7 STEPS TO BUILD A BEAUTIFUL, AFFORDABLE CHURCH WEBSITE

7 STEPS TO BUILD A BEAUTIFUL, AFFORDABLE CHURCH WEBSITE

Building a new church website can be intimidating. Hiring a professional usually costs more than most churches can afford. Doing it yourself is an option, but without technical expertise this can seem impossible. Where do you start?

The good news is, creating a church website doesn't have to be expensive. And you don't need any website coding experience to do it. To demonstrate this, we set out to create a beautiful, functional church website that would cost under $25 a month and require no coding. Using a drag-and-drop site builder we created the Vanco Valley Community Church website in just a few hours.

You can do it too. Here are the seven steps you can take to build or update your church's website today.

#1 Start with a Website Builder ? We Picked Wix!

The first step to building a new website is to find an easy-to-use website builder. We understand most churches have tight budgets, so we searched for an affordable option that won't break the bank.

There are plenty of website builders out there, including Wix, Squarespace, WordPress, and Weebly.

After comparing the different options, we chose Wix, because...

? It's incredibly easy to use, even if you have no website building experience. ? They offer hundreds of free, ready-to-launch templates. ? The platform offers high-quality SEO assistance ? no expertise needed. ? Websites cost $13 ? $39 per month. We went with the Pro plan, which costs $22/month.

Consider your budget and customization needs when selecting your website builder. Wix provided everything we needed to create a low-cost website that required no experience whatsoever.

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#2 Choose Your Template

Every website builder listed above has free templates you can choose from. Wix has hundreds of free templates you can use to make your website pop. As you browse their offerings, remember you can adjust the pages, sections and information to fit your website. Pick a template that fits your church's look and feel. We searched using the keyword "church" to find Vanco Valley Community Church's website template. If you want to use the exact template we used, it's conveniently called "Church"! At this point, you can play around with the template or you can start building your website by connecting your church domain (website URL). If you already have a church website domain: Follow the step-by-step directions on the Wix's admin screen to connect your existing domain. (For example, if we had an existing website somewhere else, we would connect to Wix). If you don't have a church website already: You can register a domain name for your church through web hosting providers such as Google Domain, GoDaddy or BlueHost. Once you have a domain, return to Wix and follow the directions on their Admin page to connect it.

#3 Organize Your Website Pages

Before organizing your website pages, think about what a visitor would want to know. Do you host events? Do you offer eGiving? Do you have a daycare program? Use the answers to these questions to decide which pages your website will need. Your website template will include default pages, such as "Home," "About Us," "Services," and "Contact." You don't need to keep these pages ? you can edit, remove or add pages as needed. For example, the Vanco Valley Community Church demo website includes "Missions," "Giving," "Communications," "Events" and "Preschool" pages. Design Tip: Keep it simple! Make it easy for visitors to find what they need. The more images, headlines or text boxes you add to a page, the harder it will be for people to read. Plan to include just one or two important pieces of information on each page. Check out our bonus tips section below for more design advice on website navigation.

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#4 Add Pictures or Stock Images

You can add your own images to the website or select from stock photo databases. Wix allows you to search through images on Shutterstock and Unsplash. Adding your own images is easy. We recommend using photos from your church community as much as possible to show visitors who you are. Since updating images takes just a few minutes, you can swap out images all year long. Keep your website fresh with images of recent missions, fall festivals, summer camps and holiday events. Design Tip: When adding your own images, make sure they are the correct size for your website. You don't want images appearing stretched or grainy. Huge files will take long to load on the page, so try to use smaller images. Check out our bonus tips section below for design advice on selecting and placing images.

#5 Create and Add in Your Message

Remember, members and visitors come to your website to learn about your church's mission, find event details and get the latest church news. Make it effortless to find all this on your website. Otherwise, people won't take the time to click around. Always keep the viewer in mind as you create and add your message to pages. Head over to the Vanco Valley Community Church website to find helpful tips for creating compelling messages on every page of your website. Design Tip: Site builders like Wix will let you choose from hundreds of font options. Pick one that fits your church and template. Stick with this one font throughout your entire website. Keeping consistent font style will make your website appear more polished and professional.

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#6 Optimize for SEO and Mobile

SEO stands for "search engine optimization," which means making your website visible for relevant keyword searches. In other words, when you optimize for SEO, more people will find your website when searching for terms such as "churches near me."

Don't let this step fool you ? optimizing your website for SEO is simple with this site builder. Wix has a built-in SEO wizard that does the work for you. All you need to do is answer some simple questions about your church and community.

Optimizing for mobile means making your website look good when viewed on a smartphone or tablet. Luckily, Wix makes this step a breeze, too. One of the benefits of using Wix is any template you choose automatically optimizes each page for mobile.

Design Tip: If you're a little more tech-savvy and plan to create custom pages, don't worry. You can use a mobile editor on custom pages to optimize them for mobile.

Check out our bonus tips section below for design advice on optimizing your website for SEO.

#7 Promote Your New Website!

This is the final step in building a beautiful website ? showing it off! You now have a bright, shiny new website that offers clear information to your members and visitors. Let them know about your website by posting on social media, promoting it at weekly services and by email or newsletter.

Be sure to point out any new information you added to the website ? such as new eGiving options or upcoming in-person and virtual events. You will be amazed at the difference a new website can make for your members and visitors.

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Bonus Design Tips!

? Think of your navigation bar as the roadmap to your website. Allow visitors to access it wherever

they are to navigate to a new page by "freezing" it. If you're using Wix, you can find this option here: Navigation bar > Select "When visitors scroll, the header freezer."

? Use the rule of thirds design principal to make your images stand out. Keep this in mind as you

take pictures throughout the year for your website.

? If your church uses specific colors, use them on your website. Repeating these colors connects

your website with your church and its community.

? As you build your new website, try to look at it from your visitors' perspective. Does the website

answer their questions? Can you easily move from one area to the next? You can improve your visitors' experience on your website by thinking about them first.

? Wix's SEO Wizard is designed to improve your church website's online presence. As you go

through the step-by-step guide, think about how people might find your church. They will likely search online for "Churches near me." Include those search terms and ideas when going through the SEO process.

Home About Us

Services Missions

Giving

Contact

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YOUR NEW WEBSITE IS JUST A FEW STEPS AWAY!

We believe your church shouldn't need to spend hours or thousands of dollars to have a beautiful, functional website. By following these seven easy steps, your church can have a brand-new website in just a few hours. And maintaining it doesn't need to take up hours either ? ask a volunteer or staff member to tackle updating event details, images or missions every few weeks. We understand how difficult it is to be successful without the right tools, which is why we've empowered 25,000 churches with the technology they need to connect members with their mission. Here's how we can help you do the same:

1. Request a demo of our solutions. 2. Work with us to build the right plan for your church. 3. Start increasing donations and simplifying member communication. Start by scheduling your demo. You can stop worrying about not being able to fund your mission and church website, and instead focus on building a thriving community in person and online.

FAITH

Request a Demo

855.213.3705

eGiving

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