How To Build a Church Website in 8 Simple Steps

In today’s digital world, having an online presence is essential for churches to connect with their congregation and reach out to new members. However, many churches face the challenge of building a website that is both user-friendly and functional without requiring extensive technical expertise. An easy church website builder can simplify this process, allowing even those without coding experience to create a customized church website effortlessly.

The good news? Building a church website doesn’t have to be complicated. With the right approach, you can create a professional website that reflects your church’s mission, engages visitors, and serves as a vital communication tool.

A clearly defined church’s mission not only guides the church’s activities and services but also serves to inspire and engage both current and prospective members.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to build your own church website, and show you how MissionShare’s drag-and-drop page builder templates make the process easy—no coding required.

Why Does a Great Church Website Matter?

A great church website is vital for building relationships both online and offline. In today’s digital age, the vast majority of potential visitors will check out a church website before ever walking through the door. This makes your website the first impression many people will have of your church. It’s a place where church members can fill out contact forms, get the latest updates, and stay connected with the church community.

Moreover, a well-designed church website serves as a pathway to in-person connection. It provides an opportunity for churches to share their mission, values, and beliefs with a wider audience, engaging with community members in a more meaningful way. By offering resources like sermon recordings, event calendars, and online giving options, your website can become a central hub for both new visitors and long-time members.

1. Start with Your Church’s Mission and Vision

Before you dive into building your website, it’s important to have a clear understanding of your church’s mission and vision. This will guide not only the content you create but also how your website will look and feel.

The best church websites can serve as a model for creating a professional and engaging site. They showcase design and functionality, highlighting key features of church website builders and templates.

• Why it matters: Your mission and vision help define your identity and communicate your church’s values to visitors. They also serve as the foundation for the messaging throughout your website.

Take some time to clearly outline your church’s mission and vision, and then ensure that these are prominently displayed on your website. This will help create a consistent, authentic message for your congregation and those who are visiting for the first time.

2. Choose a Website Platform with Ease of Use

When it comes to building a website, choosing the right platform is critical. Many churches opt for DIY platforms that allow them to customize their website without the need for coding or web development skills. However, some platforms are more user-friendly than others, making it essential to find the best church website builder.

That’s where MissionShare comes in. Our drag-and-drop page builder is designed with churches and faith-based nonprofits in mind, making it incredibly easy to build a professional-looking website. With customizable templates and intuitive controls, even those with no tech experience can create a beautiful site. Since MissionShare is built on a WordPress technology stack, it is one of the most common platforms in the world, so customization is almost endless.

Selecting the right church website builders is crucial for ensuring your site meets all your needs, from flexibility and functionality to customization options.

• Bonus: With MissionShare, you don’t just get ease of use; you also benefit from private servers that ensure your site is secure and reliable.

3. Select a Domain Name and Secure Hosting

Your church’s domain name is essentially the address of your website on the internet. It should be easy to remember and reflect your church’s name and mission. Consider including your location if the name is common, such as “FirstBaptistHouston.org.”

Equally important is selecting a reliable hosting provider. Since your website will serve as a central hub for your congregation, it’s vital to ensure that it’s always up and running.

MissionShare offers secure hosting on private servers, giving your church website an added layer of security and peace of mind, which is essential in an era where data privacy is a top priority.

You will also want to make sure that your hosting aligns with your moral values. Most people don’t know that cheap shared hosting often loads hundreds or thousands of sites on the site servers, using the same IP address. A simple reverse IP search can show your church hosted on the same machines as pornography, gambling sites, spam and malware sites, and more. This can cause hard your SEO

4. Use Pre-Designed Church Website Templates to Save Time

Designing a website from scratch can be time-consuming, especially if you’re unfamiliar with web design principles. However, you don’t need to worry about starting from a blank slate, as church website templates can simplify the process significantly.

With MissionShare’s pre-designed templates, you can choose from various modern, visually appealing layouts that are tailored specifically for churches. These templates are designed to be easy to customize, allowing you to add your church’s branding, images, and content effortlessly.

• Tip: A well-structured template can help you quickly build essential pages like your homepage, events page, and online donation form.

5. Add Essential Pages & Features for Your Congregation Including Online Giving

To make your church website functional, engaging, and helpful for visitors, it’s crucial to include key pages and features that serve both your congregation and the wider community. Here are the essential components to include:

• Home Page: Your homepage is the first impression visitors will have of your church. Make it inviting by showcasing who you are, your mission, and what people can expect from your community. Include clear navigation and highlight any key updates or events.

• About Us: This page should share your church’s story, its mission, leadership, and history. Visitors will want to know the heart behind your ministry and what makes your congregation unique.

• Sermon Media Player: Provide easy access to your sermons by integrating a sermon media player where visitors can watch or listen to messages. This feature allows people to engage with your content even when they can’t attend services in person. Ensure it’s mobile-friendly to reach audiences on-the-go.

• Events Calendar: Keep your congregation connected and informed by featuring an events calendar. Include upcoming services, community events, and volunteer opportunities, with options for RSVPs and reminders to encourage participation.

• Photo Gallery: A picture is worth a thousand words! Include a photo gallery to highlight church events, community activities, and outreach programs. Showcasing images of your vibrant church life helps visitors feel connected and gives them a visual sense of your ministry’s impact.

• Online Giving with Tithely: Offering a secure and user-friendly donation page is essential for supporting your church’s financial needs. Tithely provides an intuitive online giving platform that simplifies the donation process for your congregation. With Tithely, your online giving system is easy to navigate and fully optimized for mobile devices, ensuring that members can give anytime, anywhere. It also includes valuable features such as recurring donations, enabling supporters to set up automatic contributions, and transaction tracking, allowing both donors and church administrators to monitor giving activity with ease. With Tithely, you can make online giving a seamless experience for your community, helping to sustain and grow your church’s financial resources.

By including these pages and features, your church website becomes an effective tool for outreach, communication, and community building, providing both members and visitors with the resources they need to stay engaged and connected.

6. Keep It Simple but Functional

While you want your website to look great, it’s important to avoid overcomplicating things. A simple, clean design will make it easier for visitors to navigate and find what they’re looking for. Focus on functionality by ensuring that key features—like online giving, sermon uploads, and event registrations—are easy to access.

MissionShare’s templates are built with this balance in mind. You get all the essential features, such as donation forms, event registration tools, and sermon uploads, without sacrificing simplicity or usability.

7. Ensure Mobile-Friendliness

In today’s mobile-first world, it’s crucial to ensure that your church website looks great and functions properly on smartphones and tablets. Many of your visitors will be accessing your site from a mobile device, so make sure it’s optimized for smaller screens.

With MissionShare, you don’t have to worry about creating separate designs for desktop and mobile. Our templates are fully responsive, meaning they automatically adjust to any screen size, providing a seamless experience for your visitors.

8. Optimize for SEO and Engagement

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is key to ensuring people can find your church website online through search engines. Basic SEO practices—like using the right keywords, optimizing meta tags, and including relevant content—can help improve your site’s visibility in search results. Engaging content, such as blog posts and social media integration, encourages visitors to return. 

MissionShare websites are built with SEO in mind, so your church’s online presence is already primed for success. Moreover, our experts can optimize and maintain SEO improvements for a monthly retainer, ensuring that your site continues to perform well and benefit from ongoing SEO improvements.

Start Building Your Church Website with MissionShare

Building a church website doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By using a website builder specifically designed for churches and following these steps, you can create a professional, engaging website that serves your congregation and communicates your mission to the world.

If you’re ready to get started, MissionShare offers everything you need to build a customized website without the hassle. Our drag-and-drop builder, secure hosting on private servers, and beautifully designed templates make it easy for any church or faith-based nonprofit to create a stunning website. With our website template options, you can easily customize and set up your site without needing any coding experience.

Ready to build your church website? Try MissionShare’s easy-to-use templates with the security of a private server—get started today!