A church website serves as a digital gateway to your ministry. It’s often the first interaction a potential visitor or member has with your church, making it a critical tool for outreach and engagement. Unfortunately, many church websites fail to fulfill their purpose due to common mistakes that hinder user experience, clarity, and accessibility. The book of Hebrews tells us that the word of God is living and active. As the front door to outreach, your website deserves to be active.
Here are five things church websites often get wrong and how to fix them.
Best Livestreaming Equipment
Discover what top-rated equipment we recommend adding to your church streaming toolkit.
Download for free!
1.
Outdated design and technology
Your website’s design is the first thing visitors notice, and unfortunately, an outdated or clunky design can make your church appear irrelevant or unwelcoming. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, but that does not mean your church website needs to be the same!
How many of these mistakes are you making?
- Unresponsive design: A site that doesn’t adapt to mobile devices alienates many users. “Unresponsive” websites are skipped and often ignored. Having a mobile-friendly, “responsive” website must be a priority. Solution: Use a mobile-first design that looks great on any device.
- Slow loading times: Heavy images or poor hosting can make navigating your website frustrating, especially in mobile and low-bandwidth environments. Slow loading times often prevent Google from directing people to your website. Simply, not paying attention to load times prevents people from finding you! Solution: Optimize images and choose a reliable hosting provider to ensure fast loading times.
- Outdated aesthetic: Fonts, colors, and layouts that look like they belong in the early 2000s give a negative impression. Solution: Invest in a modern, clean aesthetic with easy-to-read fonts and a cohesive color scheme.
2.
Unclear navigation
If users can’t find what they’re looking for quickly, they’ll leave. Many church websites suffer from poor navigation structures.
Common issues:
- Overloaded menus: Too many options in the main menu can overwhelm visitors. Not everyone (or everything) deserves a page or multiple pages. Generalize and condense as much as possible. An effective church website does not have 15 menu items. Solution: Simplify your navigation bar to include only essential links, such as “About Us,” “Visit,” “Sermons,” and “Contact.”
- Hidden key pages: Important information like service times or contact details is buried on the website. Consider the website through the eyes of a first-time guest. Ask what information they seek, and then make it very accessible. Solution: Highlight crucial information for visitors on the homepage/landing page.
3.
Lack of visitor-focused content
Church websites often cater exclusively to existing members, leaving potential visitors unwelcome or uninformed. The debate about prioritizing internal and external content on a website is entirely valid. As a church, we are called to go to the ends of the Earth, but we are also called to stop drinking spiritual milk and start eating solid food. There’s a place for both deeper and wider on the church website!
That said, recognize that the deeper content needs to be secondary, not primary. People already connected to your church are more loyal to it and can take the time to click through the website. However, visitors need readily available information.
Common issues:
- Missing “Plan Your Visit” page: First-time visitors need clear information about what to expect. Solution: Create a dedicated “Plan Your Visit” page with details on service times, directions, parking, and expectations.
- No FAQs: Questions like “What should I wear?” or “Is childcare available?” often go unanswered. Solution: Include an FAQ section addressing common concerns.
- Insider language: Phrases and terminology familiar only to current members can alienate newcomers. “Christianese” (re: insider church lingo) doesn’t connect with most people — especially those who grew up outside the “church bubble.” Solution: Use simple, inclusive language that everyone can understand.
Master the Art of Church Metrics
Get insights on how to analyze your data, spot trends, and transform these findings into strategies that propel your ministry forward.
Download now
4.
Poor content management
Outdated, irrelevant, or sparse content can make your website appear neglected and untrustworthy. If you put dated, event-specific information on the website, be ready to remove it. If you’re going to post sermons, make sure they’re current. If blogs, make sure it’s recent. It’s better to have dated information if you can keep it consistent.
The good news is that this is one of the easiest problems to fix overall. You should regularly commit a little time to the website.
Common Issues:
- Old event listings: Featuring past events makes your church seem inactive. It’s the equivalent of leaving your Christmas decorations up in the worship center in February. It gives the appearance you do not care. Solution: Regularly update your events page and remove outdated listings.
- Sparse sermon archives: Limited access to past sermons reduces engagement opportunities. Solution: Build a robust sermon archive with audio, video, and transcripts. This visually demonstrates your church cares about the website and increases SEO. Speaking of SEO…
5.
Neglecting search engine optimization (SEO)
A beautiful website is useless if people can’t find it. Many church websites fail to implement basic SEO practices, limiting their visibility on search engines. Historically, a massive amount of new traffic to church websites comes from Google. To maximize Google’s ability to connect your church website with potential people looking for churches, your website must be in a format Google can recognize. This is commonly called SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
Hot tip: Whether staff- or volunteer-designed, SEO is often overlooked. Recognizing its absence is not apparent either. Use tools like Semrush to analyze your church’s website. This audit will show whether your website’s SEO is effective or not.
Common Issues:
- Missing meta tags: Titles and descriptions aren’t optimized for search engines. It’s worth noting that these Meta Tags aren’t just for SEO purposes but also show value when the URL is shared on social media and/or texting solutions. Solution: Write unique meta titles and descriptions for every page.
- No local SEO efforts: Failure to target local keywords reduces your site’s reach. It’s shocking how many people will Google “find a church in [Your City].” How do you get your church to show up? Use keywords. Solution: Use local keywords like “Christian church in [Your City].” As a bonus, make the keywords nuanced and relevant to your situation. There’s a place to generalize and a place for specificity. In keywords, there are opportunities for both!
- Lack of fresh content: Search engines prioritize regularly updated websites. In many ways, Google is like the Santa Claus of websites. Google knows when your website is sleeping. Google knows when it’s awake. Ultimately, Google will only draw attention to your church’s website if the website is active. Solution: Update your site regularly with new blog posts, sermons, and events.
Final thoughts
Your church website is a powerful ministry tool only if designed and managed carefully. Focus on user experience, clarity, and accessibility to avoid these five common mistakes. Updating your design, improving navigation, and adding engagement tools can transform your website into a welcoming and practical resource for visitors and members.
Best Livestreaming Equipment
Discover what top-rated equipment we recommend adding to your church streaming toolkit.
Download for free!
