The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Church Website that Converts

‍Importance of a Church Website

In today’s world, the need to have a good church website is practically a given. But what does “good” even mean, really? Answering that is where many pastors and church leaders fall short and with 8 out of every 10 visitors on the average church website being new people, it’s vital to get it right.  

The average American church is under 100 members and the average age of a lead pastor is older than it has ever been; you have no time to also be a church website expert. After all, chances are you didn’t feel God calling you into ministry because of your vast knowledge of search engine optimization and conversion tracking.

Don’t know what those terms mean? Good, that means you’re in the right place!

While a personal invite is still the most successful method for getting a new guest to visit your church, nearly every person who visits your church is still going to check out your website ahead of time.

So whether they land on your church website because a friend invited them and then wanted to get a few details confirmed, or because they’re Google searching for a church near them, it’s your website’s job to remove friction and convince them that they can’t go another week without visiting your church.

Goals of a Church Website

In the past, “to provide information” would be a common - and correct - goal for a church website.

However, in today’s world of endless choices and short attention spans, the primary goal (or job) of your church’s website is to solicit action. In website-speak, we call that action a conversion. 

Action is taken when you focus on inspiration, not just information.

With that overarching philosophy in mind, here are some more specific goals you might have for your website:

• Plan A Visit: Remove friction by providing guests answers to the basics they need before coming to church, such as address, service times, where to park, what the service is like, and what you have for their children. If there are important questions that aren’t answered
• Pre-Register: Provide guests with VIP treatment by initiating a request to complete an online connect card or to pre-register their children for a better Sunday morning experience.
• Take A Next Step: Your discipleship process should exist in digital spaces, too. Your church website can help people take their best next step whether that’s to give or serve or join a small group Bible study.

When you start with a goal for your church website, you begin to give each page within it purpose. When your pages have purpose, your content becomes more intentional and people know exactly what you want them to do next rather than leaving them to consume information and figure the rest out.

User Experience (UX)

‍User experience (abbreviated “UX”) is defined as “the perception and response of a person toward design elements of software or digital media while interacting with it.” Or, in layman’s terms, how people feel about using your website. While there’s a whole field of study dedicated to UX, these are a few key areas church leaders should address on their website.

Intuitive Navigation

Do you know what makes Apple products best-in-class? Their products excel at being so intuitive that even children can readily figure them out. Your church website should be the same way:

• Use Simple Labels: Keep menu items straightforward, such as “Events” and “About Us.”
• Keep The Main Things The Main Things: I’m sure the Thursday knitting group is great, but if it isn’t directly overseen by a staff member, it probably shouldn’t have its own page. Stay focused on your primary goal and minimize clutter in your menu navigation.
• Repeated Call to Action: Keep your call-to-action buttons consistent and repeated on each page. You don’t want somebody ready to take a step then get frustrated because they can’t find the relevant button or link.

Tithe.ly Sites offers a user-friendly editor that simplifies the process of customizing navigation, making it accessible to beginners.

Mobile Optimized

With over 70% of users accessing websites via mobile devices, it's critical to ensure your website looks and functions well on a cellphone. A website that loads slowly, doesn’t fit properly on the screen, or contains errors and oversights that make it look like an afterthought will drive visitors away, leading to higher bounce rates, lower search ranking, and a damaged reputation in the community.

These days, many website builders give you the option to view and customize the mobile version to ensure a seamless transition across device types. With Tithe.ly Sites, for example, churches can create mobile-friendly websites with built-in templates that automatically adjust to different screen sizes, ensuring an appealing look across devices.

Visual Design

Visual design doesn’t have to be complicated for it to be effective, but in every case, it should reflect your church’s unique identity and mission. It should “feel like” you. Here are a few simple ways to do that:

• Consistent Branding: Utilize a color scheme, typography, and logo that accurately represents your church.
• Engaging Photos: Whether shot on your iPhone or the latest DSLR camera, images are a window into your world. Show tight shots that prioritize faces and interactions over not spaces and facilities. Tithe.ly Sites provides professionally designed templates that can feature these visuals effectively.
• Video Storytelling: A video is a great way to use longer form storytelling. One compelling use is a video testimony of a current member who loves your church. Builders like Tithe.ly Sites allow users to embed media easily.

Accessibility

Your website should be accessible to people with a variety of mental and physical disabilities. Help those using assistive technology experience your website best through:  

• Descriptive Alt Text: Use alt text on images to aid visually impaired users.
• Readable Fonts: Choose legible fonts with high contrast with the background.
• Keyboard Navigation: Ensure that users can navigate through the site using a keyboard, facilitating accessibility for all.

Tithe.ly Sites inherently promotes accessibility, making it easier for churches to cater to diverse needs.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Keyword Research and Optimization

Search visibility is key to attracting visitors. Free keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner or Moz Keyword Explorer can help you optimize your pages and create content that people are searching for.

When creating content, focus on:

• Incorporating Keywords Naturally: Use phrases like "church in Boston" or "kids events in Charlotte"
• Descriptive Titles and Tags: Ensure each page has descriptive titles and tags to improve search rankings.

Local SEO

For churches, local search optimization is essential and not as intimidating as it may seem. Since (unfortunately) many churches don’t do this at all, it is easier for the ones who do to rocket up the rankings and capture more views from potential visitors.

• Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business): Create and update your listing frequently.
• Leverage Free Directories: Share your church's website and information in local directories, chambers of commerce, denominational directories, and community calendars.
• Be Consistent: Be sure your online listings reflect a consistent use of your church’s name, address, and phone number. Even slight variations can result in reduced search benefits.

Content Strategy

Churches are content machines. With a simple content strategy, you can leverage existing content to climb the search rankings.

• Blogging: Utilize your weekly sermon to create transcripts or summaries that are published as a weekly blog.
• Event Updates: Publish upcoming events on your website and share them as posts on your Google Business Profile. 
• Sermon Archive: Past sermons not only help with spiritual growth, but these engaging teaching pieces can also help your church be found online.

Technical SEO

Sound technical SEO practices enhance site performance:

• Page Load Speed: A slow website due to bloated media uploads turns away visitors. Use a free tool like GTMetrix to test your load time. Google PageSpeed Insights. Tithely Sites allows you to optimize images and reduce load time.
• Secure Connections (SSL): An industry standard, SSL (shown as lock icon in your browser) let’s people know your site is secured and safe to browse. Search engines like Google rank secured sites higher. 
• XML Sitemaps: Help Google index your site so that every page is found in search results by submitting your XML Sitemap through the Google Search Console.

Conversion Optimization

Clear Calls to Action (CTAs)

If you want people to take action like donate, sign up for a newsletter, or register for an event, make it easy for them to do so:

• Design: Make sure your CTA stands out and is legible.
• Visibility: Keep it prominent.
• Consistency: Repeat your call to action.
• Focus: Use no more than 2 unique CTAs on a page.

Simplified Giving Process

When people feel compelled to give, you want to remove as many hurdles as extra clicks necessary.

• Multiple Payment Options: Provide multiple payment methods such as credit cards, ACH transfer, Paypal, Venmo, Cash App, and crypto.
• Tithe.ly Giving: Tithe.ly Giving integrates secure online giving options directly into the church's website, allowing for easy tithes and donations. Plus, you can start for free in just 5 minutes.

Event Registration and Sign-Ups

Nobody likes a convoluted event sign-up process. Make signing up for your next big event painless so that more people use it and recommend your event to others! 

A tool like Tithe.ly Events makes event management seamless for everyone involved:

• User-friendly and attractive design
• All your details in one spot (need a T-shirt size for VBS? No problem!)
• Includes payment processing

Building Trust with Testimonials and Reviews

Whether shopping for shoes or looking for a church, reviews fuel people’s decision-making. Every church has raving fans—Tithe.ly's FREE 5-minute website assessment can help you create a church website that engages and converts viewers into visitors. Put those glowing words and experiences on your website so potential guests can see that others have experienced what they hope to experience.

Great sources of reviews and testimonials:

• Google listing
• Facebook Page
• Small group leaders
• New members

You know what it takes to build a church website that converts. Now what?

It’s time to start improving your website! Create a church website that engages and converts viewers into visitors with the help of Tithe.ly’s FREE 5-minute website assessment.

This simple website assessment takes just five minutes:

• Developed by church marketing experts
• Based on data from 37,000 churches using Tithe.ly Sites
• Get a custom report based on your answers
• 25 yes/no questions about your website

It’s time to simplify your steps and spend more time ministering to people. Take the FREE 5-minute website assessment or sign up for the Tithe.ly Site website builder today so your church can start reaching more people in your community!

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