action is crucial in your efforts to convert online searchers into first-time guests.
4. Podcast/Sermon Library with Summary
The largest content source is Sunday Worship Service, typically the gateway for most new guests. Create additional opportunities for prospects to walk through the gate.
Getting your sermons on your website presents an ample opportunity.
I recommend using a tool like Spotify for Podcasters (formerly Anchor). In my opinion, that's one of the most accessible tools to distribute sermons as a podcast.
Next, I would add the sermons and blog posts to your website.
For each post,t create a summary of the sermon.n
As this library builds, your search engine optimization, or SEO, will improve and lead to more people finding you!
5. Testimonies
Testimonials are a massive boost to the reputation and credibility of businesses.
Churches have the best kind of testimonials! Testimonies of real-life impact and change.
Add videos of people from your church in short and long forms.
They need to be real stories with context,t but don't be afraid to edit these down. Most people aren't professional speakers and may ramble. That's okay when you're recording,g but the videos must be tight.
Use your one-liner as the structure for directing the videos and editing.
7. Issue Focused Landing Pages and PDFs
Create pages and videos that target specific issues that people struggle with
Create 1-2 page PDFs that are available for download
Example: 5 Ways to Overcome Grief, What the Bible Says About Forgiving, 3 Keys to Being Free from Addiction, etc.
The goal here is to provide as much value upfront as possible. When you do this, not only have you impacted someone's life, but you also have materials that can minister for you at scale.
As people begin to watch videos and download material, you'll learn what your city is struggling with. You'll gain insight like never before,e and you can double down on the content they need.
Can you imagine someone coming to your church for the first time and telling you that your church has already helped them get free from unforgiveness?
Can you imagine someone driving from another city because they "had to be here" at least once?
It can happen!