Want to Make a Good Church Website? Do This

Let's be real... your church website matters. It's often the first thing people check out before they step through your doors. A great site can draw people in, while a clunky, outdated one might send them running.

So, how do you build a good church website that is welcoming, functional, and actually helpful? Do these 7 things...

Ensure Easy Navigation
Optimize Mobile Friendliness
Keep Your Website Up to Date
Highlight Your Church's Ministries
Add Sermons and Media
Add Online Giving & Donation Options
Make It Easy to Connect With You
Best Church Websites of 2025

1. Ensure Easy Navigation

Have you ever visited a website and immediately felt lost? That’s exactly what you don’t want for your church site.

Your menu should be simple, intuitive, and easy to navigate. No one should have to hunt for service times or contact info. A few must-have pages:

Home – Keep it clean and welcoming.
About Us – Who you are, what you believe, and maybe a friendly staff photo (smiling helps!).
Sermons – People want to hear what you’re preaching!
Contact – Make it super easy for people to reach out.

Pro Tip: If your grandma can’t find what she needs in 10 seconds, simplify it.

2. Optimize Mobile Friendliness

More than half of your visitors will check your site on their phone—so if it’s not mobile-friendly, you’ve got a problem.

A great church website should look just as good on a phone as it does on a desktop. That means using a responsive design that automatically adjusts to different screen sizes, keeping text and images easy to read, and making sure buttons are big enough to tap without frustration.

It’s also important to test your site on different devices. What looks great on your laptop might be a mess on a smartphone. And don’t forget about speed—slow-loading pages will have people clicking away before they even see your content.

3. Keep Your Website Up to Date

If your homepage still has Christmas service info… and it’s July… we need to talk.

Nothing makes a church website look neglected faster than outdated content. Keeping your site updated doesn’t mean a full redesign every few months—it just means making sure the information is current.

Regularly check and update service times, upcoming events, staff changes (yes, people notice!), and any announcements—don’t make visitors guess if something is still happening.

Set a reminder to check your site monthly. Better yet, put someone in charge of keeping things fresh!

4. Highlight Your Church's Ministries

People aren’t just looking for where you are—they want to know what you do.

Your ministries page should highlight the different ways people can get involved, whether it’s small groups, youth programs, or outreach efforts. But don’t just list them—bring them to life with engaging descriptions and real photos of your church family (skip the cheesy stock photos).

Have a Ministries Page that showcases small groups, youth programs, outreach efforts, etc.
Use real photos of your church family instead of generic stock photos.
Keep descriptions short and engaging—let your ministries shine!

Example: Instead of “Our youth ministry meets weekly,” try “Teens take over every Wednesday night for worship, games, and Bible study.”

5. Add Sermons and Media

Your sermons shouldn’t just be for the people who showed up on Sunday.

Having a place on your website where people can watch or listen to past messages is a great way to reach both current members and new visitors. Whether you upload videos, audio recordings, or sermon notes, make sure they’re easy to find and organized by date or topic.

A simple way to do this is by embedding videos from YouTube or Vimeo and providing a quick summary of each message. Some churches even offer sermon podcasts for those who like to listen on the go. The easier you make it for people to engage with your messages, the more likely they are to stay connected.

6. Add Online Giving & Donation Options

Let’s be honest—most people don’t carry cash anymore. If your church doesn’t have online giving, you could be making it harder for people to support your ministry. Adding an easy, secure way to give online is one of the best things you can do for both your church members and your budget.

Make giving simple:

Offer multiple ways to give (credit card, ACH, text-to-give).
Have a clear call-to-action “Give” button in your menu.
Explain where donations go—people love seeing the impact of their giving.

Many churches see an increase in giving just by making it easier to donate.

7. Make It Easy to Connect With You

If someone wants to reach out but can’t find your contact info, they’ll probably give up.

Your address (especially important for new churches), phone number, and email should be easy to find—preferably right on the homepage. A built-in contact form is even better since it makes reaching out as simple as filling in a few blanks.

Social media is another great way to keep people connected. If your church has an active Facebook or Instagram page, link it on your site so visitors can see what’s happening in real-time. And if you want to go the extra mile, try setting up an automated email response for inquiries, letting people know you’ve received their message and will be in touch soon.

Pro Tip: Try an automated email response like, “Hey there! We got your message and will get back to you ASAP. In the meantime, check out our latest sermon here: [Link].”

Best Church Websites of 2025

A good church website isn’t about modern designs or trendy features—it’s about being helpful, clear, and welcoming. Take a fresh look at your church’s website and ask yourself, “If I were visiting for the first time, would I know where to go and what to do?” If the answer is no, it’s time for some updates.

If your site is already doing these things, awesome! If not, pick one or two areas to start improving today. A little effort can make a huge difference in helping people connect with your church.